FIRST DRIVE: Silence 04 – is this Nissan’s best EV?
right so today I am trying out a small car with a huge idea it takes up less space than a Citroen Ammy it’s being sold by Nissan and you can go from an empty battery to fully charged in under a minute hang on a minute yes really no time for a coffee just a very quick pit stop oh and while you’re there do company best known for electric scooters the kind that make deliveroo drivers feel like Formula 1 drivers they had a deal with Seyat but then Nissan swooped in like a corporate magpie and snatched up the rights to sell these through dealerships across Europe now you might be thinking why are the big names fighting over this dinky little thing well it’s because the S04 has something rather clever under its bonnet battery swapping technology and no you’re right it is not new tesla once flirted with it on the Model 3 before ghosting the idea completely but the silence already has over 100 swap stations live in Spain right now today and that is thanks to its scooter network now I have been told that changing the battery in this takes around 30 seconds about the same time it takes my toddler to decide he doesn’t like the meal I just made him anyway this little car can hold one or two batteries and now I’m going to take on the challenge to swap against the clock okay get the stopwatch ready and go right so I need to press the little button here to let it free and we pull it out we lift up the handle we roll it onto the wheels pull it back and then we exchange it for our second battery line it up oo got to get it lined up right otherwise it’s not going to go in leg for a little bit of Oh help there handle down in it goes that was not bad okay that is not a record-breaking 1.8 seconds lando Norris McLaren pit stop that’s not bad for a battery change i need to lie down now of course this all sounds brilliant if you live in Spain or somewhere where the swap stations exist but in the UK not so much yet but here is the clever bit because the battery is removable if you live in a flat or in fact anywhere without accessible charging you can literally just wheel it into your hallway and plug it in or if your boss is chilled out and you bring donuts you could charge it under your desk it takes 7 to n hours to charge from a regular three pin plug now there is no option for faster charging at the moment no type 2 socket so it’s either slow and steady or just swap it out the S04 is so small you could almost drive it into your house the length 2.2 2 m long which is less than half of the VW ID4 that’s bonkers and it’s only 1.27 m wide which is basically the same width as two cyclists way too close together or it’s a meter narrower than a Tesla Model X it’s even smaller than the much loved Citroen Hammy take a look around it won’t take you long tighter than Air Force Security in here no okay that’s a little bit harsh actually because due to some very clever packaging considering this is such a tiny car it actually feels quite spacious now let me show you where they have positioned the passenger seat it is slightly offset to where the driver sits you can see it’s just slightly further back this is very clever because what it means is that you don’t bang elbows and bang shoulders so when you sit you know you can sort of bulge over a little bit and not you know get too close to your passenger um so very clever on that front you’ve got your uh infotainment system up here ah no I mean sorry phone stand is that’s where that goes uh the little digital display with all your driving information is actually pretty good and then yeah I mean it’s plasticky and kind of as you would expect for a car of this level a very nice little handy net to put your very tiny handbag or a piece of paper now let’s talk safety because honestly it is pretty minimal it feels sturdier than an Ammy but it is classed as a quadricycle not a car so airbags nope crumple zones nope now I think there’s a bit of black magic at play let’s talk about the boot this is not just a token glove box no this is 217 L of boot space this is bigger than the boots in the new electric mini it’s three times the size of the boot in the Citroen Ammy i mean this is a boot where you could actually go away for the weekend and actually pack some stuff i mean you’d have to leave the dog at home but you know that’s no bad thing you need a break occasionally and if you need even more space there’s a van version coming bin the passenger seat and instead load it with parcels pizzas parnips pineapples potentially even a pet pig this video is brought to you see how this miniature Marvel actually drives just like the Ammy the S04 is officially a quadricycle which means restrictions there are two versions the L6E with a ferocious 8 horsepower and 28 mph top speed and the L7E which lets you live life on the edge at 54 mph the L6E can technically be driven by 16year-olds which is great unless you have 16-year-old neighbors you can have one or two 5.5 kWh batteries one gives about 50 mi two gives 109 mi yes I know the maths does sound weird but basically with a two battery option they can share the load and be more efficient there’s also a 55watt battery preheater for car’s weather it’s like a tiny electric blanket for your car’s heart and will improve performance okay well since I’m no longer 16 years of age or maybe emotionally but not officially I have gone for the big boy the L7E we’ve got 19 horsepower and a mighty 98 miles of range let’s go now it’s rear wheel drive twin motors more motors than a golf cart fewer than