Mitsubishi will begin testing its iMiev electric car in California later this year.

The carmaker says it's signed a letter of agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) to test the four-seat iMiev beginning in the fourth quarter of this year. The cars will be used in the power company fleets to give Mitsubishi an idea of the practicality of selling EVs in the United States.

Earlier this year, at the New York auto show, Mitsubishi showed off the iMiev and announced its plans to work on an electric version. The iMiev uses lithium-ion batteries mounted under the vehicle floor; its electric motor puts out 47 kilowatts of power, which Mitsubishi says gives it superior performance to the gas-powered equivalent in Japan, which turns in just 64 horsepower.

The electric version will go on sale in Japan in 2009, Mitsubishi confirms.

With the fall term about to start at schools across the country, you may be looking for the perfect car for your parents to “subsidize”—or for your child to take off to college along with your furniture, your computer, and your life savings.

It doesn’t take an economics major to find a great car for college—but it does take a little research. The most important things for a college car are reliability, fuel economy, safety, and of course, price. Lucky for you, TheCarConnection.com’s editors not only went to college—the eight-year plan, in some cases—they’ve also studied every 2008 model available for sale in the United States, from crash-test scores to gas mileage.

Of all the cars driven and researched by TheCarConnection.com’s editors, these eight stand out for their basic formula of goodness. Each gets at least 25 mpg on the highway and has a base price of less than $15,000, along with a long list of standard safety gear and good crash-test scores. Some are sedans; some are cargo-friendly wagons; and we’ve even chosen a couple of coupes for the style-conscious. In alphabetical order, they are:

Ford Focus
Restyled for the 2008 model year, and updated for 2009, the Ford Focus is a roomy entry-level car—and a music lover’s dream thanks to its SYNC system. A two-door coupe and four-door sedan share a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 140 horsepower and a choice of a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Inside there’s good room for four, and the interior also features SYNC, a voice-activated, hands-free communications and entertainment interface that links the car to all manner of phones, PDAs, MP3 players, and portable storage devices. The Focus scores five stars in frontal impacts and has six standard airbags, but make sure to order the optional anti-lock brakes.

Honda Fit
The 2008 Honda Fit is a subcompact five-door hatchback with entertaining road manners and frugal fuel economy. Its 109-horsepower engine won’t be the stuff of NASCAR miracles, but it works very well with either five-speed manual or automatic transmissions. The Fit gets 34 mpg on the highway and 28 in the city, and does it with Honda’s trademark light touch in its controls and a roomy interior with a folding “Magic Seat” that opens a cargo area big enough for a standard-sized bicycle. Side curtain airbags, front-seat side-impact bags, and anti-lock brakes are standard, and it gets top five-star scores in the federal government’s frontal and side tests (though rear-seat passengers only have three-star side-impact protection).

Hyundai Elantra
The 2008 Hyundai Elantra is the South Korean brand’s compact sedan and a recent winner of a compact-car comparison from Consumer Reports. Power comes from a 138-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and goes through either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy is as good as 25/33 mpg. It’s a good-looking vehicle, with enough room for adults in back and a good-quality interior outfitted with power windows, power heated rearview mirrors, power door locks, remote keyless entry, and a tilt steering wheel. Options include a Bluetooth hands-free system, leather, a power sunroof, and a 220-watt premium audio system with an iPod jack. The Elantra gets top front-impact scores and four-star side-impact ratings, and comes with anti-lock brakes and six airbags.

Mitsubishi Lancer
The Lancer is Mitsubishi’s smallest sedan and lowest-priced car in the U.S. lineup. It uses a 152-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, paired with either a very precise-shifting five-speed manual or a "gearless" CVT automatic. The nicely detailed look is matched by a comfortable cabin. Base versions have power windows and a CD sound system, but upscale versions can be outfitted with Bluetooth, automatic climate control, a 650-watt Rockford-Fosgate sound system, and a navigation system that includes a 30GB hard-drive music server. Four- and five-star crash test ratings are backed up by front, side, and curtain airbags; anti-lock brakes are standard on ES and GTS Lancers, but stability control is not available on any version.

