page_title: Mitsubishi i
section_title: Body and dimensions
hierarchical_section_title: Mitsubishi i / Technical details / Body and dimensions
caption_attribution_description: English: Mitsubishi_i taken in The 39th Tokyo Motor Show
context_page_description: The Mitsubishi i is a kei car from automaker Mitsubishi Motors, first released in January 2006, twenty eight months after its debut at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the first four-door automobile since the 1960s to employ a "rear midship" setup with the engine behind the passengers, in an attempt to improve safety and interior space without enlarging the overall exterior.
  The innovative layout and styling of the i proved an immediate critical and commercial success, exceeding Mitsubishi's initial sales targets by 20 percent and winning thirteen awards in its first year. Although designed with the Japanese keijidōsha light automobile class in mind, the attention it generated led to its subsequent introduction in right hand drive markets in Asia, Oceania and Europe. It is also used as a basis of the 2009 i-MiEV battery electric vehicle.
context_section_description: A lightweight steel (not aluminium) structure and a rear-engined layout allowed Mitsubishi to incorporate a larger front crumple zone, in order to meet current safety legislation requirements without compromising interior space. With no powertrain in front of the driver, the designers were able to shorten the front overhang and lengthen the wheelbase to 2,550 mm (100.4 in), giving greater legroom for passengers than many comparable kei cars whose wheelbase is typically 130–190 mm (5.1–7.5 in) less. The downside of this design was a reduction in cargo-carrying capacity, which was necessarily compromised by the engine's location in the rear.
caption: The engine of the i as seen in cutaway, behind the rear seats and under the floor of the rear hatch storage area, just ahead of the rear axle.
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