Report: Nissan will offer a range-extended EV in 2016

[Firetruck41]

Like others in this thread, I would prefer a car with 200+mi range (year round) with the option of range extender, that seats seven, has room in the cargo area for my dog, is compact in size, has all the safety bells/whistles, with a battery capacity that will be 90+% after 10 years, charge from 0-100% in 1 hour, and costs $10k to purchase. But if that doesn't come right along, it is nice that it seems Nissan is bringing this "range extender" vehicle to the table as an option.

 

[LKK]

Neither is a problem for us!

I'm not a tall person but I found the Volt's (both the original and the new one) roofline to be too low for comfort. It not only reduces headroom, but in combination with the low seats makes ingress/egress harder. The back seat is particularly bad, and the roofline comes in so low that the hatchback glass is actually what's over your head.

For all its faults, one thing the Leaf did correctly was put a decent seat height along with a high roofline, so ingress/egress is a breeze. It's the most comfortable car I have ever owned/leased. I think the car would have done better if it was restyled a bit and made to look more like a CUV.

I think this is a valid complaint many people have with the Volt. I think the emergence of the Malibu Hybrid sheds a glimmer of hope that this situation might improve in the next few years. Its a normal sized car equipped with the latest Voltec transmission that was modified slightly to handle the torque of the larger ICE used in the Malibu. Its MSRP is only $28,645, GM could add a larger battery to give it a 40 or 50 mile range for another $4K or so, and this would make a very reasonably priced large extended range EV. This power train could be reused in other cars and SUVs as well. I've got a feeling this is GM's long range strategy for electrification. It looks like Nissan is bringing out its own extended range EVs to cover the competition and this weeks announcement that Ford will be bringing out 13 PEVs in the next few years shows they intend to play in this game as well. I think we are at the point where space constrained EVs will soon be replaced by models more suited to the needs of the average family.