Clean driving turns over a new Leaf
Nissan’s impressive EV delivers more range, improved styling and cutting-edge technology
MNAPA VALLEY, Calif. idway through last week’s press drive of the second-generation Leaf, Nissan Canada president Joni Paiva made an interesting observation connecting the all-new vehicle to the stunning wine country scenery that surrounded us.
“Did you notice the white lichen growing on some of the trees along the road?” he asked. “I couldn’t help but think how this car is helping the environment when I saw that.”
Now, this was far from my first automaker rodeo, so my radar is finely tuned to spot a marketing sell job a million kilometres away, but I had to admit that Paiva provided a nice metaphor for the appeal — some will argue the absolute necessity — of motorists transitioning from fossil fuel-burning vehicles to zero-emission EVs. Lichens, you see, don’t grow in areas of air pollution, in particular sulphur dioxide, and thus serve as vegetative canaries-in-the-coal-mine for our environment.
Once I was back in the Leaf to take on more of the wonderfully winding roads, his comment got me thinking about how little the zero emission aspect of EVs is really touted when it comes to selling fully electric vehicles. Instead of focusing on the fact that these are exhaust-free cars, the first question asked by prospective buyers — and most certainly by automotive journalists — is: How far can I go on a full charge?
Well, in the case of the new Leaf, that would be in the vicinity of 241 kilometres, or 40 per cent farther than the outgoing model. That’s in large part due to a more powerful battery, a 40 kWh pack that replaces the 30 kWh lithium-ion unit, and accounts for 33 per cent of that improved range. The remaining seven per cent comes from a more aerodynamic body design and other engineering improvements.
Given that the average Canadian driver covers 41 kilometres a day, this range is more than enough to satisfy the daily needs of the vast majority of commuters, with plenty left in the tank, er, battery pack, to take the kids to soccer practice, get some groceries or catch a movie.
This wasn’t the first time I had some seat time in the new Leaf. Regular readers of eDriving might recall that I recently reported on driving the Leaf around Nissan world headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. But as that ride consisted of only about 20-minutes behind the wheel, I didn’t really have a good opportunity to experience the new and unique on-board technologies: Pro-Pilot and e-Pedal.
What I did come to appreciate from that brief drive and subsequent press briefings with Nissan EV engineers in Japan is that the ‘EV-ness’ of the new Leaf has little to do with the electric drive powertrain. The fact that EVs are quiet, smooth and lightning quick off the line is so yesterday. Instead, the new ‘EV-ness’ centres around these two new systems.
Pro-Pilot is the more sophisticated of the two. Described by engineers as “a partnership between the human driver and artificial intelligence,” this system can be viewed as adaptive cruise control on steroids.
Designed for highway use, to be engaged the system requires well-defined lane markers on both sides of the lane. Unlike lane departure warning systems that will have you bouncing from one side of the lane to another, Pro-Pilot keeps you centred in the lane. This works in conjunction with a cruise control system that keeps your speed at a set limit, and slows you down and speeds you up depending on your distance from the car in front of you.
In fact, it will bring the car to a complete stop without the driver touching the brake pedal if the car in front slows to a stop. And if the stop is less than three seconds long, the Leaf will accelerate on its own once traffic is underway again. Yes, ideal for stop-and-go situations.
Nissan goes to great pains to described Pro-Pilot as “a hands-on system, not a self-driving system.” If your hands leave the steering wheel for a few seconds, an audible and dashboard light warning come on. If you still don’t put your hands on the wheel, the car will eventually come to a complete stop.
The other bit of new driver-aid tech, e-Pedal, can best be described as “one-pedal driving.” As in, never needing to touch the brake.
Admittedly this takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of harnessing and anticipating the deceleration when you lift your foot of the accelerator — can’t call it a gas pedal in an EV — you can really control the car in a way very similar to using the old manual gearbox downshift trick. You engage the e-Pedal system with a push of a button on the centre console, and with it on, the vehicle will come to a complete stop with no brake pedal input at all. In addition, it will hold the car on a grade up to 30 per cent without the brake pedal pushed, which in a hilly city like Vancouver has very practical applications.
Both these systems are designed to help limit driver fatigue, but each also have the added bonus of maximizing the regenerative braking — taking the human element out of that as it were — which in turn charges up the battery pack, therefore maximizing the efficiency of the powertrain. Pro-Pilot and e-Brake are available on the middle and top trims of the new Leaf: SV and SL ($39,598 and $41,998 before rebates respectively). The base S model price is $35,998.
One more new-for-2018 aspect of the Leaf — and one that comes standard with all trims — is a Level 2 charge cable, which plugs into a 240-volt outlet (like the one your washing machine uses). The benefit of this is that you can charge your vehicle from nearly empty to full charge in about 7.5 hours — without the need to install a Level 2 charger at your house. You just need to install a garden-variety 240-volt outlet, meaning a savings in the neighbourhood of $1,000, and more if your fuse box needs upgrading to accommodate the charging system.
All and all, it’s a pretty big leap forward for the Nissan Leaf, which debuted in 2011 as the first mass market EV.
Oh, and did I mention it’s a zero emission vehicle? Somewhere, the lichens are smiling.