How Does Nissan's ProPilot Match Up To Tesla Autopilot?
Nissan’s next-generation Leaf EV will be its first car featuring its ProPilot driver-assist self-driving technology. The system will be activated by a button on the steering wheel and will control acceleration, braking and steering.
The ProPilot system consists of a suite of assists, semi-autonomous functions and is designed mainly for highways, and not for busy city traffic.
Read: Nissan To Start Automated Car Testing In Europe
The company has been testing the system in Japan for some time and now and it is ready for a rollout in North America and Europe.
“In the coming years, Nissan's ProPilot technology will offer increasing levels of autonomy, with the system eventually able to navigate city intersections. Set to help make driving more secure and more enjoyable, ProPilot Assist is part of Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the company's blueprint for transforming how cars are driven, powered and integrated into society,” the company said in its press release Thursday.
The announcement also signals the production of the Leaf EV is on track with the company expected to reveal the production model in September and start shipping by the end of the year.
Nissan’s Leaf EV will run on a 60 kilowatt battery which will give it a range of 200 miles on a full charge. The company calls it the “world's first mass-market electric vehicle.”
Nissan’s only clear rival in self-driving is Tesla, which has one of the most advanced self-driving system in the world – the Autopilot. While Nissan is much bigger and makes more cars than Tesla, globally selling around 270,000 Leaf first-generation EVs, it definitely has the edge when it comes to self-driving technology.
In comparison to Tesla’s system which features obstacle detection, speed limits and a fully activated auto steering which allows the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel for short periods of time. Nissan’s ProPilot will only work in highway cruising so you can navigate from point A to Point B.
As Nissan stated in its press release, the system will ‘eventually’ be able to navigate city intersections. Tesla’s system meanwhile lets the car change lanes, match traffic speeds, exit freeways, brake in emergency and self-park in a parking spot. Unlike Tesla’s system, the Nissan ProPilot has to remain in a single lane, even on the highway.
Read: Tesla Model 3 Deliveries Begin Next Month, 5 Reasons To Buy One
The company does claim its system will improve over time, which might be done with Tesla-style software updates. Tesla issues separate updates for its cars with different hardware, such HW1 and HW2, but it is not known yet whether Nissan’s ProPilot software should be available for first-generation EVs.
Nissan’s self-driving system is developing, but it not fully developed. While there is no self-driving system that is fully autonomous and works without human control, Tesla’s system is far more advanced, which might make its Model 3 more attractive to self-driving enthusiasts.
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