POWER TO THE PEOPLE
Nissan’s unique approach to hybrid motoring is on the way to Australia.
Nissan is preparing to take on hybrid heavyweights Toyota with a petrolelectric system unlike any other on sale in Australia today. Known as ePower, it will arrive in the second half of the year in the new Nissan Qashqai. The third generation of the popular compact SUV goes on sale in Australia soon, but only with low-voltage mild-hybrid power. In contrast, e-Power is a high-voltage fullstrength hybrid system. Both more powerful and efficient, it’s expected to go into top Qashqai variants.
Nissan powertrain development chief Matthew Wright estimates the real-world fuel consumption of the Qashqai e-Power will be around 10 per cent better than the competition. According to the WLTP test standard, the Nissan beats the slightly larger RAV4 Hybrid by more like six per cent.
It’s the way Nissan’s system drives that will swing customers, Wright says.
“You’ve got a slight benefit on efficiency, but I think that driving benefit you get – that instantaneous response and linear acceleration through the range – I think gives a real benefit over the Toyotas.” Also, e-Power sounds “more natural”.
All hybrids on the market in Australia today blend power from internal-combustion engines and electric motors to turn their wheels. They’re what engineers call parallel hybrids.
Nissan’s system is completely different. With e-Power, all of the power to turn the wheels comes from electric motors. There’s an internal-combustion engine on board, but its only job is to spin an electricity generator. It’s what engineers call a series hybrid.
This means it should feel more like an electric car to drive than other hybrids. It’s just that its juice is supplied by an on-board power station instead of stored in a battery pack. Mostly. There is a small battery pack under the rear seat of the Qashqai e-Power. It’s there mainly to store the energy captured through regenerative braking.
The battery supplies boost when the accelerator pedal is floored. So even though the engine’s maximum generating power is 116kW, the electric motor driving the Qashqai ePower’s front wheels can put down 140kW.
As in other full-strength hybrids, the battery pack can also propel the Nissan when its engine is shut down. One engineer estimated it could cover 2-3km this way. While the Qashqai ePower hasn’t yet launched in Europe, Nissan brought some to an event in Spain designed to showcase the brand’s commitment to electrification. Though they would only allow a brief four-lap drive on a racetrack full of cone chicanes, it was enough to get a feel of how ePower works.
Though the Qashqai e-Power doesn’t seem to have the off-the-line zap of some singlemotor battery-powered EVs, it’s no slouch.
Once rolling it feels more EV-like, snappily supplying a surge of acceleration at typical overtaking speeds.
At low speeds the Nissan often switches to electric mode. The engine fires up swiftly and smoothly when more performance is required.
The turbo 1.5-litre triple is a downsized version of the 2.0-litre four used by Nissan’s Infiniti luxury brand, and features the same advanced, efficiency-boosting variable compression ratio technology. The has the distinctive warble of a triple, but the sound is well muted.
Toyota hybrids often hold engine revs steady while the vehicle accelerates, which can seem weird to some. In the Qashqai e-Power engine revs vary in line with speed, more like a normal non-hybrid powertrain.
While other car makers are counting on plug-in hybrids to provide a bridge between internal-combustion cars and EVs, Nissan Planning Manager Clíodhna Lyons thinks ePower can do the job. “We believe that e-Power is actually going to play the role to bring our customers on the journey into a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) future,” she says. “It’s enough.”