a spaceship though we are looking at a top speed of 58 mph now having driven it for not that long but I can say that 58 miles an hour is enough to survive on a dual carriageway it is not enough to give you confidence to drive on a motorway though i would stay well clear of those also do not expect to win any drag races in this at all you know with electric cars we love 100% torque instant acceleration this is somewhat missing um probably partly due to the small battery size but it’s so lightweight i am a bit surprised i’m a bit disappointed in the way that it handles it’s just not that zippy the whole point of this car is that it’s small you’re supposed to be nipping around town from tiny space into tiny space and this just doesn’t feel that nippy unfortunately you hit the throttle and it’s like and we’re off there’s just there’s a lag um and I got to say there is also a lag when you press the brake pedal the brakes are really spongy they’re very soft uh which is making me just feel a little bit nervous driving in these city streets when there were cars and bikes everywhere uh off we as you saw there stopped at the traffic light trying to pull away hit the throttle and we eventually get going and then I’m on the brakes and we slowly roll to a stop um so I would say yeah bit of feedback there not what you would expect when driving an electric car now the other thing I need to draw your attention to the infotainment system ah no sorry i mean my phone in this little holder down here it was absolutely brilliant for the first three corners out of the car park then it overheated and switched off so um yes effectively I did get lost for a moment or two the car is connected to my phone using Bluetooth so you can blast your tunes while dodging potholes and the app it is genuinely impressive it lets you check your battery unlock the car and even grant access to a mate remotely it’s a bit like being a car sharing king you get one year of free connectivity and then it’s around £3 a month per subscriber now this comes with three different drive modes eco city and sport yes you heard it let’s whack it into sport in a car smaller than most shoes we have sport but let’s give it some credit because it does sharpen the throttle it does add stronger regen and you can feel it a little bit um now when it comes to the ride quality well as you would expect is pretty firm which in Spain is actually fine because the roads here are actually really really nice but what about when we go to the UK created riddle streets less so and also I was thinking about this you know the weird middle-of the road speed humps unfortunately this car is going to be too narrow to straddle them but too wide to dodge in between them so the only thing you’re going to be able to do is just brace yourself deal with it head on and try and use the brakes despite all of that though it feels surprisingly stable for something that could be parked in a wardrobe and with its tiny turning circle it’s brilliant for tight urban corners alleys and possibly revolving doors but here is the real kicker the price now the Citroen Ammy starts at £7,695 the Daca Spring which is a proper car is £14,995 and often it is discounted the cheapest S04 comes in at about 8 12 grand without the battery this version is around 15,850 quid gulp now renting the battery actually cuts the upfront cost by around 40% but adds a monthly fee £35 to £45 depending on usage and with that you get 6 to 12 battery swaps bundled in but then it’s going to be £5 a pop which is roughly the same as the UK’s most expensive rapid chargers now I do think there are going to be more clever finance packages to sweeten the deal to make it a bit more palatable and according to official figures the S04 does 10 m per kowatt which is about triple than what you’d get from a chunky family SUV in a world made for cars like this the S04 would be a revolution right we would reclaim our streets have our parking problem and never worry about public charging again but the world isn’t like that yet is it especially not in the UK however if you are after something cheap to run fun to drive and batteries that you can carry into your flat the silence might just speak to you let us know what you think is this the future of urban motoring or is it just a quirky side street
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#silence04t #nissansilence04 #nissanev #ElectricCars
Today we’re trying a small car with a BIG idea. It takes up less space than an Ami, is being sold by Nissan and you can go from an empty battery to 100% charged in less than a minute. Yes really.
Silence is an electric scooter maker which previously had a deal with SEAT. But they were a bit gazumped by Nissan, who came in and scooped up a contract to sell these through dealers across Europe.
Car makers are scrapping to get their hands on this little car because it has ingenious battery-swapping technology.
The idea of being able to take out a dead battery and put in a new one is not new – Tesla even tried it on the Model S when it was first launched. But Silence already has a network of swap stations in Spain because it’s used for its scooters. Changing them takes about 30 seconds – and this car can take one or two.
Join Nicki as she tries the Silence 04 for size. Will it be a hit in the UK? Let us know in the comments below.
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This video is brought to you with Andersen EV, the UK’s most awarded home charge point brand of 2024.
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