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Technology

Electric vehicles herald rise of the in-car app

By Paul Marks

11 May 2011

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Loving the pre-warmed seat

(Image: Nissan)

MINUTES after taking the wheel of Nissan’s all-electric Leaf car, I suddenly understood what “range anxiety” is all about. Though I had dismissed it as a media-stoked affliction of newbie drivers of electric cars, there was something quite powerful in seeing the car’s travel range plummeting on the electronic dashboard. It set mental alarm bells ringing about whether or not I’d make it to my destination.

Starting out with a range of 144 kilometres, the figure instantly dropped to 112 km when I switched the aircon on – look, it was a hot day,…

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