Nissan's quirky Pivo 3 can drive itself 09 | 11 | 2011
NISSAN IS CONTINUING to lead the way in terms of mainstream electric vehicles. Boosted by the significant success of its Leaf, it will unveil the latest generation of its Pivo electric microcar in Tokyo later this month.
Labelled Pivo 3, the newcomer — which could be in production by 2016, and has a new, crisper look inspired by the Leaf — is deliberately much closer to conventional EVs on sale today than the previous outlandish Pivo and Pivo 2 which were unveiled in 2005 and '07 respectively.
See more official photos of the Nissan Pivo 3
Though Nissan is keeping details of the car's powertrain under wraps until it's revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show, the manufacturer has confirmed the concept is all-wheel-drive and features an electric motor mounted in each wheel.
With its McLaren F1-style central driving position, Nissan’s product-planning chief Francois Bancon believes the Pivo 3 offers “a very new driving sensation”.
The centralised position delivers improved visibility and allows the driver to feel “like a driver in a one-seat race car”. The central front seat is flanked either side by a rear seat to create a 1+2 configuration.
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With its turning circle of just four metres — a standard production car will take between 8-10 metres — Bancon claims the Pivo 3’s agility in urban driving conditions is “a revelation”.
Thankfully, the designers have retained the four-wheel steering set-up of the previous Pivo concepts, and this in turn has contributed to its impressive manoeuvrability.
So far, so good then. But now the Pivo 3 gets really interesting. Say 'hello' to the Automated Valet Parking (AVP) system.
Flick the AVP on and it autonomously drives the car to a parking space it has located and then parks the car without driver assistance.
As if that wasn't impressive enough, it then recharges Pivo 3 automatically and leaves the parking space when summoned to do so by the driver using a special smartphone app.
Who says electric vehicles can't be fun?
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Jim McGill