Nissan plans some major changes when it launches the next-gen Leaf in September.
When Nissan launches an all-new version of its Leaf battery-electric vehicle later this year it is planning to do more than just double its range. You can expect to see the new model add a range of new technologies, as well.
That includes both the semi-autonomous ProPilot Assist, as well as e-Pedal, a new system that essentially transforms the throttle into a multifunction control that can be used to accelerate, slow and even come to a complete stop.
“Drivers can cover 90% of their driving needs with the e-Pedal, making the process of driving more exciting,” Nissan said in a statement released Wednesday. “In heavy traffic and during city commutes, drivers will greatly reduce the need to shift from one pedal to the other, making your drive simpler and more engaging.”
(Nissan offers tease of all-new ’18 Leaf EV. Click Here to check it out.)
While it has lately lost a lot of momentum on the market, the Nissan Leaf has been the world’s best-selling battery-electric vehicle since its 2010 introduction. According to the Japanese automaker, buyers around the world have purchased more than 277,000 Leafs.
Nissan clearly isn’t content to watch Tesla and other manufacturers nudge it aside in the battery-car market it helped invent. The 2018 remake of the Leaf will bring some modest tweaks to the vehicle’s styling – at least from the spy shots we have so far seen.
But more significant will be improvements in Leaf’s technology. Range, for example, will jump from the current 124 miles – with the larger battery pack option – to an estimate 200 miles plus. That should mean an increase in the capacity of its lithium-ion pack to around 60 to 70 kilowatt-hours.
The new e-Pedal, meanwhile, will make it easier for drivers to use the vehicle, especially in traffic or on the long trips Leaf will now be capable of taking.
The automaker isn’t saying a lot about how e-Pedal works, other than to say it is activated “with the flip of a switch,” The system, it adds, “allow(s) drivers to accelerate, decelerate and stop” just using the one pedal. The new version of the Leaf will even be able to stop on a hill without having to jump one’s foot from throttle to brake.
(Nissan plans to double the number of vehicles with automatic emergency braking. Click Here for the story.)
Nissan isn’t the first automaker to attempt to come up with a one-foot driving solution. A number of battery-electric vehicles, as well as some plug-in hybrids, can be switched to a more aggressive version of brake regeneration. (On the Chevrolet Bolt that’s done by pressing on paddles that replace a conventional car’s paddle-shifters). This acts something like downshifting, and while it doesn’t actually apply the brakes it can still slow you enough that you might not move your right foot until you need to come to a complete stop or in a panic situation.
Nissan is implying that you might not need to use the brakes unless there really is a panic situation. We’ll have to wait until the launch of the new Leaf to see how – and how effectively – e-Pedal works.
One big question is whether it relies, at least in part, on another new technology set to make its debut in the all-new Leaf makeover. That’s ProPilot Assist, and it’s the next step in Nissan’s plan to incorporate increasingly sophisticated driver assistance technologies in its vehicles, with the goal of launching truly autonomous products by the beginning of the coming decade.
Though not designed to be used hands-free, ProPilot Assist relies on radar and camera sensors to help it hold its lane and maintain the flow of traffic, going a step beyond today’s active cruise control technology.
We’ll be testing the new ProPilot Assist technology and plan to publish a report on how well it works on Friday.
As for the Nissan Leaf itself, the Japanese maker says it will reveal the next-generation electric vehicle on September 5th.
(Tesla launches Model 3 production, adding more service centers across country. Click Here for the story.)