If you are in the market for a
2018 Nissan Leaf or Rogue, get ready for some welcome news. As of this year, Nissan has officially introduced its latest driver-assist technology, ProPilot Assist, in two of its vehicles: the 2018 Nissan LEAF electric vehicle and the 2018 Nissan Rogue crossover. You can find both at
Palm Springs Nissan, the go-to destination for Nissan’s on sale, in Cathedral City on Kyle Road. For those new to the technology, ProPilot Assist is paving the way for the next level of autonomous driving, and it is easy and intuitive to use.
Those who currently drive or are looking to make their next ride a Rogue are most likely already aware the comfortable, luxurious, and highly rated crossover is one of Nissan’s top sellers in the U.S. for good reason. Its size is solid and sound, and its fuel efficiency is among the best of any crossover on the market. Since Nissan announced it was going to add its ProPilot system to the Rogue for the 2018 model year, the belief among consumers has been anonymously positive in that the technology is at the point Nissan is confident in including it in most of its mainstream models.
Although ProPilot is a step in the direction of autonomous driving, do not get too comfy with the idea of turning your car on “auto pilot” mode just yet. Nissan has been firm in their clarification that, while ProPilot does assist the driver, it does not (and cannot) completely drive the car without the driver. The driver is still responsible for the car. End of story. We have no doubt the technology will get to the “autopilot” level someday, but it definitely will not happen this year.
On that note, Nissan has stated they want consumers to understand the most recent version of ProPilot is the first of many steps towards fully autonomous driving. This indicates that in the next five to ten years, we can expect to see multi-lane capabilities not limited to lane changing as further driver-assistance options.
The ProPilot technology included in the Rogue and LEAF is designed to help a driver on the highway or freeway remain centered in a lane of traffic, particularly while responding to various vehicle inputs that detect the driver’s input, other vehicles, and road conditions. The recommended lane-centering prompts are given via the steering wheel. Feeling out the brief bump from the wheel whenever the car wants you to stay centered comes naturally and impulsively after a few tries. ProPilot does take into account cruise control, which is also very easy to control and adjust.
If you want to start using ProPilot in your
2018 Rogue or LEAF, you must first push down the blue ProPilot button on the steering wheel. Doing this feels similar to activating the standard adaptive cruise control button available in all Nissan models. You will know ProPilot is operational when the driver information screen in the center of the front row notifies it is active and cruise control is set. Even if, for some reason, ProPilot does not work, adaptive cruise control will still function normally.
As soon as ProPilot Assist is activated, the system will maneuver the vehicle to keep it centered in its lane as well as most challenging highway-geared corners. In order to switch lanes or override the system, simply do so as if ProPilot was not engaged. When you flip your turn signal, ProPilot disengages temporarily and ceases steering prompting. Once you have successfully changed lanes, ProPilot will automatically resume (but not before beeping to alert the driver).
Take a 2018 Nissan Rogue or 2018 Nissan LEAF out for a spin to test the ProPilot Assist system at Palm Springs Nissan this week. Give us, your
local Nissan dealer a call at (760) 328-2800 or visit us at 68177 Kyle Road in Cathedral City, CA 92234. The
Palm Springs Nissan team looks forward to serving you!