Working in very poor light with Nikon 1 V2

I have several cameras all intended for use in different situations. Recently I purchased a Nikon 1 V2. This is my second Nikon 1 camera as I also have a V1 with FT-1 for some of the D300's lenses.

What particularly bugs me with the V2 is it's behaviour in very low light/night scenes. Because many of my subjects are meteorological the AF-assist illuminator cannot function, being too far away from the object. The result is that the camera, for all its apparent sensitivity, cannot function. All I get is the little red rectangle! If I focus on a very distant street light and lock focus then a shot can be taken but this is fiddly. The V1 camera works, even in fully automatic mode as do the P6000 and the D300. I think the V2 needs to be made a little less smart and to allow pictures to be shot in such circumstances.

Has anyone else come across this problem, and if so, did they find a setting that overcame it?

I don't have a Nikon 1 V2 but just had a look at the focus options in an online user manual.

You have a manual focus option shown on page 151.

Yes! I mentioned Focus Lock but manual focus applies also. Both are fiddly when you have big hands as they use the tiny rotary control "joystick" on the back. They overcome the problem but do not perform as easily as the V1, D300 or P6000.