Simon's new Xantia V6 and Leaf blog

[myglaren]

Ideal when you encounter something like this:



Swiped from YPLAC

[Mandrake]

Simon, is the Ion based on a Japanese Kei car by any chance? It's width and height suggests it might be...

Yes it is Jim. It is really a re-badged Mitsubishi i-MiEV, with a few differences in styling and spec that were customised for PSA. The i-MiEV is the same chassis and platform as the Mitsubishi i-car which had a tiny 660cc turbo petrol engine between the rear wheels under the boot floor! The i-MiEV replaces that with an electric motor between the rear wheels. So yes it is a Kei class car.

Just like the C1 it'll be so easy to park... You can take advantage of all those marginal spaces the V6 would never fit into

It's very easy to park - because it's rear wheel drive the steering turns amazingly sharp - it's full lock turning circle is 4.5 metres between walls - nearly half that of the Xantia! I'm not used to how short the nose is, every time I have parked recently I've gone as far forward as I feel is safe (based on years of driving nothing but Xantia's) and when I've got out I realise that I have about 1.5 metres between the front of the car and the object in front that I thought it was close to touching. It's going to take a while to get used to that...

[CitroJim]

Don't you just love stereotypes

Truth be told, I find Merc drivers some of the very worst on the road... The bigger and swankier the Merc is the worse they are

Almost as bad as large SUV drivers and that's saying something...

Simon, on a very serious point, beware of being cut-up in the Ion repeatedly. I used to be in the C1 and others have reported the same too... It seems to be something to do with their slight stature - no doubt seen as an irrelevance and irritation to those who drive large behemoths and consider the road theirs exclusively

Robyn says she finds exactly the same behaviour on a regular basis since she's been driving a C1... Ditto Sian in her little Pixo...

[Mandrake]

Simon, on a very serious point, beware of being cut-up in the Ion repeatedly. I used to be in the C1 and others have reported the same too... It seems to be something to do with their slight stature - no doubt seen as an irrelevance and irritation to those who drive large behemoths and consider the road theirs exclusively

Robyn says she finds exactly the same behaviour on a regular basis since she's been driving a C1... Ditto Sian in her little Pixo...

Yes I've had that happen to me a couple of times already in just the first two days. I was trying to change lanes for an exit on the way home, I had about 4 car lengths room between two cars in the lane to my left and really had to get into that lane in time for the exit, I indicated for several seconds before I made any move, then gently eased into the lane and just as I was half way across the white line the car behind me in the left lane had suddenly rushed up on me and was practically glued to my bumper and riding the horn! I indicated for at least 4-5 seconds before moving and the car was several car lengths back when I started to move over.

After taking the exit and the exit splitting into two lanes it turned out the driver was a woman, who then undertook me on the left, waved her fist at me and rode the horn all the way past! Not very good for my first journey in the car...

It's almost as if other cars on the road don't take you seriously, and think you are some bubble car that can't keep up with the flow of traffic. The funny thing is from about 20-40mph it can easily hold its own and is extremely zippy, it can leave many other cars in the dust due to it's instant torque that doesn't need a down change to make it available.

I've also had a woman nearly walk right into me with her shopping trolley in a lidl car park. I was turning into a park beside her car (fortunately in the wider parent and child parks) and she grabbed her trolley and started pushing it in my direction whilst looking in the other direction just as I was swinging into the park then suddenly stopped with a start when she realised that a car had silently ghosted into the previously unoccupied space beside her car that she was pushing her trolley towards!

That happened on only my second day of ownership so it has made me acutely aware that I need to be REALLY super careful manoeuvring in car parks, because pedestrians (who treat the road as if it is a pavement to begin with) CANNOT hear you coming when you are moving around slowly in a park. Apart from maybe a reversing light there is NO indication that you are about to move. No smoke or vapour from an exhaust and no noise...

Eventually when there are a lot more EV's on the road through attrition people will learn to look where they are walking, but until then I need to be careful...!

[CitroJim]

Simon, is the Ion based on a Japanese Kei car by any chance? It's width and height suggests it might be...

Yes it is Jim. It is really a re-badged Mitsubishi i-MiEV, with a few differences in styling and spec that were customised for PSA. The i-MiEV is the same chassis and platform as the Mitsubishi i-car which had a tiny 660cc turbo petrol engine between the rear wheels under the boot floor! The i-MiEV replaces that with an electric motor between the rear wheels. So yes it is a Kei class car.

Shades of the early Hondas then, the little N600s and the like I would imagine it's a real hoot with the little turbo engine in there...

Just like the C1 it'll be so easy to park... You can take advantage of all those marginal spaces the V6 would never fit into

It's very easy to park - because it's rear wheel drive the steering turns amazingly sharp - it's full lock turning circle is 4.5 metres between walls - nearly half that of the Xantia! I'm not used to how short the nose is, every time I have parked recently I've gone as far forward as I feel is safe (based on years of driving nothing but Xantia's) and when I've got out I realise that I have about 1.5 metres between the front of the car and the object in front that I thought it was close to touching. It's going to take a while to get used to that...