Pontiac Vibe
The five-door Vibe returns with a new body style for 2009, a pair of engines and all-wheel drive as an option. Buyers can pick from a 158-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder or stick with the base 1.8-liter four, making 132 horsepower. Both engines can be teamed to a manual or automatic transmission. Fuel efficiency is good, especially with the 1.8-liter engine, which returns ratings as high as 26 mpg city, 32 mpg highway with the manual transmission. The smoother look outside is met with a roomy interior and high-quality feel inside; the rear seats fold flat to expand the cargo area. A 320-watt Monsoon sound system is among the options. All Vibes include front side airbags, side-curtain bags, anti-lock brakes, and electronic stability control. The Vibe gets five stars for side impacts for front-seat occupants and four stars in back; front impact tests aren’t in yet.

Saturn Astra
The new 2008 Astra is a European-bred car from GM’s Saturn brand. It comes in two flavors: two-door hatchback and four-door hatchback. It gets its power from a 1.8-liter four-cylinder that spins out 138 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque. The sweet-revving four-cylinder teams well with a five-speed manual that offers a light-touch clutch; there’s a four-speed automatic offered as well. The Astra's ride feels Euro-tuned, with electronic power steering and strong brakes. The Astra has features not often found at this price point, like steering-wheel-mounted audio controls and express-up power windows. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn’t yet tested the Astra but it comes with six standard airbags, anti-lock brakes, and GM’s OnStar system.

Scion xB
The 2008 Scion xB is the second generation of the popular four-door hatchback sold by Toyota’s youth-oriented brand. The 2008 Scion xB is outfitted with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 158 horsepower, mated to either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Fuel economy is 22/28 mpg. There’s room for four or cargo room to move most of a dorm room in one trip (minus the flat-screen TV and MicroFridge). Anti-lock brakes, side and curtain airbags, and stability control are standard equipment. The 2008 Scion xB gets four stars for front impact protection and five stars for side impacts.

Suzuki SX4
The SX4 is a small crossover vehicle with a wagon body, an upscale interior, and plenty of driving fun. Its 2.0-liter four spins out 143 horsepower in a happy, smooth patter; a sweet-shifting five-speed manual is standard, and a four-speed automatic is available. The government rates the SX4 at 21/28 mpg with the manual transmission. Though it might not look like much from the outside, the SX4 has a sharp interior with a high-quality look and features like a CD player with MP3 capability; iPod integration and Bluetooth are available. Six airbags are standard, as are anti-lock brakes and a seven-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. The NHTSA rates the SX4 with four stars for most crash and rollover tests, save for five-star driver-side impact protection.

A weeklong drive of Mitsubishi’s Lancer Evolution GSR impressed jaw-dropping performance, but it also served to help reinforce, quickly, what I liked better about the Subaru WRX STi that I’d driven a few months back: greater livability, drivability, and practicality.

First off, both of these cars are extremely fast. Both can accelerate to 60 mph in about five seconds; and as we’ve pointed out in our road tests of the STi and the Evo, the Evo maintains more of the sharp-edged feel of the last generation of these performance cars while the STi takes a different approach, still allowing tremendous grip but more suspension compliance.

And while it’s entirely possible — based on what I’ve seen from the magazines that have had both vehicles out for some track time — that I might choose the Evolution after a stint of back-to-back track driving, day in and day out on pockmarked roads the STi is the clear choice.

Yes, the new Evo is somewhat improved in its drivability. The new 4B11 engine is less peaky than its predecessor, with a little less turbo lag and a broader powerband. But drivability is still far from stellar compared to the STi’s revamped 2.5-liter turbo flat-four, which although it turns out similar horsepower figures and yields almost equally fast acceleration, just feels more drivable. And of course there’s the soon-to-arrive BMW 135i, a refined alternative that will further shake up the scene.

