Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the development of two new 4-cylinder petrol engines and a new continuously variable transmission (CVT). The new hardware units will be successively adopted on various small passenger cars, beginning with a new model scheduled for release in Japan this autumn.

(1) New 4-cylinder gasoline engines

The two newly developed engines, the 1.5-litre HR15DE and the 2.0-litre MR20DE, are both in-line 4-cylinder units, jointly developed by Nissan and Renault for use in both companies' passenger cars.

Application of the HR15DE engine will begin with Nissan’s all-new Tiida model which will go on sale in Japan this autumn, while the MR20DE engine will first be applied to a new minivan scheduled for release later this year. Both engines incorporate a host of new shared technologies and are designed to provide excellent fuel economy combined with improved acceleration under the conditions most commonly encountered in everyday driving.

Specifically, the adoption of the following new technologies has substantially improved fuel economy and torque under ordinary driving conditions.

● The combustion period has been shortened and thermal efficiency improved by strengthening the gas flow in the combustion chamber.

● Some of the world’s most advanced technologies have been employed to reduce friction, including the use of a new machining method for the cylinder bores and the application of a mirror-like finish to the crankshaft and cam bearing surfaces.

● The load imposed on the engine to drive the air conditioner and other auxiliary units has been reduced by enhancing their efficiency and improving the control programme.

(2) New XTRONIC CVT

The newly developed CVT further enhances the benefits that characterize this type of transmission, including excellent fuel economy, smooth power delivery without any shift shock and outstanding acceleration performance. In particular, shift response has been improved by tuning the hydraulic and electronic controls. The shift response improvement combined with a wider gear ratio range contributes significantly to the acceleration and fuel economy under ordinary driving conditions.

Nissan's new 2.0 litre 4-cylinder engine & CVT

The major specifications of the HR15DE and MR20DE engines and the XTRONIC CVT are given in the table below.

Notice the fuel consumption improvements!

^*1The new HR15DE is compared with Nissan’s QG15DE engine, and the new MR20DE with the QR20DE.^*2The fuel economy improvement was calculated according to Nissan’s in-house standards that combine various driving conditions, including congestion, city and expressway driving, based on the results of a survey of real-world driving conditions.