Nissan reveals all-new electric LEAF

Nissan has debuted its all-new LEAF electric car. And the headlines are: greater range, more advanced driving technology and improved performance.

Powered by a 40kWh lithium-ion battery, the new LEAF promises a total possible range of 400km, up from the 250km range available on the previous 30kWh model.

Confirming last month’s leaked reports, the 2018 LEAF also offers improved performance. The new EV’s electric motor boasts an increase in power output to 110kW -- 38 per cent more than the last-generation LEAF.

While acceleration times were not detailed at the vehicle’s launch, Nissan says it will be improved from the outgoing model’s 8sec 0-100km/h sprint time thanks to a 26 per cent increase in torque to 320Nm.

The newly-designed LEAF features a sleeker aerodynamic design based on the 2015 Concept IDS. Nissan claims the LEAF’s new design was created to mirror high-tech devices and is a reflection of the increased technology offered by the next-generation of the world’s best-selling electric car.

The design rework also includes a number of ergonomic improvements including the relocation of the vehicle’s charging port to enable easier operation.

Despite the increased capacity of the LEAF’s battery, which offers 67 per cent more energy storage that the original LEAF, engineers have retained the same overall dimensions as the old LEAF battery.

This has enabled Nissan to keep the LEAF’s five-seat capability as well as focusing on making the electric five-door hatch a more liveable proposition. Ergo, luggage capacity has been increased to 435-litres – a reasonable figure for a normal C-segment hatch.

Safety is a key pillar of LEAF development. A suite of technologies, dubbed Nissan Safety Shield, includes intelligent lane intervention, lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert and a 360-degree camera.

Stealing a page from Tesla’s playbook, the all-new Nissan LEAF also makes significant gains in the areas of advanced driver assistance and connected car technologies too.

Nissan PROpilot is expected to be included as standard fitment in all LEAF models. Already announced through pre-release video demo, PROpilot includes adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality and lane-keeping assistance to offer a semi-autonomous drive mode.

Combined with the new Nissan e-Pedal, Nissan claims drivers who regularly encounter heavy traffic during their commute will experience reduced fatigue through the operation of the single pedal which acts effectively as both an accelerator and brake through its on/off operation.

While the LEAF is equipped with a conventional brake pedal for emergency situations, Nissan says the car will come to a complete stop once the driver's foot is lifted from the e-Pedal, negating the need to employ the brake pedal. It estimates that 90 per cent of driving time will be spent solely using the e-Pedal.

The new LEAF also features Nissan’s PROpilot Park, an automated parking technology that manages not only the steering effort as in most systems but will also take over acceleration, braking and transmission functions to navigate the car into a parking spot.

The system is supported by four high-resolution cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors positioned around the car that work with advanced image processing technology to manage various parking manoeuvres, including parallel parking.

Strengthening the interaction between driver, car and charging network, NissanConnect enables intelligent charging of the LEAF. In vehicle-to-home systems, the LEAF is able to operate as a stationary power source, absorbing excess solar power during the day to then power the home in the evening. Owners can also power the LEAF with off-peak electricity at night time, and then use that electricity to power their home during the day.

In countries that offer vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems, LEAF owners are incentivised by energy companies to improve the stability of the grid by helping to manage spikes in power demand.

Smartphone integration is improved with the addition of Apple CarPlay in vehicles equipped with navigation, while the LEAF smartphone app has been updated with a new interface which enables drivers to check the vehicle’s charge status, locate free charging bays, schedule optimum charging times and pre-heat or cool the car before setting off.

A number of charging options will be available to customers, with charge times varying from 16 hours on a 3kW charger to eight hours on a 6kW connection. Using a fast-charger, Nissan says the new LEAF can be charged to 80 per cent of capacity in just 40 minutes.

The 2018 LEAF goes on sale in Japan next month priced from 3,150,360 Yen – approximately $A36,230.

Australian pricing and specifications are yet to be announced, and first local deliveries are not due here until the second half of 2018.