We drove a tram that did not require the use of a charging station

Nissan is re-attacking the electric car market with the Qashqai e-Power offering a solution for those who crave an electric but immature crossover to switch to a full electric car, and with the Lion, the manufacturer's flagship, blurring the line between popular and luxury

Shashi Cohen, WHEEL

18/07/2022

Monday, 18 July 2022, 00:42 Updated: 00:57

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Qashqai, really an electric driving experience?

Well, the answer is long (Photo: Shashi Cohen)

Nissan was the pioneer in bringing mass-produced electric to the world and did so back in 2010 with the Leaf, a compact family car that has been successful with 610,000 cars sold so far worldwide (half of them in Europe).

For years it was the best-selling tram in the world, and some would say it did so because it had no real competitors, or at least until it hit the Tesla market, but there is still no denying the fact that it is to some extent considered groundbreaking.

Four months ago and after a period in which Nissan seemed to have fallen asleep a bit and competitors actually woke up with a lot of appetite, we arrived in Madrid for a global launch in which the company unveiled its future electric vision, which includes 23 new electric models to reach world markets by the end of the decade.

We have been driving the hybrid cockroach very recently, and now we have also embarked on an introductory trip with the Qashqai e-Power and the Ariya model that grabs the "manufacturer's new flagship" slot.

A 1.5-liter gasoline engine is used as a generator (Photo: Shashi Cohen)

Qashqai e-Power - an intermediate solution for all those who desire an electric vehicle and are not yet ready to switch

The Qashqai e-Power, is a new version that should strengthen the status of one of the most successful crossovers in the world (more than 5.5 million vehicles since 2007), with the promise of an electric driving experience without the need to charge the battery.

This is the 'e-Power' hybrid technology that Nissan already unveiled in Japan in 2016 in the Note model, and its main purpose is to use an electric motor that regularly drives the front wheels and provides an electric driving experience at any speed, but instead of using a large and expensive battery, the car is equipped with a small battery with 2.1 capacity. KWh only. It gets the electricity from a 1.5-liter, 3-cylinder turbo engine, which is used as a generator for power generation only. For the manufacturer this is an efficient and cheaper recipe for production: no gearbox in the car and the battery is extremely small The customer is the current solution closest to an electric driving experience but without the need to use a charging station and without 'driving range anxiety'.

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Very reminiscent, but not exactly that (Photo: Shashi Cohen)

Indeed, on an introductory ride in the new model on Sweden’s quality roads, the car provided a very close driving experience to a full electric car (if we ignore for a moment the plug-in hybrid models that require a charging station), with very quiet and almost vibration-free driving.

Performance has also been significantly upgraded with a total power of 190 hp, providing accelerating from standstill to 100 km / h in 7.9 seconds (instead of 9.2 seconds in the 1.3-liter version) and if you were a little weird driver with a petrol engine running in the background and not really connected to the wheels , So just so you know it is equipped with a "linear voice" that adjusts itself to the speed of travel and thus prevents a strange feeling.

We ended the introductory trip with an average fuel consumption of 16.4 km per liter, a figure that improves by ten percent the fuel consumption compared to the familiar petrol version, and it is also a more environmentally friendly vehicle with CO2 emissions of 119-123 grams per km on average according to the manufacturer.

The price has not yet closed, but is expected to be in the plug-in neighborhood of various kinds (Photo: Shashi Cohen)

The most important car for Nissan Israel in the near future

"This is Nissan's most important car in Israel in the near future," we are told by importer Carasso Motors, which plans to start marketing the model as early as this fall.

This is the entry of a hybrid model into the thriving C-SUV segment, and for the first time customers who crave an electric crossover and are not yet ready to switch to a full electric vehicle, will be able to enjoy electric driving without the need for private parking and charging station.

As for price it is still too early to say, but in these days of shortage of cars and prices that are rising at a sharp rate, it is to be hoped that the importer Crasso Motors will really try and make an effort to price the vehicle with a gap not significantly higher than the familiar petrol version.

Arieh takes a more prestigious direction than any Nissan before it (Photo: Shashi Cohen)

Nissan Lion The manufacturer's new flagship

After conducting a brief introductory ride on the Nissan Arie tram at the del Jarama racetrack near Madrid four months ago, this time we were invited to drive for the first time on public roads on the new flagship car, which is also the first swallow in the manufacturer's new generation tram.

At the launch of the model held at a Japanese hotel in the suburbs of Stockholm and incorporating quite a bit of Japanese culture, the hosts often stressed that although Nissan in recent years is part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, it is still a brand with Japanese DNA and electric lion. Japanese in all its limbs.

Nissan put all the knowledge and advanced production capability in this car (Photo: Shai Cohen)

A reunion with the lion reminded us how beautiful this car is first and foremost.

The design is elegant and sophisticated, the proportions are right and with 4.6 meters in length and 1.85 meters in width, it is placed in the D-SUV category, with dimensions reminiscent of the Toyota Rav-4 for example.

Precisely in the aerodynamics section, which is very much back in fashion in the age of trams that try to be as efficient as possible, with a figure of almost 0.3cd, it does not really star.

Inside the cabin the car offers a clean design with a relative minority of switches, but the popular ones for operating key driving systems are offered as touch switches inside a spectacular wood-like panel that stretches across the dashboard.

These include a digital dashboard and a central 12.3 "multimedia screen, smartphone connectivity, remote update options (OTA), a tiny electronic gear lever located on a center console that drives electricity on a rail and contributes to the feeling of space, and a completely flat floor made possible by using the CMF platform. Dedicated EV for electric models The test vehicle's equipment list included particularly rich, but mostly worth mentioning: a camera-based interior that shows a sharp image of what's happening in the rear, an efficient top view, Alcantara padding that padded a variety of surfaces in the cabin, electrically adjustable and heated front seats. And even a central glove compartment that opens and closes electrically.

We are already used to generous gestures in the size of the screens (Photo: Manufacturer's website)

For a change, our test version was not the most powerful and well-equipped, but rather the one equipped with the small battery on offer (63 kWh) that ensures a driving range of up to 403 km between charges (up to 533 km in the large 87 kWh battery version) .

The electric motor power stands at 214 hp, and on the road the car provided as expected an electric and quiet driving experience that is very easy to love and get used to. For the batteries in the car floor that contributes to a low center of gravity. The performance in this version is nice with 7.5 seconds from 100 km / h and will provide in our estimation to 95% of potential customers, and in general I find it a little difficult to get used to the idea that it is not enough nowadays.

Maximum speed has been limited to 160 km / h in favor of optimal driving range, and with a new generation of batteries that promises a 33% reduction in size compared to the past and increased efficiency,

A range of about 380 km that was easily achieved (Photo: Manufacturer's website)

The gap between popular trams and luxury models is narrowing

Nissan Arieh is expected to arrive in Israel this January, of course if there are no surprises.

It is expected to compete here with models such as the Skoda Aniac, Hyundai Ionic 5 and others, but if you were expecting a starting price tag of around NIS 190,000, you will probably be disappointed.

The price of the model in some markets in Europe where marketing has already started is slightly higher than the competition, and according to Nissan because it is a flagship of the manufacturer that comes well equipped already from the basic level of finish.

Bottom line, the Lion is a quality, well-designed and luxurious car that manages to further reduce the gap between quality folk trams and parallel luxury electric models, and if I got out of the car and suddenly met the front of the Lexus logo, or rather its Infinity case, I probably would not be surprised.

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• Nissan

• electric car

• tram

• electric car

• Qashqai