Nissan Terra SUV concept: Hydrogen-powered and tablet-enabled (pictures)
Nissan offered preview photos and some details of a new concept vehicle to be shown at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, a fuel-cell SUV that uses a tablet as its key and instrument panel.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
For the upcoming Paris Motor Show, Nissan previews its Terra concept, a compact SUV with electric motors driving the wheels. With headlights high on the front fenders and round foglights up front, it looks like Nissan's Juke model from 20 years in the future.
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Under the hood sits a fuel cell stack, using hydrogen to generate electricity. One electric motor drives the front wheels, while in-wheel motors turn the rear wheels, giving the Terra concept all-wheel drive. Nissan does not specify what kind of hydrogen storage the Terra might have.
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The doos open carriage-style, with full front doors and half rear doors. The four seats are staggered, making for better sightlines. Nissan says the three passenger seats can fold down, creating a flat load floor.
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The driver seat has been positioned closer to the center than in a normal car, and the front passenger seat has been pushed back to make room.
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In this concept, Nissan keeps the controls simple, with a minimum of buttons on the dashboard. This being an electric car, there is no need for a gear shifter.
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The tablet sitting in front of the steering wheel works as the key to the car, and is meant to be taken out by the driver after the car is parked. In the car, it shows speed, energy usage, and infotainment functions. When removed, it can be used as a standard tablet.
