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The advantages of owning a Nissan ePower vehicle

Nissan’s ePower is new, but here to stay for quite a while. For countries like the Philippines, the new powertrain technology is something of a revelation.

Earl Lee on May 09, 2023

Nissan ePower is perhaps one of the best breakthroughs for emerging markets like the Philippines where electric vehicle infrastructure isn’t quite mature, at least not yet. For the transitionary period, there is no better time to look at Nissan ePower as a viable alternative to gasoline-only vehicles, as it blends the best of both worlds through some clever engineering and real-world practicality.

While the rest of the country is still charging up, so to speak, for the electric transition, gasoline and diesel are still running in the Philippines and it doesn’t look like a majority of drivers and car owners will be making the switch this early in the game. That’s why ePower is so perfect of a transition but in a more approachable and less range-anxiety-driving package.

No chargers, no worries

The chief complaint of many people in the Philippines for the time being is the lack of charging facilities. For now, charging stations are limited to city centers and notable cities. Gasoline stations still pervade the land in between the stations, with only a few chargers spread thin.

Is it a hybrid?

Not really, or rather, not exactly. Hybrids are parallel to each other when it comes to powering the car and propelling it forward. Hybrid cars’ wheels are connected to electric and gasoline motors, so the vehicle can move under the power of either. While this is the most sensible and the most common way that hybrids are made, Nissan thought a bit differently when it came to ePower technology.

The thought process behind ePower and why it’s “better” than a hybrid is that each part of the system has one job instead of doing double duty like standard parallel hybrid systems. In a parallel hybrid, the gasoline motor can be used to charge the battery and run the car which can lead to more fuel consumption or more stress on the engine. While that doesn’t mean that the motor will be less reliable, it’s certainly a consideration if you’re really picking at your fuel consumption. So with that in mind, the ePower technology gives the gasoline engine a singular task, and that is to charge the car’s batteries when needed, while the electric motor is the only one powering the wheels.

With the engine and the electric motor tasked each with just one thing to do, then each part is more specialized than the other, which may allow the technology to be more efficient and smoother than a traditional hybrid system. Instead of actively switching between electricity and gasoline, a process that is relatively smooth, you get all-electric power with ePower.

Traditional maintenance, well mostly

Like a hybrid system, you get a gasoline motor and an electric motor plus a battery pack. Unlike a traditional hybrid system, the engine is not connected to the wheels and is tasked with generating electricity for the battery pack and the electric motor. This results in the elimination of traditional gearboxes in favor of a single-speed reduction gearbox which is typically found in electric motors. You will have to still worry about the odd oil change once in a while, but the engine shouldn’t have as many hours on in given that the car is charged enough to warrant an engine-off drive.

Electric motors require little to no maintenance over the course of the car’s life. Batteries need to be checked by the service center, system updates, and other things as well, but most of the driving system on the car isn’t too complex thanks to electricity. Generally speaking, engine components will be generally less stressed, as subjecting the motor to heavy loads can cause problems to arise eventually, but with ePower, the simple electric motor assumes all of the load.

As electric as possible without the range anxiety

One of the key conveniences when using a traditional gasoline or diesel vehicle is the fact that you can just buy fuel anywhere and get back your full range right away. Electric vehicles require that you plan out your trips before you take out the car, even if the advertised range is quite far. Nobody wants to feel like their car is on its last drop of tank or milliamps of charge, but only gasoline and diesel vehicles have the “express card” back to full range.

Now, if the prospect of an electric car intrigues you, but you don’t want any of the anxiety, then the ePower platform is perfect for that since the gasoline motor has enough grunt to power the charger and the drive wheels at the same time. You get the instant torque, but with the anxiety-free driving experience, and get to save a ton of fuel on top of everything. For starters, the Kicks was able to achieve 16.7 km/L in our testing in the city, otherwise, the model tends to do fairly well on the highway at 22 km/L.

Future models

Nissan made it clear that ePower will be part of its lineup on the way to full electric mobility. While it may seem like a short-sighted interim thing in the grand scheme of things, these cars are still built with Nissan’s engineering, technical know-how, and quality, and the brand has more models going the ePower route.

We’re excited to experience more Nissan ePower models. The Kicks heralded the introduction of the technology in the Philippines and Nissan has been grabbing a number of headlines ever since. Other brands have their parallel hybrids, but Nissan’s is one that really deviates from the traditional formula and is all the better for it, well at least if you ask owners and us in particular.

The benefits of ePower

The urge to go full electric is certainly getting stronger by the day, but try as you might, it could be a challenge to simply reacclimate to a charger when a gasoline station is just around the corner. For conservative early adopters or simply people that want an efficient and practical automobile, then perhaps it’s worth considering an ePower model from the Nissan stable.

On top of all of this, you will also be leaving a smaller carbon footprint, consuming less gasoline on your journey all while enjoying the instantaneous torque of an electric motor. For now, at least, Nissan ePower is a great solution for buyers that want to experience electric mobility when their world is just not yet ready for the future.

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