We drive Nissan's van-based five and seven-seater, which is claimed to be the world's first all-electric MPV This is Nissan’s new all electric van-cum-MPV. The load-carrying version of the e-NV200 was launched last summer and Nissan says it has introduced five-seat and seven-seat versions due to demand, primarily from taxi operators.The company says it is the world’s first all-electric seven-seat MPV and fills a gap in the market for private hire companies and shuttle services. It also claims the new vehicle will appeal to larger families.The e-NV200 uses the same basic electric powertrain as the Leaf. The electric motor develops a modest 107bhp and a useful 187lb ft of torque from start.However, despite the NV200’s much greater frontal area (and increased drag at higher speeds), it still has the same 24kWh battery as the Leaf. Although the e-NV200 isn’t too heavy (between 1517 and 1564kg, depending on the specification), the official range is just 106 miles.Nissan also makes much of the e-NV200’s load-carrying ability. It can be specified with either five or seven seats in three rows. To increase cargo room, the two seats in the third row can be folded up against the insides of the car. The middle-row three-person bench seat can also be folded and tumbled out of the way.With all the seats pushed out of the way, Nissan says the e-NV200 can swallow three full-size bikes, with the front wheels still attached.The passenger-carrying e-NV200 comes in a wide range of trim options. The mainstream ‘Combi’ comes in five trim levels in five-seat form and five in seven-seater. There’s also the range-topping Evalia, which comes in two five-seat and two seven-seat forms.Both trim line-ups include ‘Plus’ versions, which include high-speed 6.6kW AC on-board charging capability. Standard models get ‘Standard’ charging capabilities (using a domestic socket) and 'Rapid', which gets a 50kW DC charging point.from Autocar RSS Feed http://ift.tt/1dLztkB
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