The Nissan Sakura Is the $14K EV We Could Use Here

• Nissan debuts Sakura kei car EV with 112 miles of range, and a starting price just below $14,000 in Japan.

• The Sakura, which has a Mitsubishi twin badged eK X, produces 63 hp and 144 lb-ft of torque, allowing it to reach 80 mph.

• The two EVs will be offered in Japan for now, as Nissan and Mitsubishi have seldom offered their kei cars in other markets.

An EV with just over 100 miles of range and a price under $14,000 doesn't sound possible in the present day, considering where EV prices are at the moment, but that's exactly what Nissan has just rolled out in Japan. The Nissan Sakura was revealed just a few days ago, with its exterior dimensions landing it firmly in the kei car class.

The Sakura, however, is a real four-door car with very real capabilities, with its 20.0-kWh battery giving it a range of 112 miles in the the country's WLTC testing cycle.

More importantly, the car named for Japan's traditional cherry blossom offers a window into what economical electric personal transport is like outside of North America.

Powered by single electric motor producing 63 hp and 144 lb-ft of torque, the Sakura has only 2359 pounds to carry around, but will do what we consider normal highway speeds quite easily, topping out at 80 mph.

Of course, the main point of the Sakura is its diminutive dimensions and suitability to extra-urban driving, with an overall width of 58.1 inches, length of 133.7 inches, and a turning radius of 15.7 feet, as well as its ability to carry four people in comfort. A height of 65.2 inches gives it the profile of a boxy minivan, while also buying it some cargo space—if not necessarily for Costco runs. The interior is not bare bones at all, with a 9-inch infotainment screen alongside a 7-inch instrument cluster and plenty of other buttons.