The 2013 Nissan LEAF begins sales this month and one option it will include, thanks to overwhelming customer request, is a premium sound system. Previously, Nissan did not offer this in the all electric LEAF because premium sound requires an electrical premium and that is just not something an electric vehicle (EV) can afford to give up.
Working closely with Bose, however, Nissan came up with a solution. The Bose® Energy Efficient Series sound system delivers the powerful, high quality audio that Bose is known for, but uses about half the electricity normally required to do so.
“Early adopters of electric vehicles were thrilled to have a zero-emissions vehicle and now that we’re expanding the market and it matures, many customers are asking for more amenities in their EV,” said Brendan Jones, Nissan director of EV marketing. “We wanted to be able to give them a premium sound system and be conscientious about the amount of energy required to do so.”
Both the LEAF SV and SL models will have the Bose® Energy Efficient Series as a premium option. It is a 7-speaker audio system that comes as part of a Premium Package upgrade that includes Around View Monitor (360-degree backing and parking view) for $1,050 on the SV model.
The Bose system begins with smaller, lighter speakers that don’t compromise on the audio company’s signature quality sound. Next, they figured out more efficient circuitry and incorporated some of the power-efficient technologies they’ve developed along with strategic speaker placement to achieve high-end sound with fewer power-using speakers in the LEAF.
The six strategically-placed speakers (see map above) produce the same sound quality a system with many more speakers would achieve. The bass box, located at the rear (pictured below), is only 6.2-liters in total volume and produces top quality output thanks to its custom engineering to output Acoustic Waveguide bass with technology taken from the Bose Wave home entertainment systems.
The entire thing is powered by an energy-efficient Bose amplifier whose circuitry and design allows for much cooler operating temperatures and thus far less energy use than the usual amp, which also means fewer cooling fins and thus a smaller, more compact size with less weight.
A very cool upgrade for one of the few all-electric cars being sold nationally.
