Nissan LEAF goes SUV with the electric iMX Concept at Tokyo

The Nissan iMX Zero-Emission Concept arrives at the Tokyo Motor Show previewing an SUV take on the LEAF, complete with 375 mile range.

It’s only a month since the new Nissan LEAF was revealed – as the LEAF matures in to a more cohesive mainstream car – and now we get the next direction for the LEAF with the Nissan iMX Zero-Emission Concept.

Nissan say the iMX is a look at the future of Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility, and it previews a more powerful and able electric drivetrain which, logic says, could end up in the LEAF too.

The iMX comes with a re-engineered high-capacity battery said to be good for a 375 mile range, a pair of electric motors – one on each axle – and 429bhp and 520lb/ft of torque driven through all four wheels. Which sounds promising.

The iMX is all quite ‘Concepty’ with its rather odd design and individual seats, seats which recline as the steering wheel disappears when the fully autonomous ProPilot mode is selected.

Nissan say the iMX is clever enough to be driven to the airport, drop of its passengers, take itself off to park, plug itself in and return power to the grid and, when the owners return, reappear to collect them – charged and ready to go.

Expect to see the iMX Concept – with its interior and exterior toned down somewhat – arrive as the Nissan LEAF SUV within the next couple of years.