Nissan gears up for summer sun | Industry - Car News Jul 2016

14:11 Thursday 21 Jul 2016

Nissan have been using the latest technology to develop the ultimate in UV protection for its range of crossover models.

The Qashqai, Juke, and X-Trail have been readied for the onslaught of summer with the equivalent of Factor 500 sun protection. Boffins at Nissan’s European Technical Centre in Cranfield have been utilising a new £1.34million test chamber to subject paint samples to 500 watts per square metre of UV light, almost 10 times the radiance of natural sunlight, ensuring that the bodywork on each of the company’s crossover models will be able to survive a lifetimes worth of summers. It’s not just the paintwork that goes through the process, with the plastics, seat fabrics, and adhesives all rigorously tested. During testing the cabin temperatures can reach 120 degrees Celsius under the glare of 92,000 watts of intense heat, before dropping to an arctic -50 degrees Celsius to test the its performance at the other end of the scale.

“Just like human skin, car paint is affected by intense UV rays that are capable of breaking down a surface, so we test for durability to ensure lasting product quality,” said Nissan engineer Dean Gillett as he explained the attention to detail the company demands. “A good example is the gas struts which hold the tailgate open. They’re different around the world because the gas in the cylinder is temperature sensitive.”