The advice from skincare experts is to slap on the SPF 50 sun cream to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays during summer (seasonal or, in Singapore’s case, perpetual). That’s not practical with the body panels of a Nissan crossover, and it’s also not necessary.
Nissan has revealed for the first time just how tough the UV protection is on its crossovers such as the Qashqai, Juke and X-Trail. The answer is the equivalent to Sun Protection Factor (SPF) 500.
All new Nissan crossovers come with a high-quality, multi-layer paint finish which has been tested to endure the most extreme temperatures in the world. During development, Nissan’s engineers expose sample paint panels to 500 watts per square metre of UV light, which is more than 10 times the UV radiance of natural sunlight.
So, if SFP 50 sun cream will keep human skin safe outdoors during summer, Nissan paints are equivalent to SPF 500.
Key to stopping the paintwork of Nissan’s crossovers peeling like your nose in the summer sun is the manufacturer’s new £1.34 million environmental test chamber. Recently opened, the facility at the European Technical Centre at Cranfield, UK means Nissan engineers can recreate many years of UV exposure in real-world conditions in a matter of weeks. Their mission is to ensure Nissan crossovers will deliver a lifetime of quality performance.
The high-tech light bulbs in the new chamber emit 92,000 watts of intense heat, which is equivalent to 2300 of the 40-watt type found in many homes. Combined with elevated temperature inside the chamber, the cabin of any crossover on test reaches a staggering 120 degrees Celsius.
It means Nissan crossovers are safe to soak up the summer sun on the hottest Mediterranean beaches and in sunny Singapore.
