Photo: SB-Medien
Combining the Prius with a small crossover is what seemingly everybody wants to do these days, even Toyota. Another report came in today suggesting that the Juke will go down the electrification route, although the novelty is that we'll catch a cool glimpse of what's happening at the Tokyo Auto Show in October this year.
A few days ago, we talked about how the Nissan Juke replacement might not offer any diesel engines, adding that more efficient gasoline units won't necessarily exclude the hybrid route. Now, a report from Car and Driver sketches out a clearer picture with a proposed Juke "e-Power" concept that's less than a year away.
So far, there's only one e-Power Nissan, the Japanese Note, which uses its 1.2-liter engine as a generator for the electric motor. Think of it like a Chevy Volt, only without the plug. The aforementioned report states clearly that the concept crossover will borrow that powertrain, not just the e-Power badge.
So why not a real plug-in hybrid? Well, the advantage of this solution is that the battery can be much smaller and thus cheaper/lighter. At about 1/20 the size of that in the Nissan Leaf, the Juke hybrid would be unburdened and cost about $20,000.
However, we have to point out that the overwhelming response to such "science experiments" from other carmakers has been "cut the crap and make a Tesla Model 3."
But there's a reason why the Note e-Power is only available in Japan, and that's because the market there has entirely different tastes, more open to weird ideas. Thus, Japanese automakers sometimes put together the weirdest little dead-end projects.
For example, we still remember how the previous generation Mazda2 got an EV version with a Wankel range extender. So don't be surprised if Nissan launches a Juke e-Power that you can actually buy in the last couple of years this generation has to live.
So far, there's only one e-Power Nissan, the Japanese Note, which uses its 1.2-liter engine as a generator for the electric motor. Think of it like a Chevy Volt, only without the plug. The aforementioned report states clearly that the concept crossover will borrow that powertrain, not just the e-Power badge.
So why not a real plug-in hybrid? Well, the advantage of this solution is that the battery can be much smaller and thus cheaper/lighter. At about 1/20 the size of that in the Nissan Leaf, the Juke hybrid would be unburdened and cost about $20,000.
However, we have to point out that the overwhelming response to such "science experiments" from other carmakers has been "cut the crap and make a Tesla Model 3."
But there's a reason why the Note e-Power is only available in Japan, and that's because the market there has entirely different tastes, more open to weird ideas. Thus, Japanese automakers sometimes put together the weirdest little dead-end projects.
For example, we still remember how the previous generation Mazda2 got an EV version with a Wankel range extender. So don't be surprised if Nissan launches a Juke e-Power that you can actually buy in the last couple of years this generation has to live.
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