Just as in the STi, it pays to keep the Evo’s revs up; if you’re on the high side of 3000 rpm, there’s a lot less lag before the turbo swiftly spools up and delivers its heavy-hitting punch. Much below there in, say, third or fourth gear, you can full-throttle it and still count off a second or two before it really delivers. The Evo's engine is decidedly unhappy lugging along at 1500 rpm in second or third gear in traffic where most other modern performance cars are tolerant if not responsive. And it’s one of the toughest cars I’ve driven in recent years to launch in a smooth fashion from a stop going uphill, without either balking or hurtling ahead—a strong argument for the TC-SST semi-automatic transmission that’s offered in the pricier MR.

The Evo’s steering is arguably superior, as it still manages to have that same quick-ratio feel without feeling too twitchy and while also bringing great feedback from the road.

But you’ll feel and hear the road from wherever you are in the Evo. The overall boom and din inside the cabin at 80 mph on rough pavement (and just about any speed) is perhaps greater than I’ve recently experienced in many roadsters—including the soft-top Audi TT I drove the week before. Is your relationship important? Be prepared for questions like ‘Why is this car so loud?,’ and ‘Why does it have to be so bumpy?’ I certainly heard them.

I much prefer the STi’s hatchback style to the Evo’s sedan body style, but the Evo’s racy front-end styling seemed to be a hit with everyone.

Inside it’s a different story. The Evo’s great Recaro front seats are tremendously supportive but the steering wheel doesn’t telescope. Overall, the interior overall felt a bit plain — certainly better than the last generation car — however the base cloth upholstery felt cheap and unduly attracted lint and hair. The headliner buzzed on downshifts or early upshifts and felt to be made of cardboard; and the doors closed with a disconcertingly hollow sound and feel. And as for first impressions, the first time I got into the Evo with my size-13 dress shoes on, the toe area was scraped up by the sharp, ragged edges of a flimsy heater vent outlet. Sneakers only, folks.

Enthusiast magazines are absolutely gushing over the Evo — rightly so. But if you you’re leaning toward the speedy Mitsu, go get yourself and a companion stuck in traffic on the test drive, ya hear?

Last week we told you about Subaru's plans to test a pair of electric vehicles in New York. Mitsubishi has similar plans, and also had its electrc-car prototype on display at the New York auto show.

Tetsuro Aikawa, Managing Director of product development, told the assembled New York press that his company would start fleet-testing an electric version of the i MiEV, an electric vehicle that has been shown off on the world auto-show circuit. The specific tests weren't made clear but Mitsubishi has been working on an EV powertrain for the vehicle.

The prototype sports a 330-volt lithium-ion battery system that's hooked up to a 47-kilowatt electric motor. The EV assembly's tucked away under the floor of the vehicle. Mitsubishi says that the running prototype could be capable of up to 80 miles on a single charge.

Mitsubishi also showed this i MiEV Sport concept in New York, though it had shown it at last fall's Tokyo show. With a real Japanese-cute flair, the concept tames the roofline into a coupe-like silhouette, which Mitsu says adds to the electric-vehicle's appeal.

Mitsubishi doesn’t really do concept cars, just very thinly disguised versions of production models. Change the front the lights, swap the big wheels for more sensible ones, and you’re pretty much there.

And so it is with the Prototype-S, the firm’s Geneva Motor Show concept. It’s essentially what the five-door Lancer Sportback – the hatchback to go with the already-on-sale sedan – will look like.

On sale in Europe from September, it’s going to be a hugely important model for the Japanese firm in Europe. Official estimates put sales at around 70 per cent of the total Lancer volume. That’s because Europeans love the practicality and versatility of a hatchback over a three-box sedan. It gets the same ‘jet fighter’ grille as its siblings, finished in matt black with mesh inserts and chrome surround. Either side are additional air intakes incorporating boomerang-shaped fog lamps. At the rear the lines are similar to the 2005 Concept Sportback that first signaled the car’s likely styling, plus a color-keyed rear wing.

Inside there’s twin-hooded instrument binnacles and black suede finish to the upper dashboard and door panels. Under the hood is a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine developing 240 hp.

The new version should be added to the American Mitsubishi lineup by year's end.--Richard Yarrow