Nothing new from Nissan at the ongoing 2017 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS), but the maker of the GT-R has two cars on showcase duty. One is the BladeGlider prototype and the other is this – the latest Nissan Note e-Power.
This is the latest iteration of the Nissan Note, unveiled in Japan late last year. In its domestic market the Nissan Note e-Power is a range extender hybrid, but it’s one that can’t be plugged-in to recharge the battery – Nissan’s system uses only the engine to provide the juice.
That engine is a 79 PS/103 Nm 1.2 litre HR12DE unit, which is only there to feed the 109 PS/254 Nm electric motor from the Leaf. The three-cylinder engine is not connected to the driven wheels. Nissan says that the system allows drivers to enjoy the benefits of an electric motor – such as maximum torque from standstill – without having to worry about charging the battery.
The presence of the range extender also means that the battery can be made much smaller (just 1/20th the size of the one in the Leaf), enabling it to be placed under the front seats to maintain interior space, which of course is the main unique selling point of the Note, a Honda Jazz-style five-door hatch. The Note e-Power’s claimed fuel economy is 37.2 km/l on the Japanese JC08 cycle.
Differentiating the e-Power model from standard petrol-powered variants is the blue trim around the grille and e-Power badges around the car, while the interior gains a stubby drive mode selector from the Leaf. Also fitted is a unique instrument cluster with dedicated hybrid displays.
This Nissan Note is also available in Thailand, but as an Eco Car without the fancy e-Power hybrid system. Our ASEAN neighbour instead gets the HR12DE 1.2 litre three-pot used in their March and Almera. With 79 PS and 106 Nm of torque, it’s mated to an Xtronic CVT automatic for combined claimed fuel consumption of 20 km/l.
GALLERY: Nissan Note 1.2L, Thai-spec
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ETCM shud CKD this here to compete with jazz hybrid but they minum-tidor and said no new models this year. But bashers says this means its outstanding performance, so tak kesah.
Someone already had that in production much earlier than Nissan. Chevrolet volt / Vauxhall ampera for one. Wait. Proton had the same concept car known as Reev. Or range extender electric vehicles don’t know what happened to that car now. And oh yes. Even the trio from top gear UK had built one, the early version was called Geoff ‘i’
Renault/nissan alliance had a Renault range extender which was out from 2003. It was based on the Kangoo.
The other thing bt dis car is wen u lift ul ur gas paddle it breaks for regeneration energy….
Any engineer will tell you that using an engine to charge the battery is the most inefficient way to do it.
Unfortunately Adrian, your engineer, has forgotten that the internal combustion engine that you are comparing this hybrid system with has to follow the acceleration and deceleration that the driver requires. This is a less efficient system than the small battery (and the deceleration charging mode) that acts to smooth out the requirements of the electrical motor that drives the wheels here. That’s why the Note with this system will out-perform a petrol or diesel driven in both the available torque at low revs and in fuel efficiency. Just look at the figures of the L/100km for the two models. How much the environmental cost of the battery will affect the real figures is another matter, but your engineer needs to look beyond the end of their nose……
Bring it here together with the next month new Leaf.
@John TQ, what I meant to comment in an earlier article is using 3-D printer to produce a scale-down-model anyway again TQ. Unfortunately (reply is optional), I have another question. seeing that designing is a crucial/major part of any marque hence would they then outsource it, considering industrial espionage and hacking prevalence.
Then what is Pininfarina or Italdesign Giugiaro? While automakers cant copy paste bulat bulat, design looks is not patented. Case in point is Kia design follow Audi. While it may look great from layman view, theres no originality.
it’s the production version of the “Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust” if you may remember.
There was the renault range extender based on the kangoo from 2003, made under the nissan renault aliiance.