Glendale Nissan Official Blog
Nissan releases second model with semi-autonomous driving in Japan
By Product Expert | Posted in News on Friday, June 9th, 2017 at 6:07 pm
Nissan Serena and Nissan X-Trail ProPilot feature
“German-engineering” is a popular phrase, but for a long time it’s been Japanese engineers that take the reins when it comes to offering all the latest and most impressive new features. The future of mobility seems to hinge on electric vehicle and autonomous driving, and Nissan is already making a go at it by offering not one, but two vehicles for sale with semi-autonomous driving. Unfortunately, neither model is offered to the U.S. market. Both the Nissan Serena and Nissan X-Trail now have ProPilot.
What is Nissan ProPilot?
Almost a year ago, Nissan released its Serena minivan to the Japanese market with ProPilot equipped. This feature allows vehicles to semi-autonomously drive on single lane highways. Basically, it offers steering, braking and acceleration in a fully automatic mode designed for heavy traffic. A camera monitors traffic ahead and controls these functions. It’s like using automatic cruise control to keep distance, with steering assist to stay within lanes as you move forward. This works for both single lane highway driving at preset speeds and in heavy traffic. It only works on single lanes for the obvious reason that it must be able to sense lane markers and at this time the complexities of multi-lane highways are too much for production-ready autonomous driving.
Read More: Nissan Intelligent Mobility and Seamless Autonomous Mobility
The Nissan Serena was released with this optional last year, and now the Nissan X-Trail has gained it, too. Though this, sadly, isn’t something we’re seeing in the U.S. yet, we’re excited to see the availability expand as it could mean great things for us in the future. Many automakers hope to get autonomous vehicles on the road as early as 2020, but we’re expecting it to become a reality by 2025.
For enthusiasts, autonomous driving can be something of a hot button issue. There’s a certain feeling of freedom when you set out to drive, and it can be a relaxing or exhilarating experience. Autonomous driving would take away that control, but also help save lives. What’s your opinion of a future in which cars take control? Share your thoughts with a comment here at the Glendale Nissan Blog.
