Driver’s power Nissan success
The UK’s motorists have cast their votes and Nissan has been awarded top marks in this year’s Driver Power survey. The prestigious poll conducted by Auto Express magazine not only names Nissan the most improved brand in Britain, but also awards the Qashqai a class leading position.
Completed by more than 23,000 owners of a wide range of new and used models, the Driver Power survey asks motorists to rate their cars across ten categories ranging from build quality through to braking, performance and ride quality. Particularly praising its comfort, reliability and dynamic abilities, drivers of Nissan’s Qashqai are clearly smitten with their stylish crossover models.
Not only did the Qashqai finish in a fantastic fifth position in the overall Top 100 models, but it also bettered the results of all of its rivals in the People Carrier class. Confirming its unbeatable spread of abilities, had the Qashqai also been included in the Compact Family car category, it would have emerged victorious against more conventional rivals, too.
Another British built model that’s enjoyed a marked improvement in Auto Express’s Driver Power 2011 is the Note, which has leapt 27 places up the Top 100 to finish in 32nd position.
With the scores for each model in the range contributing to the brand’s overall rating, it’s no surprise to find that all this success has led to a great result for Nissan in the Driver Power top manufacturer chart. Moving further up the ratings than any other car maker, Nissan has improved by 14 places to finish in 11th position overall, ahead of both Honda and Toyota.
Auto Express’s team of experts anticipated Nissan’s excitement, commenting: “Champagne corks will be popping at Nissan’s Sunderland plant – the UK’s largest car builder has made the biggest improvement of any manufacturer in Driver Power 2011. It’s leapt an amazing 14 places and is now challenging for the top ten.”
Paul Willcox, managing director of Nissan Motor (GB), said: “We are delighted to have achieved such great results in Driver Power, a survey that means so much more because our rankings and ratings are determined by our customers. The Qashqai has been a huge success for Nissan and the UK manufacturing industry, with more than 900,000 produced at our Sunderland plant. It’s great to see that drivers rate it just as highly as we do.”
