There's no denying the appeal of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) but for all the benefits they are receiving, BEVs are still more of a toy for the early adopters who would use it as a third car just to drive around the city.

Not everyone gets to have the luxury of owning more than two cars let alone have easy access to charge a BEV overnight.

However, the Nissan Kicks e-Power provides a convenient solution that not only reduces range anxiety but also combines the BEV experience with the ease of fueling up like a regular internal combustion engine (ICE) car.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Nissan would provide a powertrain that combines the capabilities of a BEV with the familiarity of an ICE vehicle. After all, this is a brand that has won numerous awards for its powertrains.

Kicking things later

The SUV propelled by this powertrain is not quite a fresh face as the Nissan Kicks e-Power made its world debut in 2020. While 4 years might sound a bit too late, let me reaffirm that this technology belies the age of the car it is powering.

Besides, the all-new second-generation Kicks announced for the North American market does not come with the e-Power powertrain. Hence, this 4-year-old model is considered the latest Kicks e-Power that is also available in Japan and our ASEAN neighbours.

In fact, during this review, we will focus on the technology and performance capabilities of the e-Power powertrain. Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) stated that it will be launching an “all-new e-Power model” in the fourth quarter of this year (Q4 2024).

Nissan was among the first major Japanese carmakers to develop and sell BEVs with the Nissan Tama all the way back in 1947. More than 60 years later, the Yokohama carmaker would introduce the world’s first mass-market BEV, the Nissan Leaf which saw more than 600,000 units sold across two generations in 59 markets.

Then in November 2016, the Nissan Note e-Power was launched, introducing the e-Power hybrid technology to the world. Unlike conventional hybrid powertrains like Honda’s i-MMD and the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive system which are series-parallel hybrids, Nissan’s e-Power is a series hybrid.

What that means is the engine in the e-Power does not drive the wheels and only works as a generator to charge the electrical system.

In conventional series-parallel hybrid vehicles, both the engine and the electric motors work in tandem. The motors would usually run at lower speeds while the engine kicks in at higher speeds that require more power.

Despite the electric motor generating power to the wheels, the e-Power powertrain is not a range extender as no plug-in is required to recharge the battery. Besides, the battery used in the Kicks is smaller (2.06 kWh) than the ones used on BEVs, but is still bigger than regular hybrids, which tend to be around 1 kWh.

The Kicks e-Power runs on the updated and improved second-generation e-Power system. Compared to the first-generation, the second-generation powertrain has an integrated inverter and motor that is 40% smaller and 30% lighter than the old independent inverter.

The battery capacity has increased from 1.57 kWh to 2.06 kWh while the number of battery cells has increased from 80 cells to 96 cells.

Despite the increase in battery weight and size, the overall system weight is reduced thanks to the integration of the inverter and the electric motor.

Innovation that excites

The second-generation e-Power is currently offered on the current generations of the Nissan Note, Nissan X-Trail, Nissan Serena, Nissan Qashqai, and Nissan Kicks. Of the 5 models, the Kicks is likely to make its Malaysian launch first as it was teased at the 2024 Malaysia Autoshow and went on a nationwide roadshow in the past few months.

Though the B-segment SUV has been around for the past 4 years globally, it still looks rather modern on the outside. While the units provided for the media are fully wrapped, the Kicks has a compact, sporty shape that might be appealing to urbanites.

Up front, the Kicks is equipped with Nissan’s signature V-motion grille and LED headlights. Around the back, the compact SUV comes with LED taillights and the overall shape resembles a baby T32 X-Trail.

The Kicks e-Power is provided with dual-tone 5-spoke 17-inch wheels, roof rails, and a shark-fin antenna. We won’t dive in too much on the features offered as our time with the car was short and the focus of this exercise was the e-Power powertrain.

The engine under the hood is a naturally aspirated 1.2-litre HR12DE 3-cylinder petrol unit that makes 80 PS and 108 Nm. Acting merely as a generator, it makes sense for the unit to not produce a high output.

As such, it's the electric motor that requires more power with the front-mounted (FWD) EM47 motor generating 129 PS and 280 Nm.

Nissan claims the Kicks e-Power has a fuel economy of 21.7 km/L (4.6 L/100 km) and a range of up to 900 km.

Driving the Kicks e-Power, we felt it is truly a BEV disguised as a hybrid rather than the other way around. The compact SUV provides very smooth and seamless acceleration from the moment you put the foot down.

Off the line, the Kicks e-Power provides instant torque thanks to input from the electric motor. Once up to speed, reaching 120-130 km/h is easy and you might not even realise it. The powertrain truly is a smooth operator.

You can barely hear the engine running and most of the noise that comes into the cabin is from wind and tyre noises. The engine only kicks (pun unintended) in to charge the battery and this normally happens when stationary rather than on the move.

Compared with some of the key rivals, the Kicks e-Power also felt the most refined with rather quiet cabin noise levels on par with most BEVs and a comfortable ride; something that Nissan is widely known for.

The handling on the Kicks e-Power is also rather impressive thanks to the low centre of gravity which easily hugs the curves. Still, we might need a bit more time with the car to see if this compact SUV has the makings of an unexpected gymkhana star.

The Kicks e-Power comes with 3 drive modes: Normal, Sport, and Eco. Weirdly, single-pedal driving (e-Pedal) is turned on by default in Sport and Eco modes. While I understand the need for one-pedal driving in Eco mode, there should at least be an option to switch it off in Sport mode.

e-Pedal only utilises the accelerator pedal for both go and stop functions. Lift off the pedal, and the car immediately slows down by reversing the drive motor's function to be a generator that recovers kinetic energy.

But this can feel rather unnatural and the braking can feel too abrupt if you’re not used to it. The one-pedal driving mode is best used in urban traffic but we advise doing so once you get the hang of throttle modulation.

Conclusion

Sometimes, being a latecomer can be quite beneficial. Nissan could be arriving tardy with the Kicks e-Power but its powertrain shows no delay in terms of how it performs.

The technology that the e-Power provides is quite an interesting solution in an age of electrification and one that would be more suited for our market. We have seen a proliferation of hybrids entering Malaysia as buyers are now educated on the benefits of electric drive, but not many are ready to change their lifestyle to adapt to BEVs.

Instead of beating them or even trying to take a piece of the pie off the BEV market, Nissan decided to create its own electrified revolution in the e-Power. An appealing combination of trendy BEV performance with the familiar experience of refuelling at the pumps could make this a surprising seller in the market.

Whether the price of Nissan’s first e-Power model in Malaysia is right or not, the best way to really justify its powertrain is simply to try it for yourself when it gets launched in the final quarter of the year.