Despite efforts from a number of car manufacturers, the manual transmission is on its way out. Since the flood of electric vehicles began hitting the market, most companies would seemingly rather offer electric versions than manual options in their lineups. Barring a very select few workarounds, combining both isn’t likely anytime soon—and the death of the third pedal seems near, at least in the United States. However, Nissan now wants to eliminate yet another pedal from its electric cars. The latest iteration of the best-selling Nissan Leaf will have a 2-in-1 accelerator pedal that Nissan says will make city driving much easier.
Nissan announced more details about the upcoming 2018 Nissan Leaf on Wednesday, which includes a revolutionary new feature called the e-Pedal. The new Leaf already has an arsenal of new technology on board, but Nissan seems extremely proud of this innovative new pedal. By hitting a switch on the center console, drivers can turn their accelerator pedal into an all-encompassing switch that accelerates, brakes, and holds the car still with just the flex of a toe.
To speed up, the pedal can be pushed like a normal gas pedal, but easing off will immediately slow the car down, while lifting off completely will stop the car at low speeds. This doesn’t make the brake pedal completely obsolete, but the e-Pedal is designed to make stop-and-go city driving as simple as possible.
This technology will certainly take some getting used to, and we’re still skeptical of whether or not it will be as useful and intuitive as Nissan says. However, with this tech and promises of semi-autonomy in traffic, Nissan’s Leaf could be perfect for city driving.
