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Elect'road

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Renault Kangoo Elect'road plug-in hybrid van.

The Elect'Road is a plug-in series hybrid version of Renault's popular Kangoo. Sales began in Europe in 2003, mainly in France,[1] Norway and a few in the UK. The Elect'Road was sold alongside Renault's Electri'cité electric-drive Kangoo battery electric van. Renault discontinued the Elect'Road after selling about 500, primarily in France, Norway and the UK, for about €25,000.[2]

The Elect'Road had a 150 km (93 mi) range using a nickel-cadmium battery pack and a 16 kW (21 bhp; 22 PS) liquid-cooled gasoline Lombardini LGW523 MPI "range-extender" engine.

Although the Elect'road had a range extender it is effectively the very first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). In hybrid terms it operates in a blended mode, using engine and battery power simultaneously.[3]

Passenger compartment heat is powered by the battery pack as well as an auxiliary coolant circuit that is heated by the range extender engine.

Motor

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The synchronous motor does not require brush replacement (e.g. as in the Citroën Berlingo Electrique) and therefore reduces required maintenance.

Batteries

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The vehicle is equipped with a Saft nickel-cadmium battery and has a range of 60 km (40 mi) to 100 km (60 mi) when in all electric mode. The battery consists of two cases underneath the chassis, one with 8 monoblocks and the other with 14. Each is fitted with a fan cooling system and has a minimum 100 A·h capacity. The 312 kilograms (688 lb) battery provides 132 V and 13.2 kWh.[4]

The onboard 3.5-kilowatt charger could charge a depleted battery pack to 95% charge in about four hours from 220 volts.[5]

The battery life is guaranteed for 5 years (1500 cycles) and the cost to replace them if needed was 7000EUR[6]

Range extender

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The range extender is a Lombardini[7] (LGW 523 mpi) liquid cooled 500-cubic-centimetre (31 cu in) 16-kilowatt (21 hp) gasoline generator. The generator used two high voltage/high output/low volume alternators, each of which supplied up to 5.5 kilowatts (7.4 hp) at 132 volts at 5000 rpm.[2] The operating speed of the internal combustion engine—and therefore the output delivered by the generators—varied according to demand.

It is equipped with a multipoint injection system and catalytic converter (consistent with the rules of euro 2000 in the MVEG cycle).[8]

The fuel tank had a capacity of 10 litres and is housed within the right rear wheel arch. The range extender function is activated by a switch on the dashboard.

The Elect'road also offers a “boost” mode which provides better acceleration, by increasing the maximum power from 22 to 29 kW, together with a “snow” mode which is better adapted to driving on low-grip surfaces.[2]

When the RE engine is run all the time, the fuel economy drops to 7 liters/100 km (39 miles per imperial gallon). However, a user has found that they only needed to use it 10% of the time in which case economy improves to 3 liters/100 km (91 miles per imperial gallon).[5]

Summary of Features

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  • Battery
    • Air cooled nickel-cadmium battery batteries, guaranteed for 5 years (1500 cycles)
    • Charging time:
      • 0 to 95% in 4 hours using internal 3.5 kW charger from a 220 V supply for 15 A circuits
      • 2 kW charge mode is available for 10 A circuits
  • Range Extender:
    • Fuel tank capacity: 10 l
    • Output
      • Normal Mode: 10 kW
      • Boost Mode: 22 to 29 kW
  • Range/max-speed:
    • Electric Mode: 80 km (50 mi) easily / 100 km/h (60 mph)
    • Petrol Only: ? km/100 km/h (60 mph)
    • Electric & petrol Mode: 150–200 km (90–120 mi)/115 km/h (71 mph)[2]
  • Driving Experience
    • Mains cabin preheat during winter (when plugged in)
    • Automatic creep (remove your foot from the brake and the van will start to move forward)
    • Warning light comes on at 10 percent state of charge

References

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  1. ^ Forum Auto (September 17, 2004)
  2. ^ a b c d Renault (December 27, 2007) "Kangoo reinvents the electric car" Archived 2007-04-12 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) press release
  3. ^ Dragon Jambala (October 30, 2007) "Plug-in hybrid"
  4. ^ Advanced Battery Technology (January 2003) "Renault Launches Electric Vehicle" accessed December 31, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Holinger, H. (2003) "Renault Electric Kangoo Can Do" Archived February 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine EVWorld.com accessed July 6, 2007.
  6. ^ Marc Chapel "A user's summary" accessed December 31, 2007.
  7. ^ Lombardini "LGW 523 mpi" Liquid cooled gasoline generator
  8. ^ Autoline (October 16, 2002) "New model began production of electric vehicles, Kangoo - Elect'road."