Not long ago the only way you could’ve purchased advanced driver assist systems would have been by upgrading to an expensive luxury brand, but future-think features like autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, semi-autonomous self parking, and even self-driving capability are now the stuff of mainstream volume brands, with Nissan being at the forefront of the technology curve.
Rather than merely include them as new features, the Japanese brand has decided to combine six of the most important active safety and driver-assist technologies into a new suite dubbed Nissan Safety Shield 360, and what’s more they’ll provide the package as standard equipment with all of their top-selling models by 2021. This means that more than one million vehicles will be upgraded with new Nissan Safety Shield 360 annually.
Nissan Safety Shield 360, which earns its name by providing front, side and rear sensing technologies, will include Intelligent Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Rear Intelligent Emergency Braking, and High Beam Assist.
“Our philosophy is to bring Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies to market in our most popular and affordable vehicles,” said Denis Le Vot, chairman, Nissan North America. “Safety Shield 360 combines six advanced systems to give models like Altima and Rogue a class-leading package of technologies that can improve safety and the overall driving experience for Nissan owners.”
The U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) claims that Rear Cross Traffic Alert reduces accidents by 22 percent, while the results improve to a 42 percent reduction in crashes when combined with a backup camera and parking sensors. Additionally, accidents are reduced by 78 percent when Rear Emergency Braking is added to the mix, so it’s clear that making these technologies available to more new car owners is of critical importance.
As the program rolls out, Nissan Safety Shield 360 technologies will be made available with the 2019 Rogue compact SUV as well as the entirely new 2019 Altima mid-size sedan, both available now. The 2019 Rogue starts at $26,798 plus freight and fees, while the 2019 Altima can be had for $27,998 (check CarCostCanada for all 2019 Rogue and 2019 Altima features, trims and prices, plus you can get dealer invoice pricing and rebate info that could save you thousands).
Of note, Nissan was one of the first automakers to offer semi-autonomous self-driving capability in its production cars. Introduced with the 2018 Rogue and the 2018 Leaf EV, ProPilot Assist takes over the majority of driving duties, including acceleration, steering and braking inputs when driving in a single lane on the highway. The driver is only required to regularly touch the steering wheel, yet it helps to reduce a driver’s workload by maintaining a set vehicle speed and distance to the vehicle ahead, keeping the car centered within a chosen lane, and easing stop-and-go traffic.
Nissan claims that ProPilot Assist is the foundation for a future of fully automated vehicles, and making the Nissan Safety Shield 360 suite of advanced driver assist technologies available to key models within its lineup certainly furthers that goal.