A’ Nissan-commissioned survey reveals how European drivers prepare to drive during the cold season.
The research involved 6,000 drivers in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the UK, 36% of whom said they were not ready to drive in difficult weather conditions and shortening days, while 27% say they do not know or do not use the safety technologies of their car.
In the coming months, drivers will find themselves spending more time behind the wheel in the dark hours, which will make commuting at the beginning and end of the day more challenging. For more than half of European motorists this is a cause for concern, so much so that 55% admit that they are not comfortable behind the wheel in winter, 45% would like to have received adequate preparation for driving in adverse weather conditions and 55% has canceled or postponed a trip due to bad weather.
The new Nissan Qashqai, thanks to advanced safety technologies that offer valid support even in bad weather conditions, guarantees the driver and passengers greater peace of mind even in winter.
Driving in the dark or in the fog
In winter the situations of poor visibility on the roads increase, but only 49% of European motorists have full confidence in their ability to adapt vehicle lights under road conditions, i.e. knows precisely when it is appropriate to turn on the sidelights or dipped beams. Adjusting the height of the headlights can also create difficulties and so only 59% of motorists say they know how to do it on their own.
In these situations, Nissan Qashqai’s adaptive matrix LED headlights offer a great help, automatically changing the shape of the light beam according to road conditions and avoiding dazzling drivers on the opposite lane.
Driving on icy or snowy roads
In casor ice or snow not all motorists take the right precautions. In fact, 52% of respondents do not wait for the windshield to be completely demisted before setting off.
The new Qashqai is equipped with a windshield inside which a heatable coil is integrated, which removes ice, snow and humidity in a few seconds, ensuring maximum visibility and minimizing inconveniences and delays before departure. In addition, the nozzles integrated in the wipers increase their effectiveness also to remove splashes of mud mixed with salt scattered on the roads in winter.
75% of motorists are not fully confident in their abilities to stop a vehicle skating on a road frozen and more than half (63%) not quite sure which tires to use when snowing or the correct stopping distance in bad weather.
On a wet road, braking distances are much longer, yet 37% tend not to decrease their speed in winter and only 66% have the brakes checked before the bad season. 30% of European motorists are convinced the stopping distance on an icy road is three times higher than normal, but in reality it is ten times higher.
The new Qashqai’s advanced all-wheel drive system offers valuable assistance when the road surface is in difficult conditions. The system constantly monitors the grip conditions of the wheels and in the event of slippage of the front wheels, it transfers part of the traction to the rear axle in a fraction of a second. In addition, the driver can choose between snow, off-road, sport, eco and standard driving modes, depending on the road conditions or their driving style.
With the new Qashqai, Nissan introduces Intelligent Forward Collision Warning technology for the first time in Europe, which uses a predictive function capable of seeing beyond the vehicle in front and automatically applying the brakes to avoid collisions.
Safer driving
Qashqai’s new Head-Up Display projects route, traffic or driver assistance information onto the windscreen, in the driver’s field of vision, to drive in total comfort and safety, without ever taking your eyes off the road.
Safer driving thanks also to the ProPILOT driving assistance system with Navi-link which is able to adapt the vehicle speed to the limits in force and reduce it near curves or exit ramps and to the monitoring and prevention system of involuntary abandonment lane.
To help drivers discover their driving skills in the winter season, Nissan has prepared a questionnaire available at the following link along with the advantages offered by the safety technologies of the new Qashqai and five golden rules of safe driving.