I had the same with the C1 in the early days too Simon Trouble is, when I started driving Xantias again I had the opposite problem Luckily no harm done but several is the times that Gabriel's front bumper has made inadvertent contact...

Sorry you too have had the experience of being cut-up already Simon.. Sadly, there's no effective countermeasure I know of but it does mean you have to drive very defensively and with utter concentration at all times and get to recognise the worst offenders...

It's something I've learned as a cyclist where it's a case of survival being able to spot them early... It is sad we have to do it...

[Mandrake]

Would you not wish the battery to go pop while under warranty? Then a new one and start again?
If the battery goes when your warranty expires, will it write the car off?

Just came across this thread. Some enterprising souls bought a crashed i-MIeV and stripped the battery out! Lots of pics of the battery etc on following pages of that thread, interesting to look at if nothing else. If you could buy individual cells (which you can, or get them from salvage) it looks eminently repairable, if the fault is just a few individual faulty cells!

http://www.myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3074

Who says DIY repairs won't be possible in the age of EV's - as long as you have a set of rubber gloves so you don't electrocute yourself when you salvage a scrap battery.

Interesting to see that the battery and all electrical systems survived intact despite a sizeable impact that totalled the front corner of the car!

[CitroJim]

That thread was a jolly interesting read... Surprised at the level of surface corrosion on the steel bits of that crashed example... Often looks worse in pictures though and if it's been poorly stored since the crash that'll make it worse too..

Crash-worthiness looks, on the face of it, good though. I get the feeling that was quite an impact it suffered...

Heavy rubber gloves are bloody essential when working on battery packs like that, as are fully insulated tools too!

[Mandrake]

Shades of the early Hondas then, the little N600s and the like I would imagine it's a real hoot with the little turbo engine in there...

I'm not sure about that, 0-60 in about 21 seconds versus 12 seconds for the electric version! Check out the following video, starting at 1 minute 32 where he effectively races them against each other:

[Mandrake]

That thread was a jolly interesting read... Surprised at the level of surface corrosion on the steel bits of that crashed example... Often looks worse in pictures though and if it's been poorly stored since the crash that'll make it worse too..

Crash-worthiness looks, on the face of it, good though. I get the feeling that was quite an impact it suffered...

Heavy rubber gloves are bloody essential when working on battery packs like that, as are fully insulated tools too!

If you liked that thread, check this one out:

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2720

A guy with a single faulty cell managed to find a replacement, identify the faulty cell with readily available android based diagnostic software (Canion) and successfully replace it. DIY car repairs still has a healthy future ahead for those willing to re-skill on electrical work!

Pity I don't have an Android device to run Canion - looks like a very powerful piece of software to monitor the inner workings of an Ion!

[white exec]

Don't some EVs come with an audible option for alerting pedestrians - apart from an irate driver, that is?

[Hell Razor5543]

Just look for a cheap Android mobile phone. I got (about two years ago) a ruggedized dual SIM mobile phone (IP68 compliant) new for £100. I mainly use it as a Sat Nav, but (as both SIM slots work) I can pretty much be sure anywhere I am I can get a signal (I have both O2 and Vodafone SIMs).

[CitroJim]

If you liked that thread, check this one out:

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2720

I did.. I'm getting to like that forum... Seems a great spirit amongst the members...

Gives us all great hope for the future... I was most interested in how the batteries are monitored...

Pity I don't have an Android device to run Canion - looks like a very powerful piece of software to monitor the inner workings of an Ion!

I have a feeling you soon will Simon! Is it freely available? Gives a wealth of valuable information by the looks of it...

[Mandrake]

Canion is freely available software for Android, but you need to buy a compatible Bluetooth OBD-II dongle. (And an Android tablet if you don't already have one...) Not all such dongles work because the software puts the dongle into passive "monitor mode" with PID filtering, which cheaper dongles like ELM327 apparently do not support.

Diagbox/Lexia also works on the Ion and provides a lot of the same information but not in as concentrated and easily digestible format. I have had a poke around at the battery stats using Diagbox but it is quite tedious and cumbersome compared to Canion. Canion is read only though, and can't initiate any tests or repair/maintenance modes like Diagbox can, or read and clear fault codes. So both Diagbox and Canion together give the most power and flexibility.

Yes there are some clever people on myimiev.com - I've just started reading there. I'm also on speakev.com which is great for general UK based advice and chat regarding EV's, but most of the posters there are not technical DIY'ers like those here on french car forum, and are mostly just drivers and owners of EV's!

[CitroJim]

Good to know Diagbox/Lexia talks to it Simon, even if not 100% fluently it's still a good help...

I'm sure our friends out in the Far east will soon make a suitable dongle readily available at an affordable cost

[lexi]

That is a nice bit of room you have off road at your new house Simon? Good for jacking and spannering on the slabs.
These leccy cars are very interesting and I knew nothing about them till all this on here. You must be quite excited and new fangled with it Simon. I think I would have went out for my "free charge" as well.