News reports out of Yokohama

WSJ report on test drive:

http://online.wsj.com/video/driving-nissan-electric-vehicle/B1BE12AB-A1AD-4562-B3F0-CEC35E42A9EF.html?mod=WSJ_Autos_VideoModule_1

johnr said:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIxdbM4IvSw[/youtube]

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Traducir, por favor!

mwalsh said:

WSJ report on test drive:

http://online.wsj.com/video/driving-nissan-electric-vehicle/B1BE12AB-A1AD-4562-B3F0-CEC35E42A9EF.html?mod=WSJ_Autos_VideoModule_1

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That report sucked except for the look under the hood. Come on, "journalists".. no high res photos of that? :roll:

Source: WSJ Video



Both the 'passenger side/firewall' probable coolant bottle and the driver side/front 'poss power steering fluid' bottle have pressure lids and overflow lines. Could the motor and inverter/charger have separate coolant systems?

The first thing I'll do as part of the weight-shedding process is to build an 11 pound LiFePO4 aux battery to replace the lead-acid lump.

Bicster said:

That report sucked except for the look under the hood. Come on, "journalists".. no high res photos of that? :roll:

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Thats a bored journalist doing a "job" - we should wait for enthusiasts' reports ...

BTW, the photo under the hood is first of its kind. Earlier ones we got were covered.

AndyH, thanks for that screen grab.

Anyone else surprised that the 12V battery looks like a full size car battery? The EV1 just used a little SLA battery, didn't it?

Is this a totally "new" under-the-hood layout?

Isn't the "power" steering all electric, not hydraulic?

Yes, the 12v battery looks HUGE, so there must be something
that we have not yet been told, to require such a large battery.

garygid said:

Yes, the 12v battery looks HUGE, so there must be something
that we have not yet been told, to require such a large battery.

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From the looks of some of Nissan's recent slides, they kinda blew the power budget on their Nav/Audio system. Maybe that's why.

GM claims the system in the Volt uses a lot less power than a typical automotive audio systems, whereas Nissan seemingly admits theirs is a power hog. The difference may be in whether GM includes Nav and other dash displays in that measurement.

garygid said:

Do the backs (of the back seats) fold forward, or back, or both?

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Just forward, I would think.

Nubo said:

johnr said:

Traducir, por favor!

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That's a reporter for a Spanish automobile magazine talking. He didn't really say anything new. Basically just his impression that although it's electric it drives very much like any other car in its class, and might especially appeal to those in their 50s or 60s who are looking into getting an electric car. He mentioned that it would soon be available for sale in Mexico. My Spanish is not that good though really If you listen very carefully the last few seconds of the video I think I can hear the VSP come on, it's not particularly noticeable.

johnr said:

If you listen very carefully the last few seconds of the video I think I can hear the VSP come on, it's not particularly noticeable.

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You think? I was under the impression that was the turn signal.

garygid said:

Is this a totally "new" under-the-hood layout?

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Have we actually seen a production under hood layout? (Inverter size and placement seems to be close to the cut-away images we saw earlier.)

garygid said:

Isn't the "power" steering all electric, not hydraulic?

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Standard power steering uses a engine-mounted hydraulic pump. Electric systems with which I'm aware use an electric hydraulic pump, but they're still hydraulic. Somewhere in 'internet land' (blogger or Nissan? I don't recall) there's a suggestion that the Leaf uses a steer by wire system. This could be done with an all electric system or an electrohydraulic system. Dunno. http://www.indiacar.com/infobank/epc.htm

edit: Nissan's Technology FAQ <-link says the steering uses a solid shaft with electric speed-sending power assist. (Thanks for the no-steer by wire nudge, Johnr!)

garygid said:

Yes, the 12v battery looks HUGE, so there must be something
that we have not yet been told, to require such a large battery.

