Oct 14, 2011
- Among the eco-friendly goodies Nissan debuted this week in Japan is a new 2.5-liter hybrid system for front-drive vehicles that will appear in the U.S. within two years, most likely on the Altima and Rogue.
- Nissan confirmed that a "new hybrid vehicle" using its own 2.5-liter system will appear in North America in 2013.
- It also showed off an improved Xtronic continuously variable transmission that's a key part of its front-drive hybrid.
- Nissan also demonstrated a "smart" new wireless charging system for its all-electric Leaf.
Among the eco-friendly goodies Nissan debuted here this week is a new 2.5-liter hybrid system for front-drive vehicles that will appear in the U.S. within two years, most likely on the Altima and Rogue.
The system was developed in-house and was revealed at Nissan's Oppama technical center.
To create the new hybrid, Nissan reworked the rear-drive system from the Infiniti M35h hybrid. Underneath, the Infiniti's single electric motor and twin-clutch layout, plus compact lithium-ion battery, stays the same.
But the gas engine now switches to a more compact supercharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. The new setup boosts low-end torque and improves fuel economy, Nissan said. The new hybrid delivers the power of a 3.5-liter but with much better city/highway fuel economy.
To get a start in the hybrid race, Nissan created the original Altima hybrid as a stop-gap using Toyota technology. Neither side was ecstatic about the deal. Now Nissan confirms that a "new hybrid vehicle" using its own 2.5-liter system will appear in North America in 2013, followed by global markets.
Nissan also revealed an improved Xtronic continuously variable transmission that's another key part of its new front-drive hybrid.
Nissan is claiming up to 10 percent fuel-economy gains with this new CVT that has been designed for 2.0-3.5-liter engines and will first launch in the US in 2012, ahead of the hybrid.
Automotive media tried the new CVT in an Altima development mule at Oppama. While high on efficiency, CVTs don't always match well to high engine rpm but on this showing, Nissan has gone a long way to closing that gap with this responsive new transmission.
Looking further ahead, Nissan continues to investigate the viability of fuel cell electric vehicles, and its latest fuel stack shows the rapid speed of development.
Dramatically downsized and 2.5 times more efficient than the previous Nissan stack seen in 2005, the stack also uses just a quarter of the parts and costs have been slashed to just one sixth, said an engineer. Nissan is still planning to have a fuel-cell car on the road after 2015.
Nissan also demonstrated a "smart" new wireless charging system for its all-electric Leaf. Conventional EVs are charged using a cable but here the car simply parks over a charging unit and battery replenishing automatically begins.
The system is still being tested but is due to appear "within a few years," said Nissan. While the wireless system doesn't make battery charging any quicker, it certainly makes the process a whole lot easier and more convenient.
Nissan also debuted some safety innovations, including an accelerator suppression system.
Source: Insideline.com
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