Nissan QASHQAI Presented with Highest Safety Rating

Anthony Fontanelle
May 24, 2007

A big boost for Japanese car manufacturer Nissan came in the form of the QASHQAI being awarded the highest safety rating by the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP). In fact, the QASHQAI is deemed the safest vehicle to have been tested under the program since the compact crossover sport utility vehicle got the highest rating ever given under the new program.

Out of the maximum 37 points that the crash testing organization gives to vehicles tested, the QASHQAI was given 36.83 points. The highest rating was given to the vehicle after it posted good results on side and front crash tests as well as for its seatbelt reminders.

The popular crossover vehicle was just recently released by Nissan earlier this year. The QASHQAI is currently available only in the Japanese, European, and Chinese market. In Japan, the QASHQAI is sold under the name Nissan Dualis while in China it goes by the name of CCUV.

Aside from its good ratings for protection of grownup occupants, the Nissan QASHQAI also received four out five star rating for children protection. Currently, no small vehicle has ever achieved a five star rating for children protection, not even those from Volvo. The safety features offered by Nissan with the QASHQAI is complemented by its safe construction and highly efficient brakes which can be upgraded to EBC brake pads for a better stopping power.

Brian Carolin has this to say about the crossover vehicle: “QASHQAI is a dynamic-looking compact crossover that offers the best attributes of a traditional family hatchback with the ability and practicality of a 4x4. Today I am pleased to announce that QASHQAI is also among the safest vehicles on the road.”

Aside from giving adequate protection to its occupants, whether child or grownup, the QASHQAI also recorded a good score in terms of pedestrian protection. It received two stars out of the maximum four. Currently, no vehicle is yet to achieve the four-star rating for pedestrian protection. The Nissan QASHQAI is only 0.38 points shy of attaining the three-star rating. While the QASHQAI may not have achieved the three or four star rating from the crash test organization, it can be expected that Nissan will be developing ways to make their vehicles more pedestrian friendly.

The high safety rating of the QASHQAI is expected to increase the demand for this vehicle. Currently, the demand for the Nissan vehicle is strong with orders amounting to almost 60,000 units. Introduced only early this year, 23,551 units of QASHQAIs have already been sold until the month of April. Sales figures for May are yet to be announced.

Source:  Amazines.com