The Mitsubishi IM is a tiny all-electric car that aims to be an urban commuting runabout. Its small footprint lets you wedge it into tiny spots, making it an ideal choice for city dwellers. The car's weight of just around 2600 lb makes it extremely energy efficient, with one of the most efficient cars tested by Consumer Reports.

However, the IM is mostly a "one tick pony," only averaging 59 miles on tests, which is 15 to 20 mi less than typical competitors like the Nissan Leaf or Ford Focus Electric. Recharge time is typically 6 hours using the charger, with an added port for a quick charger that can give you 80% charge in only half an hour.

The electric torque makes it feel perky off the line, but it runs out of steam as you approach 60 mph. Cruising at highway speeds isn't its forte, and neither is driving slowly – those little wheelbarrow-like tires don't have much grip at all, making handling capability low. Stability control keeps it safe, but ride quality is poor, especially on rough roads, which crashes over bumps and makes the car uncomfortable for passengers.

Cabin comfort is also subpar, with a narrow body that feels tall and tippy around corners. The steering wheel doesn't telescope, and pedals are too close – cabin heat is weak, only providing some assistance from a heated seat for the driver. However, fitting two people in the back is not possible due to lack of knee and leg room.

Despite its short range, it's easy to overlook some drawbacks, as the display provides a clear indicator of remaining range. This feature is especially useful in Mitsubishi models, where accuracy can sometimes be an issue. The navigation radio, however, has outdated graphics, with small on-screen fonts and no volume or tuning knobs.

One advantage of the IM is its affordability – it's one of the cheapest electric cars available, with big tax credits and minimal maintenance requirements. Nevertheless, other electric cars are more pleasant to drive and offer better overall performance without significantly higher prices.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ento understand the Mitsubishi IM it probably helps to understand the car's Origins this tiny all electric car aims to be an urban commuting Runabout its tiny footprint lets you wedge it into tiny spots and as you might expect the IM is extremely energy efficient at just around 2600 lb it's rather light for an electric car it's one of the most efficient cars we've ever tested here at Consumer Reports but as it turns out the IM is mostly a onetick pony we only average 59 mil on our tests which is really short that's 15 to 20 mi less than typical competitors like the Nissan Leaf or Ford Focus Electric recharge time is typically 6 hours using the charger our ey also has a port for a quick charger which can give you 80% charge in only half an hour now the IM might be one of the most efficient cars we've ever tested tested but it's also one of the slowest cars we've tested in a long time the electric torque makes it feel perky off the line but it runs out of steam as you approach 60 you can cruise at highway speeds but it isn't happy there nor is it all that efficient you get better range at lower speeds it's no fun to drive the imy fast either or even to drive it slowly those little wheelbarrow like tires don't have much grip at all and the narrow and Tall body feels tall and Tippy around corners stability control keeps it safe but handling capability is way low the ride is really awful especially on rough roads it just crashes over the bumps and makes it really uncomfortable for the passengers cabin Comfort is pretty bad too but luckily because of the short range you won't be in the car very long you sit up high and the big Windows give you a pretty good view out but the cabin is really narrow the steering wheel doesn't telescope and the pedals are too close the cabin heat is very weak in this car because there's no engine to provide it and using the heat drops the range a lot only the driver gets a heated seat and that only helps so much the front seats are basically slabs of foam without much support you can only fit two people in the back but they'll be unhappy with almost no knee and leg room it's really unpleasant payload is only 660 lb so it's easy to overload one nice thing about this car is that the display is really clear it gives you a very good indicator of how much range you have left in the car but some of us found that this wasn't always accurate or linear like in other Mitsubishi the navigation radio is a mess Graphics look dated on-screen fonts and buttons are small and there are no volume or tuning knobs the IM is one of the cheapest electric cars you can buy there's big tax credits and there's very little maintenance involved but there are a lot of limitations here other electric cars are much more pleasant to drive and they're more well-rounded and they don't cost that much moreto understand the Mitsubishi IM it probably helps to understand the car's Origins this tiny all electric car aims to be an urban commuting Runabout its tiny footprint lets you wedge it into tiny spots and as you might expect the IM is extremely energy efficient at just around 2600 lb it's rather light for an electric car it's one of the most efficient cars we've ever tested here at Consumer Reports but as it turns out the IM is mostly a onetick pony we only average 59 mil on our tests which is really short that's 15 to 20 mi less than typical competitors like the Nissan Leaf or Ford Focus Electric recharge time is typically 6 hours using the charger our ey also has a port for a quick charger which can give you 80% charge in only half an hour now the IM might be one of the most efficient cars we've ever tested tested but it's also one of the slowest cars we've tested in a long time the electric torque makes it feel perky off the line but it runs out of steam as you approach 60 you can cruise at highway speeds but it isn't happy there nor is it all that efficient you get better range at lower speeds it's no fun to drive the imy fast either or even to drive it slowly those little wheelbarrow like tires don't have much grip at all and the narrow and Tall body feels tall and Tippy around corners stability control keeps it safe but handling capability is way low the ride is really awful especially on rough roads it just crashes over the bumps and makes it really uncomfortable for the passengers cabin Comfort is pretty bad too but luckily because of the short range you won't be in the car very long you sit up high and the big Windows give you a pretty good view out but the cabin is really narrow the steering wheel doesn't telescope and the pedals are too close the cabin heat is very weak in this car because there's no engine to provide it and using the heat drops the range a lot only the driver gets a heated seat and that only helps so much the front seats are basically slabs of foam without much support you can only fit two people in the back but they'll be unhappy with almost no knee and leg room it's really unpleasant payload is only 660 lb so it's easy to overload one nice thing about this car is that the display is really clear it gives you a very good indicator of how much range you have left in the car but some of us found that this wasn't always accurate or linear like in other Mitsubishi the navigation radio is a mess Graphics look dated on-screen fonts and buttons are small and there are no volume or tuning knobs the IM is one of the cheapest electric cars you can buy there's big tax credits and there's very little maintenance involved but there are a lot of limitations here other electric cars are much more pleasant to drive and they're more well-rounded and they don't cost that much more\n"