Nissan e-NV200 Concept

We first featured Nissan’s ambitious plan to make a black cab for the UK earlier this year, including details of a zero-emissions electric version.

Now, a year before trials of that get underway in London, we’ve been behind the wheel of the electric van it’ll be based on.

The standard Nissan cab is due in 2013, but the EV version, the e-NV200, is more interesting. The drive train is based on the Leaf, with an 80kW (108bhp) electric motor generating 280Nm of torque.

Lithium-ion batteries are stored under the floor, which allows for a traditional taxi layout: cabs will have a forward-facing three-seat bench and two rear-facing flip-down chairs. Access is excellent, thanks to the two sliding side doors – safer for pedestrians and cyclists when opened from inside – and the blue-tinted Nissan bonnet badge hides the charging socket.

Behind the wheel, the e-NV200 is similar to the Leaf. On the road there’s an audible whine which gets louder as speed increases, but acceleration is smooth and brisk. Cabbies will also be thrilled to know the taxi will have the necessary 25ft turning circle when it arrives in London.

A 100-mile range seems limited, but Nissan expects cabbies to plug in overnight, quick-charge over lunch (it’s 80 per cent charged in 30 minutes) then return to work. Whether that works in practice will be a key factor in its success.

Key specs

Price: £30,000 (est)

Engine: 80kW electric motor

Power: 108bhp

Transmission: Single-speed automatic, front-wheel drive

0-62mph: 13.0 seconds (est)

Top speed: 90mph (est)

Range: 100 miles (est)

Equipment: Air-con, sat-nav

On sale: 2014

Nissan NV200 Taxi Of The Future

Nissan has come up with a new take on the iconic London black cab, and is aiming to have it on UK roads by 2014.

The car is based on the NV200 that’s already been accepted as New York’s taxi of the future. And the company says it’ll live up to the legend of the traditional cab – the latest version of which, the LTI TX4, is showing its age with its ladderframe chassis and inefficient diesel.

Converting the NV200 for use in the capital isn’t simply a case of painting it black and fixing a taxi light on the roof, though. Vehicles must meet a host of Transport for London legal requirements.

One of these relates to headroom, and was originally introduced to enable passengers to wear a top hat in the back. As you can see from our pictures, the Nissan passes the test.

The most crucial requirement is a 25ft turning circle – allegedly so that cab drivers can make it around the roundabout at the Savoy hotel in one go. To allow this, Nissan had to add 200mm overall to the front track, plus fit new suspension, so the NV200 really can ‘turn on a sixpence’.

There’s also a law that limits the location of the indicators in relation to the width of the vehicle. Because of the new wheelarches, the indicators had to be moved from the light cluster down to the front apron.

Once Nissan had taken care of the 70-plus legal requirements – including fitting a slip-resistant floor and bright sight patches on the seats – it set about making the NV200 passenger-friendly.

All cars have a panoramic sunroof for sight-seeing, plus USB sockets and seats that move back and forth to give more passenger or luggage space. Sliding rear doors not only boost access for wheelchair users, but also stop people opening doors into traffic.

The most convincing arguments for switching to the new NV200 are environmental and financial, though. The 1.5-litre diesel – sourced from the Juke – offers 88bhp or 109bhp and promises 53.3mpg economy and 139g/km emissions. The TX4 claims 35.3mpg and 209g/km.

If all London cabbies switched to an NV200, it would save more than 39,000 metric tonnes of CO2 a year, while drivers would cut their fuel bills by around £700 annually. Plus, Nissan even has an electric version under development for 2014.

A price hasn’t been decided yet, but the standard NV200 is likely to cost between £28,000 and £32,000. That’s cheaper than the TX4 and Mercedes’ Vito taxi – and the new car costs less to run than both.

Taxi drivers may be a tough bunch to please, but Nissan is working closely with them to ensure the NV200 ticks all the boxes. And although the new car doesn’t have the iconic looks of the classic black cab, it seems a good fit for modern London and a strong financial proposition for cabbies. When you’re hailing a taxi in 2014, there’s a pretty good chance it’ll be a Nissan.