At the beginning of November last year, we conducted an extreme "varnish" test on Xuanyi equipped with Nissan e-POWER technology in Guangzhou, and measured that the fuel consumption of the car in 100 kilometers under warm weather was only 3.9L, and the limit cruising range could reach 1236.8km. Some netizens asked, if this system is placed in the winter ice and snow of the great northeast, will it be greatly discounted like an electric car?
In order to compare the extreme endurance of e-POWER Xuanyi in different temperatures in the north and south, my colleagues and I specially came to Changchun at -14 degrees, driving e-POWER Xuanyi around the inner and outer parts of Changchun for 4 days to reveal its most real endurance performance.
If this article is helpful to you or your friends to choose a car and buy a car, please forward it more. Our actual test also filmed a video, will be released on the b station, welcome to pay attention to our b station account: drive brother.
Before revealing the test results, let's reply to the few questions that netizens want to know the most:
1. What is the difference between Nissan e-POWER technology and Toyota and Honda's HEV hybrid?
e-POWER is divided from technical principles, which is similar to a series hybrid system.
Its biggest feature is that the power system and the power generation system are separated from the mechanism, the vehicle gasoline engine is only used as a special power device for power generation, and the system maximizes the advantages of the pure electric system, and the driving experience is infinitely close to the pure electric vehicle.
e-POWER technical schematic
From the analysis of the e-POWER technology schematic, the technology has its own unique advantages compared with pure electric, hybrid and fuel power.
The first is that e-POWER technology uses high-power motor drive, whether full power or power loss state is pure electric mode.
The engine only functions as a generator, so that the vehicle does not need external charging. Therefore, compared with EV technology, e-POWER eliminates the trouble and endurance anxiety of external power charging, and only needs to add gasoline for daily use.
Although e-POWER also has a series hybrid technology similar to HEV hybrid, e-POWER uses a drive motor with greater power torque and higher power generation power efficiency of generators. As a result, e-POWER has a smoother, more powerful power experience than HEV hybrids.
As we all know, Toyota and Honda's HEV hybrid system, in the case of low battery power (or in the process of high-speed driving), is the need for batteries and motors to drive the vehicle together, on the one hand, the power response is not as fast and stable as pure electric drive; on the other hand, the HEV hybrid is still dominated by the engine, so the vehicle driving conditions have a direct impact on the fuel consumption of the engine.
However, e-POWER allows the engine to work in the efficient area of the Map diagram, the engine directly drives the generator to generate electricity, so that the energy efficiency of the engine is improved, and the fuel consumption is no longer directly affected by the working conditions, so in theory, as in theory how to use e-POWER, its fuel consumption will be at an ideal level.
e-POWER technology also enables smooth start-up and acceleration in a variety of road conditions through precise current control and motor torque control.
Compared to conventional HEV hybrids, e-POWER technology reduces engine run time by approximately 70% compared to engine start-up times with micro-hybrids through centralized charging.
According to Nissan engineers, e-POWER technology can reduce the running time of gasoline engines by about 50% compared to conventional hybrid vehicles.
Therefore, no matter under what kind of working conditions, the driving experience of e-POWER Xuanyi is closer to that of pure electric vehicles than the HEV hybrids of Honda and Toyota.
2. Is Nissan e-POWER technology an extended-range electric?
I interviewed Nissan's power engineers, who believed that e-POWER electric technology is a converged solution, although some parts are similar to range-extended electric vehicle technology, but at some key points they are different.
First of all, e-POWER's technology comes from the pure electric vehicle LEAF LEAF, which follows the core concept of 100% electric vehicle drive.
Secondly, e-POWER does not require a large-capacity power battery, does not need an external power supply to charge, and has the characteristics of efficient power generation, flash charging and flash release, and full-time electric drive.
The traditional extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) means that the whole vehicle can achieve all its power performance in pure electric mode, and when the on-board rechargeable battery cannot meet the mileage requirements, open the on-board auxiliary power generation device to provide power to the power system to extend the driving range.
