Nissan Leaf test car shows off new-gen electric technologies

Nissan Leaf has been one of the vehicles that pioneered the electric car mass market. Launched almost a decade ago, the Leaf has been synonymous with affordable electric mobility, in the same vein as the Toyota Prius has been to hybrids. But the Leaf was considered to be uninspiring to drive, despite being futuristic. Now though, Nissan lifted the covers off a different version of Leaf, which is nothing like the existing ones.

The new Leaf is not a production car, at least not yet. This is a test car based on the electric Nissan Leaf e+ but filled to the brim with all the latest technologies Nissan has created for its future generation of EVs. The front and rear of this Leaf get one high-power motor each, making it an all-wheel-drive. It is coupled with Nissan’s newly developed Chassis Control Tech. This is expected to take the performance to a completely un-Leaf-like level.

The twin-motor setup churns out a healthy 304 hp and a colossal 680 Nm of torque. Nissan claims that their advanced EV technology handles this huge surge of power effectively to provide “highly responsive, yet uncommonly smooth, acceleration.”

The regenerative braking is offered on both the axles. The rear motor regenerative braking can keep passengers from being shaken back and forth while slowing down at city speeds. The motors also apply independent braking to all four wheels to improve cornering performance.

This special version of Nissan Leaf is not a production version yet but it gives us a glimpse into what the next-generation redesigned Leaf will offer, as we march into a certain electric future.