Nissan cautiously joins Japan's gasoline/electric vehicle segment with plans to sell 100 Tinos via the Internet.
The Tino seats five with a raised rear floor to accommodate a lithium-ion battery pack.
The Tino's powertrain consists of a 1.8-L inline four-cylinder gasoline engine and a 17-kW (23-hp) ac motor with a steel-belt-and-pulley CVT.
The Multi-function display shows the vehicle being propelled by the ICE.
A display of the Tino driving via the motor with energy fed from the battery.
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Nissan has cautiously joined Japan's internal-combustion engine (ICE)/electric hybrid race with a compact Tino MPV-based vehicle. Of the three Japanese manufacturers currently offering hybrids, Toyota's scheme is by far the most ambitious, the company having sold nearly 40,000 Prius cars, which, according to Hiroyuki Watanabe, Director of Alternative Propulsion Systems, far exceeds the world's total pure electric vehicle population. Honda's Insight coupe has been selling well, filling the Takanezawa plant's 700-unit-per-month capacity.
Nissan's hybrid plan is modest. The company announced that an initial batch of 100 Tinos would be produced and sold through the Internet, orders that were filled within a month after the announcement. Nearly 80% of the buyers of this ¥3.15-million (about $30,000 at $1 to ¥104) vehicle are private buyers and the remainder corporate and municipal buyers, according to Nissan. The company may extend hybrid production and sales beyond June 2000 when all 100 vehicles will have been delivered.
The Tino is a crossover vehicle between car and minivan, scaled down to a package measuring 4270 mm (168 in) long, 1760 mm (69 in) wide, and 1610 mm (63 in) tall on a 2535-mm (100-in) wheelbase. It accommodates five people through four conventional doors and luggage through a top-hinged tailgate. The rear floor section is raised to house a lithium-ion battery pack underneath. Its mass is 1500 kg (3300 lb) at the curb. Nissan claims the Tino emits less than half the carbon dioxide (CO2) and returns twice the fuel mileage of a comparable, conventional gasoline ICE vehicle in the same displacement (1.8 L) and weight category. A Japanese 10/15 urban test cycle fuel consumption of 4.3 L/100 km (54.4 mpg) is cited.
The Tino is a parallel hybrid type, employing either the electric motor, the ICE, or the two together, for propulsion, depending on operating conditions. A second motor/generator starts the ICE, and when driven by the engine recharges the batteries. The engine is cut off when the vehicle comes to a stop, except when the standard air conditioner is in use. The vehicle always starts off on electric power, propelled by a Hitachi three-phase ac synchronous motor producing 17 kW (23 hp) between 1390 and 5600 rpm and 155 N•m (114 lb•ft) between 0 and 700 rpm, operating on a 345-V system. At about 25 km/h (16 mph) and above, the gasoline ICE takes over as the primary propulsion source.
The engine is based on the QG18DE DOHC, 16-valve inline four-cylinder unit, displacing 1769-cm3 and operating on the Miller-cycle high-expansion principle with late intake valve closing by means of a continuously variable intake valve timing system. The Miller cycle allows a high compression ratio of 12.0:1 using regular-grade unleaded fuel. The engine is tuned for optimum fuel
efficiency, with its output held to a modest 74 kW (100 hp) at 5200 rpm and 141 N•m (104 lb•ft) at 4000 rpm.
The engine-driven secondary motor/generator replenishes electric energy to two inline lithium-ion battery packs. When pressed, the engine is assisted by the primary electric motor, together providing brisk acceleration to achieve a 0-100-km/h (0-62-mph) time of 13 s, undercutting that of a typical 1.8-L, 1500-kg (3300-lb) car by 2 s, according to Nissan. On deceleration, the primary propulsion motor regenerates electric energy, which is stored in the battery.
The torque transfer/split and transmission system is comprised of an electronically controlled mechanical clutch between the engine and primary propulsion motor and an electronically controlled, steel-belt-and-pulley continuously variable transmission (CVT) downstream of the propulsion motor. The CVT has D and Ds forward positions. The D-range operates in normal or "power" mode. The Ds-range provides yet more powerful pull and engine braking effects. The Tino system is controlled by a "mother" hybrid computer and five individual control units for the battery, motor, engine, engine-propulsion-motor clutch, and CVT.
On the chassis side, the Tino hybrid is equipped with electrically assisted rack and pinion steering. The suspension follows Nissan's small and mid-size front-wheel-drive practice, employing front Mac-Pherson struts and a rear multi-link beam setup. The vehicle is fitted with ultra-lightweight aluminum wheels and low rolling resistance tires of 195/65R15 size.
A 15-cm (5.8-in) color multi-functional display is standard in the Tino, mounted atop the dashboard and showing the hybrid system's working mode, graphic energy (fuel) consumption history, instantaneous fuel consumption reading, and battery charge state.
Jack Yamaguchi
AEI June 2000
