Earlier this month, I was in Tokyo to cover the Tokyo Auto Salon. All our commutes were taken care of by a rented Nissan Note e-Power, which, I’ve since realised, makes for an ideal city car.
We were travelling as a trio, and had two pieces of luggage each. I was doubtful that the car would be able to effectively contain all of our stuff, and still have enough space for the three of us.
As it turns out, if you’re strategic with the way you load the car up, it’d comfortably carry three adults and all of their gear.
Generous Cabin Space
You can tell that kei car know-how has been applied to the design of the Note. The wheels are in the far corners of the vehicle, maximising the amount of interior space for its occupants.
Also optimising the use of space internally is its almost box-like form factor. It makes for good headroom even when you find yourself sat in the back. As there’s no bulky battery pack underneath the floor, you will not find your thighs awkwardly suspended off the seat base.
The thin pillars accentuate its form factor, making for great all-round visibility. It makes the car very easy to place, which is crucial since you’d find yourself attempting to fit the car through the narrow streets of Japan very often.
It’s an Ideal City Car, Not a Driver’s Car
It is by no means a driver’s car. But that doesn’t mean it is slow. The beauty of the e-Power drivetrain is that it combines an electric motor with an output that far exceeds what its petrol generator could ever manage.
Deployment of instantaneous torque makes the car feel far livelier and spritely that you’d expect. Over-assisted power steering robs you of any feedback from the front end, so you’d really not want to be pushing this in a hurry. That’s probably by design, as the car is supposed to be an efficient city runabout.
And speaking of efficiency, we managed to average some 25 km/l, through various traffic jams, waiting for prolonged periods to find parking and with a lot of extra cargo in tow.
Striking Exterior Looks?
Visually, this current Note generation appears to be quite the step up from the car it succeeds. A lot of the design language first adopted here has made its way to newer offerings in the Nissan catalogue.
There’s no need for a chunky grille, when the 1.2L petrol engine is never really under any significant stress. This simplicity has also been applied throughout the vehicle, with only purposeful lines added to the overall shape where absolutely needed.
Is This Proof you can Have your Cake and Eat it too?
With global governments constantly regurgitating the pro-EV rhetoric, could cars like the Note e-Power be the answer to en masse adoption of sustainable transportation?
You’ll never find yourself suffering from range anxiety in a range extender EV. Running low of fuel? Head to a petrol station and just refuel. It offers efficiency that a traditional petrol, or even a series hybrid, is unable to match.
In the case of the Note e-Power, it combines the economy of its 80 bhp petrol engine, with the performance of a 114 bhp electric motor. Couple that with all the practicality and quality on offer, and you’d start to understand why this could be the ideal city car!
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