Japanese concept gives me confidence in battery power

DRIVING the new Nissan X-Trail this week, I have become fascinated by a new power concept for cars, which has been rolled out with great success in Britain and Europe.

It is called e-Power and is the Japanese car-maker’s not-so-secret weapon in establishing a way forward for producing cars in an electric age.

Indeed, Nissan describes e-Power as the “gateway technology to an EV drive”. When you drive a car with this technology the car has a “quietness” coupled with “easy driving characteristics” and, I found, all without the general anxiety associated with EVs.

In other words, if you have a fully electric car but just can’t get on with it, the e-Power might be the way ahead for you.

Necessarily, my report on the X-Trail SUV will be in two parts. This week, it will be all about e-Power and exactly how it works because I believe this method of powering a car in 2024 is important news for drivers.

In my next column I will describe how e-Power is “different” and how the new X-Trail with it performs.

In the meantime, a lot of car buyers seem to agree that this feature is a plus.

Since its debut in September 2022, more than 100,000 customers have taken delivery of Nissan’s e-Power vehicles.

To date, 65,367 Qashqais and 34,663 X-Trails, equipped with this powertrain, have been sold in Europe. More than one in five of those sales has been in Britain (18,591 Qashqai and 2,435 X-Trail).

I was struck when driving the new Qashqai how simple e-Power is — a 100 per cent electric-motor driven “bridging technology” offering an EV-driving “feel” without the need to recharge.

The system comprises a high-output battery that is complemented by a petrol engine, a power generator, inverter and 140kW electric motor of similar size.

The petrol engine generates electricity, which can be transmitted via the inverter to the battery pack, the electric motor or both, according to how you drive.

All this translates into smooth, efficient driving.

But what sets e-Power apart is that the wheels are solely driven by an electric motor. This means the drive is quiet — much like a fully electric vehicle.

The petrol engine within the
e-Power system is used only to generate electricity, which charges the on-board battery and powers the wheels through the electric motor.

When low power is required to drive the vehicle and when the battery has enough power, the electric motor driving the wheels is only using electricity from the battery.

If more power is needed, the engine generates electricity to power the electric motor and charge the battery.

When maximum power is required, the electric motor takes electricity from both the engine and the battery.

In addition, any time power regeneration is possible, energy from the vehicle’s motion is sent back to the battery.

Electrical energy generation is controlled according to road conditions. When road noise increases due to surface conditions and vehicle speed, the engine switches on to charge the e-Power battery pack. This reduces the need for the engine to operate under otherwise quieter conditions.

It may be that this is academic to a lot of motorists but when buying a new car the days it is not enough to just jump in and drive and hope for the best. After many years writing about cars, I am convinced that every motorist needs to take some time out when buying a new car to research what’s on offer.

Too often, I hear people complaining about EVs. Granted, it is early days and there is already a variety of EVs on the market aimed at pleasing all-comers.

However, to my mind the way EVs have been thrust upon us with the threat of extinction of “conventionally” powered hanging over us, drivers need complete confidence in any EV system.

This is why Nissan’s e-Power appeals to me so much. It takes away a lot of the nervousness of buying a car wholly powered by a large battery and, if you like, meets the bemused customer half way.

It will be interesting to see how I get on with the new X-Trail with e-Power, (the X-Trail has always been a favourite model of mine).

I shall, of course, pass on my comments on the car to you next time.