New Nissan Leaf Will Have e-Pedal

One-Footed Driving

How do you drive a car with only one pedal? Well, Nissan is following Tesla and believes that it shouldn’t be a problem. So much so that the automaker has decided to give the new Nissan Leaf a single pedal, known as the e-Pedal, with which to brake and accelerate.

 

Nissan e-Pedal graphic

 

Think of it like bumper cars at your favorite amusement park. The more you press down, the faster it goes, and the more you let off, the slower it goes. And if you let your foot completely off the pedal, it stops. This seems great in theory, but what happens if you’re on a hill, whether on the incline or decline? How do you keep the vehicle in place?

Luckily, the new pedal can be controlled with the flip of a switch, letting the driver use the actual brake pedal that will remain in the vehicle. We’re curious: Why create an e-Pedal if you’re going to leave the old brake pedal? For safety reasons: emergency stops, hills, and literally every other driving scenario you can think of. But the real reason Nissan invented the e-pedal is because they think it will make driving more exciting.