Driving Sports

The car looks like a basic JDM-spec Nissan Cube – but as you turn the key, there’s no whirring of a starter, no cough as the engine catches and comes to life. Just a green light on the dash. “We’re ready to go,” says the engineer.

And that’s all there is to it. Step on the “gas” and go. The electric motor moves the car as quickly as its gasoline counterpart, but silently. The transmission is direct drive, and will take the funky-cool Cube up to freeway speeds as quickly as its gas-powered sibling, and the brakes will reclaim some juice every time you stop.

The Nissan EV-2 uses a Lithium-Ion battery back to drive the all-electric car up to 100 miles on a charge. Nissan is partnering with state and local governments and utilities from Tennessee to Oregon and California to provide 220-volt charging stations for these pilot vehicles, with a goal to have convenient charging available in time for the 2010 rollout of Nissan’s retail line of electric vehicles.

Although the prototype is based on Nissan’s popular Cube body style, the retail version is planned to be quite different.

“It’s a B-platform vehicle. It’s not a conversion of anything we have now, it’s a ground-up EV,” says Mark Perry, Director of Product Planning and Strategy for Nissan Americas.

The battery pack in a commercial electric vehicle can be completely charged in about 4 hours from a household 220-volt power source, or about 24 hours from an ordinary 110-volt outlet.

The new vehicle is planned to be priced as a regular family transportation option. “We’re looking for mass production from the start. So instead of looking at a $3,500 to $5,000 premium for a hybrid, we’re looking at the fat part of the market. Between $25,000 on the low end to $35,000 on the high end, that’s where all the cars get sold. So we’re looking at that section to find our best spot,” Perry says.

Those price numbers are high for a B-class car, but Perry has a ready answer: “When you take a look at the $7500 worth of incentives to buy electric, and the reduced ownership costs, gasoline has to go down to $1.10 a gallon before the economics don’t work on this car.”

Driving the EV-2, the lack of engine noise is almost your only clue that there’s no gasoline involved. The car starts, goes, and stops like your daily driver. Instead of a gas gauge, you’ve got a battery charge indicator. Nissan has this technology ready for prime-time, and they’ve signaled their commitment to bring it to market next year.

“It’s coming for sure,” Perry says.