Nissan Qashqai e-Power

THE Nissan Qashqai received much more aggressive styling and new Google-backed tech as part of its extensive midlife facelift last year, but there were no changes under the bonnet at the time. However, the next evolution of the company’s e-Power hybrid system is now finally ready to be rolled out later this month.

- Ellis Hyde [e-mail]

The unique setup is designed to give as close to an EV-like driving experience as possible — without any worries about range or charging — by using only an electric motor to drive the front wheels. The petrol engine acts solely as a generator to charge a 1.8kWh battery, which in turn powers the e-motor.

For the third iteration of e-Power, Nissan has designed an all-new five-in-one electric drive unit that shares its core components with the latest Leaf EV. With everything in one unit, not only is the system now more efficient, it also emits less noise and vibrations to help improve refinement.

There's also a new, dedicated 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with a larger turbocharger, so the motor doesn't rev as high on the motorway, further boosting refinement and efficiency, while Nissan's ‘STARC combustion concept’ supposedly improves thermal efficiency by up to 42 per cent. At the same time, Nissan has also increased the service intervals from 9,000 to 12,000 miles, so buyers will save money on maintenance.