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I tried to get a sense of scale but the inverter looks much smaller than others I've seen in OEM EVs. It appears the battery is much smaller than the beast in my diesel car, though. :lol:

As an aside, this is a friend's Ranger EV on ebay. This and other vehicles (S10, Hughes/Electricar S10/Prizm, etc.) use standard starting batteries for the 12V aux battery. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...592140578&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:VRI

-- The recharging cable is stored in a backpacklike bag tethered to the side of the trunk.

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Guess I'll leave mine in the garage since that's the only place I'll be needing it any time soon!

-- There is a large circuit-breaker switch on the back seat floor for emergency power shutdown.

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On the back seat floor? Better make sure the kids are securely seat belted in.

StrangerTides said:

-- The recharging cable is stored in a backpacklike bag tethered to the side of the trunk.

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Guess I'll leave mine in the garage since that's the only place I'll be needing it any time soon!

-- There is a large circuit-breaker switch on the back seat floor for emergency power shutdown.

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On the back seat floor? Better make sure the kids are securely seat belted in.

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You would be wise to keep the 120V charging cord IN the car, if you run out of power on the road, that will be the only way to get the vehicle charged up, short of a tow home. It is designed to stay with the car.

I'm sure the circuit breaker has a cover or interlock, and you can't just "kick" it off by accident.

mwalsh said:

Anyone notice that it looks like they've stolen some trunk space for that deal behind the rear seat. Wonder if that contains additional battery modules beyond the ones that were in the proto?

Before:

After:

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This matches the red lines on this image that always confused me since it was different than the photos of the car that they were parading around. Now they seem to match up with the big hump. It still does not explain why this hump was added. It should add some structural rigidity to the chassis, but was that necessary? It does not look like it will be possible to make a large flat area in the back with this setup.

Nothing massively new here....basically a summation of the stuff we've already seen today:

http://nissan-leaf.net/2010/06/15/first-leaf-test-drives-begin/

mwalsh said:

johnr said:

If you listen very carefully the last few seconds of the video I think I can hear the VSP come on, it's not particularly noticeable.

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You think? I was under the impression that was the turn signal.

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The clicking sound is the turn signal, but in the last few seconds before the car stops there's a barely audible sound like a fan whirring, and it stops when the power button is pressed. As I said, barely audible. I'm not even sure it's the VSP, but I think it might be, as it fades on when the car begins to slow down sufficiently and the sound changes as it slows down. On a side note, there are a couple times in the video when the car is accelerating and you can hear the electric motor, it's very quiet but the sound is there, that is like music to my ears

AndyH said:

Somewhere in 'internet land' (blogger or Nissan? I don't recall) there's a suggestion that the Leaf uses a steer by wire system. This could be done with an all electric system or an electrohydraulic system. Dunno. http://www.indiacar.com/infobank/epc.htm

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The Leaf uses electric power steering, but it is *not* steer-by-wire. Sorry I don't remember where I read it, but it is official from Nissan that it is not by wire.

Here is another test drive story.
http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/first-drive-nissan-electric-car-20100616-ye5b.html
It is written by an Australian who is a bit more critical of the Leaf than the earlier stories posted here.

Here is another test drive report.
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/D511AD0089C68A6ECA25774300236501

thimel said:

Here is another test drive report.
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/D511AD0089C68A6ECA25774300236501

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Sometimes I wonder what these guys really know / understand .... that expert who flew all the way to Japan to test drive Leaf thinks Volt & Leaf have the same range.

Nissan claims the Leaf has a real-world range of 160km – similar to GM’s Volt, which will go on sale in Australia as a Holden in 2012 – and Nissan says the Leaf has a top speed of more than 140km/h.

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johnr said:

AndyH said:

Somewhere in 'internet land' (blogger or Nissan? I don't recall) there's a suggestion that the Leaf uses a steer by wire system. This could be done with an all electric system or an electrohydraulic system. Dunno. http://www.indiacar.com/infobank/epc.htm

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The Leaf uses electric power steering, but it is *not* steer-by-wire. Sorry I don't remember where I read it, but it is official from Nissan that it is not by wire.

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Edited - thanks! Nissan FAQ says solid steering shaft with electric power assist.