Nissan IDS Concept shown in Tokyo

 Nissan_IDS_Front 3-4Nissan IDS Concept takes EVs up several notches

Styling carries the expected futuristic cues, a 60 kWh battery is on board, but the most notable features of the electric drive IDS concept are its self-driving capabilities.

Nissan has been working on autonomous vehicle design since the 1990’s – one of the first automotive manufacturers to do so. The Japanese market Nissan Cima was one of the first vehicles to offer adaptive cruise control – one of the first steps toward a self-driving car. The company’s goal is to introduce their first version of its Piloted Driver system in Japan next year. While not offering complete self-driving capabilities, it will provide for autonomous driving under heavy highway traffic conditions. That sounds like precisely the kind of assistance that many drivers facing a long commute home at the end of the day might appreciate. The goal is to have fully autonomous vehicles on the road by 2020.

Back to the IDS, at its core it looks like a potential futuristic LEAF but incorporates too many GT-R Nismo attributes for our taste. The Nissan SWAY launched at the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year would be a better candidate to base the next gen LEAF’s look on. Perhaps incorporating the tail lights from the IDS onto the SWAY for a sleeker look.

Concepts always have all of that out there stuff that fortunately never makes its way to production and the IDS does not disappoint. It has a steering wheel that is more of a handle than a wheel. Oh, and it folds into the dash when in auto-pilot mode. The seats also swivel toward each other when the car takes over the driving chores. Here’s a video to check out some of its more esoteric features.

Nissan shows a range of 518 kilometers or 322 miles. Pretty good for a 60 kilowatt hour battery. We’ll see if Nissan gets there by 2020.

Nissan_IDS_Rear3-4

 

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