Improved in Every Aspect
Nissan is updating its e-Power drivetrain and introducing it in the Qashqai. The new Nissan Qashqai e-Power is always electrically driven and is more fuel-efficient than ever. Its range is comparable to that of a diesel car, Nissan proudly announces.
Is a Nissan Qashqai e-Power an electric car? No. But it is always electrically driven. The Qashqai e-Power, as it came on the market with the introduction of the current generation of the car, is always propelled by a 190 hp electric motor. It draws its power from a small (2 kWh) battery pack that is charged by a 190 hp 1.5 three-cylinder gasoline engine. The advantage, according to Nissan: that gasoline engine should be able to run very efficiently, and as a driver, you benefit from EV characteristics such as direct throttle response and linear acceleration. That e-Power drivetrain will continue to exist, and the concept will not be tinkered with either. However, things have been significantly improved.
First of all, the electric motor is now 205 hp. That gives the Qashqai an extra 15 hp. The electric motor is part of a module that also includes the generator and inverter. The whole thing, according to the Japanese, is more compact and lighter than before. Again, the gasoline engine is a 1.5 three-cylinder, but that machine is brand new and has been developed entirely for use in e-Power drivetrains. The thermal efficiency is higher than ever, and the turbo is larger. The result: the machine runs more vibration-free, and according to Nissan, the engine speed on the highway is as much as 200 rpm lower than before. That saves noise and fuel consumption.
Speaking of that consumption: according to Nissan, it is now 4.5 l/100 km. In the most favorable case, the outgoing Qashqai e-Power scored an average consumption of 5.2 l/100 km. That’s a difference of 0.7 l/100 km. That’s over 13 percent fuel efficiency gain. The fuel tank is again 55 liters in size. A quick calculation shows that the Qashqai e-Power can squeeze up to 1,200 kilometers out of a full tank of gasoline. It even speaks of ‘the driving range of a diesel car.’ According to the same calculation, the Qashqai with the old e-Power drivetrain would yield a range of about 1,060 kilometers.
The updated Nissan Qashqai e-Power will be launched in September. We don’t have prices yet.