Test-drive the new Nissan ePower and support Pieta House

Test-drive the exciting new Nissan ePower in Nenagh next week and you will also be supporting Pieta House.

Nissan ePower test-drive week starts on Monday next, May 22. Nenagh-based Donal Ryan Motor Group has decided to donate €5 for every test drive taken between then and May 31 to Pieta House, the national therapy service for people feeling suicidal or self-harming.

Not only that, but every customer who takes a Nissan Qashqai ePower for a test-drive is also in with a chance to win a Qashqai ePower as part of a Nissan Ireland nationwide competition.

The ePower is Nissan's unique electric-drive powertrain that integrates a gasoline engine and motor. Since the engine only generates electricity and the system is 100% driven by a high-output motor, it is possible to enjoy the driving experience of an electric vehicle (EV).

The e-Power utilises motor control technology cultivated in past EV development activities, powertrain integration technology, and energy management technology. By changing the combination of electric-drive motors and power-generation engines, it delivers quiet driving with excellent response over a wide range of vehicles, from compact cars to minivans and SUVs.

A QUIET DRIVE

Since e-Power is 100% motor-driven, it provides a responsive and powerful driving experience by taking advantage of the characteristic that the motor can generate maximum torque from when it starts. The system can freely control engine start timing because the engine is not directly connected to the wheels.

It provides very quiet driving with reduced engine operation time by driving the vehicle with just the motor from start to low/mid-range speed and starting the engine and generating electricity in fast speed areas with elevated road noise. It also achieves low fuel consumption because it generates electricity at efficient engine RPM.

The e-Power system is comprised of a high-voltage battery and the powertrain, which is integrated with a high-power motor, inverter, gasoline engine, and a generator. In conventional hybrid systems, the wheels are driven by an electric motor and a gasoline engine. However, in the e-Power system, the wheels are driven by a high-output electric motor, like an EV.

Since the engine connected to the generator only charges the battery and does not directly drive the wheels, it is possible to freely set the start timing and efficient RPM. Generated electricity charges the high-voltage battery and directly drives the motor.

The second-generation e-Power system delivers an attractive experience over a wide range of vehicles from compact cars to minivans and SUVs with a compact and high-output integrated inverter and motor and optimal engine combinations.

The e-Power system in compact cars is in a compact engine room with a 1.2L engine. Despite the low-displacement engine, this system realises motor-driven performance that generates high torque from when it starts and beyond-class powerful, smooth acceleration.

For minivans, Nissan developed a dedicated e-POWER engine that realises EV-like driving even with a heavy vehicle body. By using a dedicated e-Power engine, it is possible to have an optimal design that factors in integration and realises high-unit rigidity.

Nissan curtails engine vibration through a synergy effect with a primary balancer shaft and flexible flywheel. Hence, it delivers excellent quietness even at times with high engine RPM for situations requiring large amounts of power generation, such as passing another vehicle.

For SUVs, Nissan simultaneously achieves overwhelming power and excellent quietness at a high level by combining the e-Power system with its proprietary variable compression ratio engine (VC turbo engine). Combined use of the engine and turbocharger enables the vehicle to deliver high torque on a par with a large displacement engine, despite the 1.5L, small-displacement engine that it has, by lowering the compression ratio and raising boost pressure, such as when driving at full throttle. Delivery of a high power-generation capacity at low RPM with this design provides quiet and comfortable driving in all situations.