Nissan reveals more Qashqai details
Mild-hybrid and half-electric e-Power versions of the new Nissan Qashqai.
The new Nissan Qashqai, a car more or less guaranteed to hit the top of the best sellers lists, is imminent and while Nissan isn t quite ready to show off the car in its entirety, it is letting us in on a few more of the Qashqai s technical secrets.
e-Power range extender hybrid
The biggest of which is the new e-Power version. Now, this isn t quite an electric version of the Qashqai, but equally, it kind of is. Basically, it s a range extender hybrid, but one that s never driven, directly, by its petrol engine. Instead, there s an electric motor and a small battery that drive the car, and that battery is kept topped up by a petrol engine.
The all-new 2021 Qashqai is about to hit the European market and Nissan decided to share more information about its hybrid-only powertrain range before its official market launch later this year.
We already knew that the new Qashqai will be the company’s first model to offer an e-Power range-extender powertrain in Europe, but now we have more details on it. The same model should make its appearance in North America as the new Rogue Sport, although it remains to be confirmed if it’ll use the same powertrains.
Nissan’s approach to electrification is rather different than most automakers as it opted for range-extender powertrains instead of the more traditional plug-in hybrids. Unlike the latter, the ICE engine isn’t connected to the wheels but rather acts as a charging device for the onboard battery, giving the vehicle the driving characteristics of an EV and, according to Nissan, superior fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions.