We’re all familiar with hybrids but Nissan has taken it a step further with what they call e-Power.
It’s electric, but not exactly EV and makes a lot of sense as a bridging system between the internal combustion engine and full EV. The basics are essentially a combination of an engine, a generator, inverters, a battery and electric motors that all combine to hussle you along.
We got to try it out in Ljubljana, Slovenia with the world launch of the Nissan X-Trail e-Power e-4orce, and you can watch our video review at the top of this story (video editing by Justin Jacobs).
As the name suggests, it’s an all-wheel-drive fitted to the X-Trail which has gone back to its original roots of being an SUV rather than the previous generation’s crossover look.
Power begins with a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine producing 116kW and 250Nm that’s connected to a generator supplying energy to a pair of inverters.
The inverters in turn feed a 2.1kWh (1.73kWh usable) Lithium-ion battery that powers an electric motor on each axle. These motors produce 150kW (front) and 100kW (rear) and 330Nm and 195Nm of torque respectively, providing a combined output of 157kW and 525Nm of torque available as soon as you press the accelerator.
According to Nissan, 100km/h is reached in 7.0 seconds and it tops out at 180km/h, not bad for a vehicle the size of the X-Trail.
It's a pretty complicated system, keeping in mind that there’s no mechanical connection or transmission connected to the engine situated in the front of the car, with Nissan claiming a combined fuel consumption of 6.1l/100km.
Much of our driving route was over a number of narrow mountain passes which required a bit more acceleration to keep up momentum, which resulted in consumption readouts of between 7.8l/100km and 8.6l/100km, but on a stretch of highway it quickly settled down to 6.6l/100km when we stopped.
Consumption is aided by aerodynamic features including “3D” tyre deflectors in the lower front fascia, an active grille shutter to control air flow to the engine bay, special A-pillar shaping, underbody covers to manage airflow and an “air curtain” that directs air flow from the front to the sides of the car.
There’s also a front-wheel-drive version with the same specs as the front motor of the e-4force.
A nifty bit of engineering around the battery located under the passenger seat keeps it cool. It’s an air-cooled battery that draws air from the cabin beneath the passenger seat passing over the cells and then exits from behind the C-pillar.
The new X-Trail is slightly shorter but higher and wider and weighs less thanks to a plastic-formed rear door, aluminium doors and bonnet and a tyre repair kit rather than a spare wheel because the space is used for the rear axle motor.
Nissan has gone up-market, with the interior showcasing new premium leather-type materials, the top level of the floating centre console featuring the e-shifter, drive mode selector and wireless charging pad.
Underneath the console is a handy storage area for larger items.
Nissan says customer research shows a preference for easy-to-use core functions and as a result the temperature controls and buttons for the touchscreen functions for audio and navigation are, thankfully, easily reached and changed with the touch of a button.
Are you listening, VW?
As you would expect, there’s a plethora of connectivity including Apple CarPlay (wireless) and Android Auto and tech reached via the easy-to-use 12.3-inch NissanConnect infotainment screen as well as in-car WiFi for seven devices, NissanConnect services and a Nissan app to interact with and monitor the vehicle.
Behind the steering wheel it’s also all digital with a 12.3-inch TFT configurable screen to display navigation, entertainment, traffic or vehicle information controlled from the steering wheel.
There’s a larger than usual 10.8-inch head-up display that allows a lot of information to be shown.
The clever people in white coats at Nissan have designed the rear doors to open almost 90 degrees, allowing for easy access, installation of child seats or loading bulkier items.
They’ve also fitted integrated sun-blinds to keep rear passengers comfortable on hot, sunny days.
Also available with a third row of seats designed to take passengers up to 1.6 metres tall, the second row moves forward a generous amount to allow those in the rear to be relatively comfortable over shorter distances. With the third row folded down, luggage space is rated at 585 litres.
With roads becoming more and more cluttered, safety and driver aids are becoming indispensable and the X-Trail comes to the party with an updated ProPILOT assistance system.
It’s adaptive cruise control that’s able to brake the vehicle to a stop and resume again after three seconds when traffic flows again. It’s also able to adapt the car’s speed by reading road signs and navigation system speed limit data as well as adjust speed for approaching curves in the road.
Driving the X-Trail is more EV than hybrid, which is exactly what Nissan wanted.
Don’t expect that immediate EV torque pull away to push your head into the headrest from EVs with more powerful batteries. Instead, power delivery is smooth and linear and at highway speeds there’s no engine noise to be heard.
You do hear the engine, though accompanied by a CVT-esque noise when you press it hard, something Nissan says they designed to be piped into the cabin to provide more of an ICE experience and appeal. The engine is limited to 2 400 rpm to keep it functioning optimally in order to charge the battery so it’s not really irritatingly intrusive.
You can also drive in EV mode up to 90km/h or until more power is needed. We tested it through various towns and it didn’t revert back to EV mode once you slowed down, requiring the button to be pushed again.
Fitted with 20-inch alloy wheels, the ride was outstanding bearing in mind that even the roads through hamlets in Slovenia are smooth and well maintained, unlike anything you’re likely to encounter locally.
Road and wind noise were barely audible even at the highway speeds of 130km/h, commendable for a vehicle the size and shape of the X-Trail.
Given the likely application of the vehicle, there’s still a reasonable amount of steering feel and feedback, and when switching to Sport mode the drive becomes more engaging thanks to the instant torque to all four wheels and sharper throttle response.
Heading into and out of some sweeping bends and tight hairpins there’s very little body roll despite being just over 1 900kg courtesy of an updated front Macpherson strut set-up and an advanced multi-link set-up in the rear.
Torque vectoring comes into play using the brakes, allowing the X-Trail to nip around corners faster than you would expect from a family SUV, applying traction as needed on either side of the axle.
There’s decent regeneration from the brakes when driving normally with additional regen modes that include B mode and e-Pedal.
B-mode is selected on the e-shifter and allows up to .15g of regenerative deceleration while the e-Pedal button is activated by pushing a button giving .2g of regenerative braking. It doesn’t bring the car to a complete stop with deceleration ending at about 10km/h which Nissan says is what customer feedback said owners preferred.
Cleverly vehicle pitch and dive under these circumstances has been reduced by adding regenerative braking via the rear motor as well. In Eco mode the X-trail coasts without any regen.
With power going to all four wheels, there’s an off-road mode offering with a 50:50 torque split between front and rear with more gentle throttle inputs.
Nissan had converted a moto-cross track into a not-too-hectic off-road circuit to display its off-road prowess.
Some axle twisters, steep gradients, hill descent, full throttle pull away and hard braking, soft sand drifting and driving up a hill with one side on slippery logs showed that it was more than capable of tackling these conditions.
You’re not going to be doing serious 4x4 trail riding or traipsing over Lesotho donkey trails, but you will get to places far enough from the madding crowd, even though it has ground clearance of only 205mm as a result of a battery protector under the vehicle.
There’s no word yet from Nissan SA if or whether the Nissan X-Trail e-Power e-4orce will be available in South Africa any time soon. There are a lot of permutations that have to be considered before a final decision is made including pricing, volume demand and exchange rates.
For now at least it makes sense for Nissan to bring in the four cylinder 2.5-litre ICE engine with 135kW and 244Nm, most likely in Q2 next year.