A benign family hatch it is no longer.
Nissan has taken to Twitter to reveal a couple of things about the second-generation Leaf electric vehicle (EV). Firstly, the Japanese firm has cemented September 6th as the date to watch for the debut of the new car. Secondly, we now get a better glimpse at the Leaf’s new front end, namely the grille and headlights.
While the headlights have been teased previously, the grille is a new development, as it signifies a rather innovative take on the brands’ signature ‘V-Motion’ grille (as it would have to, considering EVs don’t need grilles in the first place). Not only is the Leaf’s grille lit, but so is the Nissan badge, which promises to give the EV some presence after the sun goes down. The geometric pattern within it looks cool too; 3D patters are all the rage, after all.
While it certainly looks good, previous reports of the 2018 Nissan Leaf has shown that there’ll be quite a brain behind the form. The Leaf will pack Nissan’s new ‘ProPilot’ advanced driver assistance (ADAS) system, a semi-autonomous driving feature that is designed to lighten the load of drivers on long distance journeys or during tough urban snarls. ProPilot, interestingly, will benefit from rolling updates to the system which will be upgraded throughout the lifetime of the Leaf, unlocking features like intersection navigation and so on when the software can be developed to that extent.
On the subject, Nissan Europe’s director for electric vehicles Gareth Dunmore said,
“The ultimate embodiment of Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the new Nissan Leaf will be the most advanced, accessible EV on the market, today. Adding ground-breaking ProPILOT technology to the new Nissan Leaf will prove invaluable in unlocking many of the benefits of electric vehicles, creating less congested, cleaner cities for future generations.”
Previous spy shots of the new Leaf have shown that while it will retain the hatchback body style, the 2018 model will adopt a more athletic and dynamic design language, ditching the relatively dull and inoffensive styling adopted by its successor. Crucially, the Leaf should also offer greater range on some of its models, with the Leaf lineup likely to accommodate multiple models with varying powertrain potency and capacity, with up to 550km on offer from a single charge for the top-tier variant.
