Nissan Note e-POWER 2020 Review

At a busy intersection in Odaiba, one of many man-made islets in Tokyo Bay, traffic is heavier than a truck full of Acme-brand anvils. This is not an ideal situation because our camera man, Damo, wants a clear shot of the car for the video.

I'm at the front of the queue and the traffic lights blink green. Only one thing for it – go time!

Mashing the accelerator pedal, the compact car blasts forward with unexpected ferocity, instant EV torque giving it big-car acceleration off the line.

But for a moment there's some mental confusion. It's fast off the line but too quiet to be a hybrid. The petrol engine histrionics usually found in parallel hybrids – where the petrol and electric motors work in tandem – is simply not there in this series hybrid.

The Nissan Note e-POWER hides a small 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine (58kW/103Nm) in its tiny engine bay but it's not connected with the front wheels – only the electric motor (80kW/250Nm) is.

Again, this sees it drive very differently (read: better, smoother and more responsive) to popular hybrids from Toyota, such as the RAV4 and Corolla. It's basically a range-extender EV in operation.

With the petrol engine isolated from the driveline, serving only to wait on the electric motor hand and foot, the Nissan Note e-POWER electric motor has more mumbo than its petrol engine delivers alone, the electric spinner pumping out a handy 80kW of power and 250Nm of torque.

By the time the car reaches 40km/h, right foot firmly planted, no engine noises materialise as in conventional hybrids. At 60km/h it's still running on pure electricity, the only sound being Damo's muffled cursing as I miss a left-hand turn... we'll fix that in post-production.

After another couple of minutes driving the petrol 'generator' kicks in, when battery gets low on charge. Then after a minute or so it shuts down again. But what's a little odd is that the noise of the petrol motor has no relation to acceleration.

It's disconcerting at first but you get used to it. Just as we did in the BMW i3 ‘REX’, which is no longer sold Down Under.

The series hybrid set-up works tremendously effectively and is also similar in concept to the orphaned and expensive $60,000 Holden Volt, without plug-in capability.

The Volt was clearly ahead of its time because in 2020s Australia, a solution like this – with a sharp price – should sell well if it wasn’t rudely priced.

During this test the trip computer reading indicated a 700km range, which is pretty good given the flogging it copped at the traffic lights.

With a theoretical range of more than 1000km per tank of fuel (47 litres), the only range anxiety you'll experience is choosing which model grade to go for.

After shooting for the video is wrapped, allowing for a more thorough assessment, driving the Note hybrid around one of the world's most dynamic megacities is a surprisingly edifying exercise.

The punchy electric motor with 250Nm gives it excellent drive from zero to 60km/h, making the traffic-light tango a delightfully satisfying dance in this innocuous little sleeper.

While acceleration drops off a little when you pass 80km/h, the Nissan Note e-POWER sits happily at 100km/h (and beyond) on the elevated expressways that loop around Tokyo.

For all intents and purposes the Note e-POWER is an EV – it offers the same torquey, (mostly) silent operation as full EVs, only it has a tiny 1.5kWh battery which makes it far cheaper.

By comparison, the Hyundai Kona Electric has a 64kWh battery pack – and it costs three times as much.

Give or take, the hybrid elements adds around $4000 to the Note's sub-$20,000 asking price in Japan, which I reckon is a bargain.

Ride comfort is pretty good, the steering is light and although the turning circle of 10.4 metres kerb-to-kerb can't match the Toyota Yaris, the Nissan Note is easy to navigate through the tighter confines of Odaiba and beyond.

The basics are solid too; upright windows provide excellent vision and it comes with all the mod cons you'd expect of a car that's measures slightly longer than a Toyota Yaris, and a bit shorter than a Toyota Corolla.

We're talking touch-screen infotainment system with sat-nav and Bluetooth connectivity, electric windows and mirrors, keyless entry, decent cup holders, and a good stereo and instrumentation.

The only give-away that this is not a regular Japanese compact car is the funky spherical gearshifter, borrowed from the Nissan LEAF.

Interior room is very good, with lots of leg and head room for front and rear seat passengers. Like the Honda Jazz, it has a tall-ish body which creates a pleasant sense of spaciousness.

The car we tested has a manually-operated hand brake, showing its age (there's a new-generation model around the corner), it does allow for shenanigans… something you should never do in downtown Tokyo.

There's so much to like about this car. It's charming, practical, ultra-efficient and drives like an EV.

Better yet, if you wan't more mumbo there's even a NISMO S version of the Note e-POWER hybrid, packing a 100kW/320Nm electric motor that delivers less eco-friendly but improved (and tyre-frying) performance.

At the end of the day, I asked myself this question: What's the lesser of two evils – an EV powered by petrol that charges on the run or an EV powered by coal that takes an hour or two to charge the battery pack?

Unless you live in Tasmania or have a killer (and costly) solar set-up, many Australians will be charging their EVs with dirty coal too. I'm leaning towards the convenience of petrol, largely because of the charging times.

The Nissan Note is currently sold in the UK as well as Japan and it wouldn't be a stretch to see it on Aussie roads in future.

While this particular hybrid is unlikely to be offered in Australia any time soon, the next-generation Nissan Note e-POWER most certainly could, offering an appealing and significantly more affordable alternative to the current crop of $45,000-plus EVs.

How much does the 2020 Nissan Note e-POWER cost?
Price: $23,000 (approx)
Available: TBC
Engine: 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol, electric motor
Battery: 1.5kWh
Output: 80kW/250Nm
Transmission: Single-speed
Fuel: 2.7L/100km
CO2: N/A