Nissan ESFLOW EV - Looks great. will never be built
Nissan reveals the electric Nissan ESFLOW at Geneva, and it looks like great fun as a B-Road blatter. But it’ll never be built
You all know we’re not overly impressed with the way makers of electric cars pitch their products. ‘They’ll save the planet’ they say. ‘The future of personal transport’ they cry. ‘Better and cleaner‘, they evangalise. Poppycock.
Electric cars are nothing but a toy, shifting the burden of expensive technology on to the buyer and tax payer. An expensive technology that fails to deliver any improvements on an ICE car, save shifting pollution to the point of generation instead of the point of use.
But the Nissan ESFLOW – we see a use for this. A weekend B-Road blatter. A car to run round the back roads close to home. Not to go anywhere, just to drive.
With a motor on each rear wheel delivering optimum torque for maximum acceleration and batteries distributed across its chassis for perfect weight distribution, we think it would be a hoot.
That it looks like the result of a cyber ménage à trois between a 370Z an iPad and Tron is great, as is the current cheap-to-fuel status and a sub 5 second 0-60mph.
Shame is the Nissan ESFLOW will never make production. Instead we’ll get the pointless pseudo cars pretending to be a replacement for a family car. Which they’re not.
Now, as a perfect little city runaround second car an EV is perfect. And as a weekend blatter, the ESFLOW seems so too.
Apart from that, EVs are inferior in every way to the ICE cars we already enjoy.
IE says
Can you explain to me why EVs are inferior to ICE cars? Have you ever heard about energy efficiency or Tesla Model S?! Know the article is two years old, but still, that’s just a stupid statement! It’s people like you that pollutes the world, literally!
Cars UK says
Poor range. High price. Heavy batteries. Old technology. Inconvenience. Even the car industry is now realising EVs are a dead end. They have no future apart from as urban runarounds, toys or commercial vehicles/taxis that operate in a confined area.
IE says
First of all, sorry for the personal approach! Didn’t mean to be rude. I can probably agree with you that todays EVs aren’t quite there yet and I think we both can agree that’s because of the (only) weak link in the electric drive chain; the batteries. Is that right? If it isn’t, what more would it be? Just asking. If we both can agree that the batteries is what holds EVs back, what if the Lithium Air-batteries would be a reality? Yes, it’s a speculation, but that’s what discussing the future is about. Scientists are working hard to improve the capacity of batteries, so why is there not a chance that thay will succeed? I’m not saying EVs ARE the future, I’m just saying they CAN be! Personally, I think they will be, but that’s probably because I’m a positive person 🙂
Cars UK says
Our objection has been to electric cars being foisted on a car buying public at silly prices when they offer a less practical alternative to an ICE car. And you’re right, it’s the battery technology that lets the side down. There’s nothing wrong with electric cars – and a lot right when you look at the instant torque – but they are a useless alternative for the vast majority because of battery technology.
IF battery technology were to suddenly have a huge breakthrough in both capacity and cost then BEVs would be a way forward. But as that seems highly unlikely then the future for EVs will be the FCEV.
IE says
FCEV could indeed be a good alternative, although not as practical as a BEV. I guess it comes down to faith. I’m not convinced that the Battery 500 Project will fail, rather inspired by their enthusiasm. But yeah, if they, and other scientists end up with the conclusion that lithium ion is as good as it can ever be, then i guess the race is over. We’ll se what happens.