‹ BackHN Continuity

Thread

Nissan's third generation e-POWER powertrain

170 points · 462 comments · mroche

  1. Toutouxc · · focus · HN ↗
    I used to like hybrids, and obviously series hybrids are the coolest kind of hybrids, but now that I’m driving a budget EV, I honestly don’t see the point anymore. Just get the EV and skip the awkward half-way step that inherits the most expensive and complicated parts from both designs.

    Seeing a sleek modern car pull away whisper quiet and then start the ICE 3 seconds later with a stutter and a puff of water vapor from underneath is the most schizophrenic sight, it somehow feels more dated than actual ICE cars.

    Unless you live in bumfuck nowhere with expensive electricity, zero solar power and a daily 5 hour commute, an EV will likely work just fine for you.

    1. acomjean · · focus · HN ↗
      Also city dwellers with street parking and it’s hard charge, so a pure EV is a bad fit.

      Hybrids with their good mileage although complex are a good fit for those.

      1. nasmorn · · focus · HN ↗
        I thought this but after 3 years I can say it is unfounded. the only reason I ever think about my state of charge on the city is when I need it to be low so I can use street parking that requires me to charge.
        1. lumost · · focus · HN ↗
          We really need more slow charging stations for folks to just park at. I’d have assumed that the economics would have been favorable to charge by the day/night rather than by the minute.
          1. tencentshill · · focus · HN ↗
            Every street lamp has 15a of power already running to it. It would be trivial to add an outlet to each one.
            1. amluto · · focus · HN ↗
              There’s a genuine technical issue: the AC EVSE protocols (J1772, NACS, etc) have several safety features that are far in excess of anything you’ll find in a regular 15A NEMA receptacle. I don’t think it would be wise to gave high traffic NEMA receptacles on fully weather-exposed streetlights.

              The hardware for the safety systems would not be expensive in volume, but the cable and connector are expensive and bulky. And none of the EVSE standards are specified in a variant where the receptacle is fixed and the car carries the cable.

              This is solvable, obviously. I don’t know whether drivers would want to deal with having their own cables, though.

              1. j1elo · · focus · HN ↗
                I got it, we need a new USB-C connector (C for Car), that'd be something to see.
Open on Hacker News to reply ↗

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.