Last year, the City of Vancouver agreed to purchase 13 Mitsubishi i-MiEV vehicles for its municipal fleet. Makes sense—if you’re going to talk about being the greenest city in the world, you’ve got to walk the walk.

I recently spent some time with an i-MiEV, and this is what I learned.

You can purchase one at any Canadian Mitsubishi dealership now. The starting price is just a shade under $33,000 with various rebates in effect—B.C. has a $5,000 rebate. Power is supplied by a liquid-cooled all-synchronous electric motor that develops some 66 horsepower and, more importantly, 145 foot-pounds of torque. This last figure is higher than that of some comparable internal-combustion models. The battery pack is lithium-ion. Transmission is a single-speed, and you can choose between three settings: regular D, an Eco mode, and maximum regenerative braking B mode.

In perfect driving conditions, with a light throttle foot, Mitsubishi is claiming a range of up to 155 kilometres on a single charge. This is unrealistic; if you use any of the accessories—heater, air conditioner, seat warmer, et cetera—you pretty much cut your driving range in half. You can actually see the power-supply gauge drop a bar or two when you activate the a/c. I spent my time driving around with absolutely no accessories turned on—not even the radio.

You can fully recharge the i-MiEV using a 120-volt household wall socket in about 22 hours. There are also two quick-charge features, one utilizing 240 volts, the other Mitsubishi’s own Quick Charge connector port, which will give 80 percent of full battery power in about 30 minutes. Here’s a neat feature: using the key fob, you can remotely program the charging process. According to Mitsubishi, the battery pack will go for at least five years before it starts to degrade, and it might even be possible to get 10 years out of it.

Inside, the i-MiEV is surprisingly roomy, offering 2,772 litres of total interior room and some 1,430 litres of cargo room with the second-row seats folded flat. Seating capacity is for four adults, and there’s plenty of head and leg room—no compromises here.

There are lots of amenities, too. Standard equipment includes a driver’s side seat warmer, air conditioning, power windows, keyless entry, and 50/50 folding rear seat. In every way, the i-MiEV is a comfortable, nicely equipped subcompact, and the comfort level is on par with that of any of its rivals.

Thanks to its high torque level, the i-MiEV easily keeps up with city traffic. This is not a lethargic golf cart, and it will easily cruise at highway speeds. Mitsubishi is claiming a top speed of around 130 kilometres per hour, and according to Natural Resources Canada, it should have an “annual fuel cost” of around $450.

Behind the wheel, the i-MiEV is much like any other moderately powered small car, only quieter. There is virtually no drive-train noise—just a muted hum—and wind noise on the highway is minimal. In short, you don’t feel like you’re piloting some sort of freak show, with other drivers having to make allowances for your car’s shortcomings.

That said, if you drive normally, you’re going to eat up your battery power pretty quickly. For example, I drove from South Delta to the Vancouver Convention Centre (about 30 kilometres each way) and went through virtually a full “tank” of juice in the process. In fact, if I hadn’t managed to get a charge downtown, it might have been touch-and-go coming back. And as we all know, when you run out of power with an electric car, your problems are just starting.

Which leads me to observe that a proper recharging infrastructure in Vancouver for electric cars is virtually nonexistent. Yes, there are places to get a quick hit, but they are still few and far between. (As an aside, during my commute, the plan was to drive to the Canada Line station at 49th and Cambie, park the car, and hop on the train. Ever tried to park near a station? You can’t get within a mile of the place. Either every single parking spot is taken or the locals have erected signs warning you not to park on their block.)

The provincial government recently announced that it’s going to invest in quick-charge stations throughout the province in the near future. Until then, you must plug in whenever you get the chance, which can get tedious. The last thing you want to do when you get home after a frustrating commute is haul out the recharge cable and plug in, not to mention having to unplug before you can go anywhere.