But these attributes don’t appear by chance. They exist thanks to a dedicated band of engineers based at the brand’s Dynamic Performance Centre – opened 10 years ago this month – and the 1,000,000+ test kilometres they’ve carried out since.
The Nissan facility is at Bonn, Germany and is dedicated to ensuring the highest standards of engineering precision and excellence. Special celebrations have taken place recognising the seven-strong team’s outstanding contribution to the sales success of Nissan’s crossover range – the best-selling Qashqai, plus the Juke and X-Trail – in Europe.
The team is currently developing the next generation of Nissan crossovers, plus Nissan’s autonomous drive technology which will debut in Europe on the Qashqai in 2017.
Erik Belgrado, Dynamic Performance Manager, commented: “The work of the Dynamic Performance Centre team has been key to driving the Nissan brand forward, particularly in relation to our leadership in the development of our Qashqai, Juke and X-Trail crossovers. This anniversary is a great opportunity to recognise that.”
The Dynamic Performance Centre opened in September 2006 to further enhance Nissan’s reputation for delivering cars that perfectly met customers’ driving expectations. Bonn was chosen because of its proximity to Germany’s autobahns, narrow urban highways and rural roads with cobbles and other imperfect surfaces.
Establishing regular and repeatable test routes in the area allowed Nissan’s engineers to gather accurate and measurable data on real-world performance. They are involved from the earliest stages of a new vehicle’s creation, right through its development, refinement, competitor benchmarking, validation and sign-off.
Their skills are also called on to ensure production vehicles are being built to the highest standards. Their goal is to ensure consistent high-quality engineering, not just in one model but across Nissan’s entire range of vehicles for Europe.
In the decade since it opened, the Dynamic Performance Centre has taken on responsibility for assessing all Nissan models on sale in Europe, with the exception of the GT-R. It operates as part of Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE), which also has sites in the UK, Spain and Russia.
