Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) is previewing the new Nissan Leaf at the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS). The premiere of the second-generation electric vehicle here falls in line with that mentioned earlier this year, when it was stated that the car was due to get its first public showing at the event.
The timeline for its Malaysian launch, however, has been revised – the car remains on course for a market debut here, but this has now been moved to sometime in the middle of 2019. Again, pricing has not been revealed, and so it remains to be seen how much it will go for when it arrives.
We had reported that the Leaf would have to be locally assembled in order to qualify for incentives under the current Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV) scheme, and so going the CBU route will make the car a pricey proposition. Hopefully, the upcoming NAP review will offer a more positive outlook for electric vehicles, CBU or otherwise.
Measuring in at 4,480 mm long, 1,790 mm wide and 1,540 mm tall, the new Leaf features significant gains in performance and range over the first-gen model, with the car’s EM57 electric motor now producing 38% more power and 26% more torque at 110 kW (148 hp) and 320 Nm respectively.
A 40 kWh lithium-ion battery increases the operating range to around 400 km (378 km on a NEDC test cycle) from the 195 km – and later, 250 km – of the original.
In terms of charging, the automaker quotes eight hours for a full charge drawing current from a six kW source, and double that time from a three kW source. There’s also quick charging, with up to 80% fill in 40 minutes via the CHAdeMO charging socket. The max AC charge rate is 6.6 kW, or 50 kW with DC quick charge.
Tech novelties include ProPILOT single-lane autonomous driving tech, which can automatically control the distance of the car to the vehicle in front using a speed preset by the driver (between 30 km/h and 100 km/h), while steering and keeping itself centered in its lane. It also does braking to a complete stop and resuming movement too, much like the low-speed follow function in Honda’s Sensing suite.
Aside from ProPILOT park, there’s also e-Pedal, which provides the simplicity of starting, accelerating, decelerating, stopping and holding the car in position by using the accelerator pedal alone.
The Leaf is equipped with six airbags (front, side and curtain) and a Nissan Safety Shield system, which includes intelligent lane intervention, lane departure warning, intelligent emergency braking, blind spot warning, traffic sign recognition, rear cross traffic alert, intelligent around view monitor and emergency assist for pedal misapplication.