Schematic diagram of the e-POWER structure
Full-time electric drive, which can make the range extender work continuously at the optimal speed, the power and torque output of the engine (power generation device) are basically constant, so its efficiency, emissions, reliability, etc. are in the best state, to achieve the goal of effectively extending the driving range when not equipped with a large-capacity power battery.
It can be said that Nissan e-POWER electric technology has redefined the concept of "extended range" electric vehicles.
In the extremely cold weather in winter, the measured e-POWER Xuanyi "varnish" limit endurance is 1035km!
After 4 days and 50 hours of testing, we drove e-POWER Xuanyi "varnish" in Changchun winter and measured the ultimate cruising range of this car to reach 1035km, which is only 201km away from the mileage measured by us in warm Guangzhou.
In fact, from the technical level of analysis, e-POWER technology and hybrid technology is more similar, because it does not have a large battery, e-POWER technology endurance is not affected by battery factors, endurance and the efficiency of the whole system is related.
As we all know, electric vehicles are equipped with large-capacity ternary lithium batteries affected by low temperature activity and energy efficiency, and the power consumption of winter warm air is also large, so pure electric vehicles often have a much lower endurance in winter than other seasons.
So what makes the average fuel consumption of e-POWER Xuanyi tested in Changchun higher than that we tested in Guangzhou?
After analysis, I think there are mainly the following 2 directs:
1, we tested the e-POWER Xuanyi is equipped with snow tires, the tire grip is better, the rolling resistance is greater, which is the main reason for increasing fuel consumption.
2. During the test, I observed that the heating of e-POWER Xuanyi is the same as most pure gasoline vehicles, mainly using hot water heating system.
Driving at high speeds in temperatures of -14 degrees Celsius or even lower, the engine will not have the same water temperature as it does in the summer, even if it is running all the time.
During the actual measurement process, even if you drive with an EV when fully charged, you can only run about 1 kilometer at most. The engine and the power battery will start running for a while because they need to maintain a certain temperature.
Therefore, in order to heat the various systems in the car and maintain normal water temperature, the e-POWER power system has to start frequently, so it burns more oil than in the summer.
During the test, I saw that there were actually a lot of Corolla twin engines and Accord hybrids on the streets of Changchun, but pure electric vehicles were very rare.
The use of pure electric vehicles in the extremely cold environment of the Great Northeast winter certainly cannot run as freely as the oil car, but the oil-electric hybrid (HEV or PHEV), e-POWER hybrid or extended range hybrid is more suitable for the use environment there.
Speaking of e-POWER Xuanyi, if this car is used daily in a more Buddhist driving style, it can almost be used as a pure electric vehicle. Because of the acceleration feeling it brings, the quietness of the car is the same as that of an electric car.
The 1.2-liter self-priming internal combustion engine on Dongfeng Nissan e-POWER Xuanyi has a thermal efficiency of 43% and a power generation efficiency of up to 90%, achieving the goal of effectively extending the driving range when not equipped with a large-capacity power battery.
At the same time, e-POWER technology can generate power in a variety of ways, and the compatibility adaptability is very high.
The vehicle powertrain of the system is equivalent to a series hybrid platform, whether the auxiliary power unit (APU) is a fuel engine set, a natural gas generator set, an ethanol gasoline generator set or a hydrogen fuel cell, etc., as long as it meets the standard communication interface and electrical interface, it can be used for the series hybrid platform.
The Changchun gas station is filled with ethanol gasoline
During our test in Changchun, we added E10 ethanol gasoline, because the e-POWER internal combustion engine is only used for power generation, the power is still driven by electric power, so no matter what kind of fuel is used, its power performance will not be affected, and we do not have to worry about the maintenance problems such as carbon deposits of the internal combustion engine.
Summary: Nissan's e-POWER technology combines "oil and electricity" in a different way, burning oil but using electricity. The system maximizes the combustion efficiency of the fuel, so that we have measured thousands of kilometers of endurance performance.
The e-POWER system has good compatibility and adaptability, and its power system is relatively less affected than that of pure electric vehicles (BEVs) in different regions of energy supply and under different climatic conditions.
If your city is currently not perfect in terms of energy facilities and technology, and you want an economical car with comfortable driving, low fuel consumption and battery life, e-POWER Xuanyi will be a very good choice.