In a recent
announcement, Nissan said that the ProPilot driver assist system will be offered on the
Rogue Sport in the United States, and the Qashqai in Canada, starting from late
2018. It will also be adopted by the 2019 Altima sedan.
The tech suite will be expanded to 20
models and 20 markets by the end of fiscal year 2022, the company says, as part
of the ‘Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022’ midterm plan. Originally introduced in the
Japan-only Serena minivan back in 2016, the ProPilot technology was eventually
extended to other vehicles such as the European market Qashqai, the Japanese
market X-Trail and the US market Rogue, as well as the second-gen Leaf.
Initially described as an enhanced version of the
intelligent cruise control rather than a semi-autonomous driving feature, the
technology is now being referred to as “a hands-on driver-assist system”. It
works by combining the intelligent cruise control with steering assist and
allows drivers to navigate through stop-and-go traffic, keep the vehicle in the
lane, and maintain a set speed and distance to the car ahead, and can be
activated by pushing a button located on the steering wheel.
