Nissan Qashqai names Euro NCAPs safest new car 2014.

• Achieves highest score of any small family car in Euro NCAP's 2014 safety testing
• Result follows hat trick year - Nissan X-Trail and Pulsar also awarded five stars
• Qashqai particularly credited for exceptional performance in child and adult protection tests
• Innovative Safety Shield technologies in the new Qashqai help provide quality safety

The Nissan Qashqai is the safest small family car you can buy, according to the independent testing organisation Euro NCAP. The award winning crossover scored more points for safety than any other car in its class tested throughout 2014, thanks to a host of new and innovative safety features, including the Nissan Safety Shield.

This latest achievement adds to Nissan's hat trick of Euro NCAP accolades for 2014 - following a full set of five stars given to both the new X-Trail and the new Pulsar, strengthening the manufacturer's credentials as a brand to be trusted for quality and safety.

Top points for protection

During front impact tests, the passenger compartment of the Qashqai remained stable, with dummy readings indicating good protection for the knees and femurs of the driver and passenger. The driver dummy scored maximum points, with good protection of all body regions. Maximum points were also scored in the side barrier test with all parts of the body well protected.

Designed and engineered to offer the best possible levels of protection for children, the new Qashqai also shone in the Child Occupant tests. Based on readings from the child dummies used in the dynamic tests, the Qashqai scored maximum points for its protection of an 18-month old infant.  

Completing the report, the Qashqai's front bumper scored maximum points for the protection provided to pedestrians' legs.

Safety designed in from the start

A key factor in the Qashqai's strong Euro NCAP performance was its highly advanced network of safety features. Packaged together to form an innovative Nissan Safety Shield, the new Qashqai's electronic systems combine to offer the driver and occupants extremely high levels of passive protection. The new Qashqai's Safety Shield technologies incorporate Forward Emergency Braking, Driver Attention Alert, Lane Departure Warning, High Beam Assist and Traffic Sign Recognition. 

The Nissan Safety Shield also features Blind Spot Warning and Moving Object Detection, systems made possible and accessible thanks to Nissan's acclaimed Around View Monitor technology.

The success story continues...

Designed, engineered and built in Britain, the Nissan Qashqai continues to deliver an unrivalled package of technology, safety, practicality and efficiency. The achievements from the Euro NCAP test results are the latest in a succession of high-profile achievements recorded by Nissan and the new crossover. Production of the Qashqai has been seamlessly integrated into Nissan's record-breaking Sunderland (UK) plant, with a new model completed every 61 seconds.

New Q50 from Infiniti knows who you are !

• Infiniti’s all-new Q50  synchronises car and driver in class-leading fashion

The Infiniti Q50 is a car with a great memory for names. And faces, and seat positions, and cabin temperatures and routes home… even whether the driver prefers an ABC or a QWERTY keyboard. Depending on model, Infiniti’s all-new premium saloon will not just welcome the driver aboard by name, it can even display photographs of friends and family on one of the car’s dual touch-screens.

On sale later this year and priced from £27,950, the Infiniti Q50 takes the idea of a car with a memory to a whole new level in the premium mid-sized class. Thanks to 96 selectable settings across 10 functions, possible permutations for personalisation exceed billions, allowing for optimal syncing of car and driver based on the driver’s preferences.

The Infiniti Q50 can remember the personal settings for up to four people – three registered users and one guest – covering the areas of life on board, dynamic performance and safety technology.

The concept behind this bespoke digital solution is called “My car knows me.”  And it is just as simple to use as it sounds, with the car doing all the hard work and the few controls that do exist being entirely intuitive to use.

Central to “My car knows me” is Infiniti’s advanced intelligent i-Key. Each of the two i-Keys supplied with every Q50 stores personal settings for two different drivers. The information is saved automatically and can easily be updated, or deleted, on the touch screens. Tailoring the personal profiles extends to a facility to load up to 16 photographs.

While memory functions vary between countries and Q50 models, engines and transmissions, a constant ingredient is the new Infiniti Drive Mode Selector, fitted to every model. Operated by a switch on the centre console, the selector offers performance choices that include Standard, Sport, Eco (not diesel), Snow (automatic only) and Personal.

Depending on country and model, Personal is the custom setting where a driver can choose his or her ideal performance feel, not just engine and transmission changes but also steering weight and response type on vehicles equipped with Infiniti’s steer-by-wire Direct Adaptive Steering system.

The Infiniti Q50 can also remember each driver’s preferences for the host of hi-tech technologies working away behind the scenes to enhance the drive and keep the car out of trouble. Where these systems offer control choices – ranging, for example, from a simple on/off to the level of electronic intervention required – the settings are stored and automatically engaged whenever that driver is behind the wheel.

This guarantees that, whoever is driving, the car’s electronic systems – many of which form part of the Q50’s innovative Safety Shield – will always be perfectly set for that driver without the need to press buttons or scroll through menus.

The considerable extra peace of mind this facility ensures is especially valuable given that the Safety Shield is more complete than ever in the Q50. Features include the world-first Predictive Forward Collision Warning which uses some of the most advanced sensor technology yet developed to react to the speed/distance not just of the car in front – but also the car in front of that.

Other systems, many of which have user preferences so they can be precisely tailored to driver and journey, include (depending on model and country) Back-up Collision Intervention, Intelligent Brake Assist Plus, Lateral Stability Enhancement, Active Trace Control, Intelligent Cruise Control, Distance Control Assist, High Beam Assistant and Blind Spot Intervention and Warning, as well as Active Lane Control, another world-first system that uses Direct Adaptive Steering (where fitted) to “magnetise” the car to the centre of its lane on motorways.

Life on board offers even more personalisation options – all of which the Q50 will recognise as that driver’s every time he or she gets behind the wheel. Depending on model, favoured driving position (seats, steering column, exterior mirrors), climate control, navigation routes and options, and preferences for the Infiniti InTouch™ communication, entertainment and information functions can all be set and stored. Screen displays, language, colours, photographs and shortcuts can be chosen, too – the system will even remember whether you prefer l/100km or mpg, Fahrenheit or Celsius and an analogue or digital clock.

About the Infiniti Q50

Designed to appeal to both the heart and the head, the Infiniti Q50 marries the brand’s flowing, concept-car design themes with a welcoming cabin inspired by both high technology and traditional craftsmanship. The four-door, rear- or four-wheel drive saloon is available with a choice of two low CO2, high-performance engines: a 170PS, 400Nm 2.2-litre diesel (114g/km and 64.2mpg) and a 360PS 3.5-litre hybrid (144g/km and 45.6mpg). Depending on market, the Infiniti Q50 goes on sale later in 2013 priced from £27,950.