The debut of the second-gen, 2018 Nissan Leaf is just a couple short months away, so it should come as no surprise that Nissan is teasing its resident EV as much as it can. So far, we’ve seen a shot of the headlight, the grille, and a video that shows how the brand’s new ProPilot, semi-autonomous driving system works. And, based on spy shots we’ve seen, the next-gen leaf is going to be quite attractive in comparison to the current model. Now, Nissan has released yet another teaser, and dropped another bombshell on us – it’s known as E-Pedal, and it’s set to revolutionize your driving experience… or make you hate the future of driving even more.

Designed as a single-pedal system, the e-pedal automatically controls braking and acceleration based on foot position. So, when accelerating, it acts just like your normal, everyday accelerator pedal, but what it does beyond that is something else. See, when you begin to lift your foot off, the car will automatically begin to slow down, which one would assume has a greater braking effect than the usual coasting you get in most cars. If you take your foot completely off of the pedal in operation, the car will automatically stop itself, with the big selling point being that it will even stop and hold on a hill, all based on the input of your foot on a single pedal. You have to admit that it sounds pretty promising, and it’s another step toward fully autonomous cars, but will people actually make use of it and trust it? Well, that remains to be seen. Keep reading to see a short video and to learn more about the upcoming 2018 Nissan Leaf.

It’s Time to Set the Bar Again

If you’re familiar with my work, you know that I’ve criticized the Leaf quite a bit. It was sub par in terms of range, performance, and even style once other automakers really started going all in. After all, we’ve got cars like the Chevy Bolt EV that pulls somewhere around 238 miles per charge, more than twice that of the current Leaf, meanwhile Tesla is on its way to completing the S3XY lineup with the Model 3 and upcoming Model Y – two vehicles that promise to share a similar range output and a similar price tag. Every other automaker is on their way to having a full EV lineup in the next five to seven years as well. And, Nissan is taking things seriously. Just look at the spy shots of the next-gen leaf. It’s attractive, ditches the weird, bubbly lights, and looks 10 times more modern than the current model.

And it has to do more than just look good. The Chevy Bolt, for instance, can hit 60 mph in 6.5 seconds and delivers 266 pound-feet of torque. The current Leaf falls far short at just 187 pound-feet and a 10+ second sprint to 60. So, Nissan has promised that the new Leaf will deliver at least 200 miles on a single charge, enough to keep it in the game with all of the recent contenders that have been popping up lately. It will feature Nissan’s ProPilot semi-autonomous system for easier highway driving in stop-and-go traffic as well as this new E-Pedal doohickey that Nissan is trying to push. Here’s a video that explains how that’s supposed to work, followed by the video that shows off how ProPilot will make your life better as well:

References

Read our speculative review of the 2018 Nissan Leaf.