April 25, 2012

Nissan Releases All-New Cima

YOKOHAMA, Japan (April 25, 2012)- Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the launch of the new Nissan Cima, which goes on sale May 21stat Nissan dealers nationwide in Japan.

The key features of the new Cima are:

• Styling expressing a premium class image characteristic of Cima
• Hybrid system with optimally balanced driving and environmental performance
• Spacious and comfortable rear seats

Since the debut of the first-generation model, Cima has enjoyed support and high acclaim from customers for its excellent driving performance, advanced equipment and leading-edge technology. The new 5thgeneration Cima continues the exhilarating driving experience that is the DNA of successive Cima models, combining superior engine performance with superior environmental performance, while also delivering high levels of comfort and safety.

The new exterior design expresses the premium class image characteristics of Cima, with its strong presence provided by a large grille and bumper, long wheelbase of over 3 meters and flowing side view.

With Nissan's original one-motor two-clutch parallel hybrid "Intelligent Dual Clutch Control" system, best-in-class fuel economy and strong acceleration performance are optimally balanced.

Excellent ride comfort and quietness are realized by the newly refined comfort suspension, sound-absorbing tires (adopted for the first time for Nissan vehicles) and Active Noise Control, which has been adjusted to focus on the rear passenger compartment. Furthermore, first-class hospitality is offered in the rear seats, with best-in-class knee room and a range of comfort equipment including a 7-inch wide display integrated with the front seat headrest, overhead reading light, vanity mirror and sunshade.

In manufacturing the vehicle, each part is elaborately made by Takumi, or "master with greatest skills," in each of the paint, trim and inspection processes in pursuit of the highest quality.

The new Cima achieves both a 20% improvement in fuel economy over 2015 standards and SU-LEV certification, emitting 75% fewer exhaust emissions than 2005 standards. This also qualifies for preferential tax breaks under the Japanese "tax system to promote the diffusion of environmentally friendly vehicles" as next generation automobiles*1, thereby fully exempting it from the automobile acquisition tax and automobile weight tax.

Based on the two-pillar strategy "zero emissions" and PURE DRIVE*2, Nissan has been working on reducing CO2emissions. The new Cima is one of the PURE DRIVE vehicles equipped with Nissan's original hybrid system.

<Overview of the New Cima>
1. Design
Exterior Design with Premium Feeling and Strong Presence

• Distinctive front mask with strong presence featuring a large grille with solid, three-dimensional frame and plating molding bumper
• Beautiful proportions with a long nose and short deck characteristic of FR (rear-wheel drive) vehicle
• Flowing elegant silhouette
• Available in five exterior colors chosen to emphasize the elegant bodylines

2. Driving, Environmental and Safety Performance
Hybrid System

• Utilizing Nissan's "Intelligent Dual Clutch Control", a one-motor two-clutch parallel hybrid system, Cima offers an optimal balance of direct response, superb driving feel and low fuel consumption
• Combining a hybrid VQ35HR engine with maximum power of 225kW(306PS)/6800rpm and maximum torque of 350N•m(35.7kgf•m)/5000rpm) with an advanced 'HM34' electric motor with maximum power output of 50kW(68PS) and maximum torque of 270N•m(27.5kgf•m)and high-output lithium-ion battery with a quick charge/discharge function, highly-efficient and powerful driving is realized under various driving conditions
• Electronic 7-speed hybrid transmission with manual shift mode
• Electro-Hydraulic Power Steering system, which drives the pump by electric motor to generate hydraulic pressure
• Electric Driven Intelligent Brake, with applied electric-type booster
• Regenerative braking system
• Meter display that shows various information, including operating conditions of the hybrid system (Energy Monitor), battery remaining capacity, Accelerator Guide, ECO-drive Indicator and a liquid-crystal odometer/twin trip meter (with an EV mode travel distance display function)

Mechanism

• Double-piston shock absorbers, which utilize a double-piston structure to help control damping force according to vibration frequency from the road surface
• ECO-pedal that assists drivers in fuel-efficient driving with a pedal push-back control mechanism and the color and flash of ECO Drive Indicator in the meters
• Comfortable ride and reduced road noise are realized with sound-absorbing tires, which absorb road noise and resonance during driving with sound absorbing materials attached inside - adopted for the first time for Nissan vehicles
• Sound-absorbing tires are combined with aluminum wheels with optimized rigidity and mass
• Active Noise Control, which produces opposite-phase sound to reduce unpleasant muffled sound generated by synchronization with engine revolutions, is adopted and newly tuned to be applied more intensively for rear seats, helping achieve excellent cabin quietness

Advanced Safety Technologies

• Intelligent Control Assist (Distance Control Assist)
• Intelligent Cruise Control
• Intelligent Brake Assist/Emergency Brake Operated Pre-crash Front Seat Belts
• LDP (Lane Departure Prevention)/LDW (Lane Departure Warning)/ FCW (Forward Collision Warning)
• VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control including Traction Control System)

<Other Key Safety and Environmental Technologies>

• Tire Pressure Warning System (with tire position display function)
• Rear View Monitor (color view with predictive width/ length readout and grid function display)
• Side blind-spot monitor (color view with predictive left-side and front-end width display function)
• School Zone Alert system
• Opposite direction driving warning system
• Driving Safety Support System (DSSS*3)
• Bright LED rear combination taillights
• Active Adaptive Front Lighting System
• SRS air bag system
• Body construction for pedestrian protection (with pop-up engine hood)/ High-strength body construction (Zone Body)
• Hazard lamps working cooperatively with the air bags
• Fuel economy calculated based on JC08 mode
• Achieves SU-LEV certification by emitting 75% fewer exhaust emissions than 2005 standards
• 95% recyclability rate based on 1998 Guidelines for definition and calculation method on the recyclability rate for new vehicles provided by JAMA
• Mileage display function

3. First-Class Hospitality and Advanced Equipment Supporting Spacious Comfortable Rear Seats
Interior

• With a long wheelbase of over 3 meters, best-in-class rear seat knee room is achieved
• Comfortable and enhanced luxury feeling is expressed through the use of soft, premium semi-aniline leather and wood grain panels coated with genuine silver powder, which gives them an immaculate mirror finish (standard on CIMA HYBRID VIP G/CIMA HYBRID VIP)
• "Forest AC" air conditioning system
• Personal Driving Position Memory System (steering, seating and door mirror positions, air conditioner, navigation and audio system)

Seats

• Low-resilience urethane used for cushion pad for all seats
• Air-conditioned front seats with warm or cold air released through seat cushions and seatbacks (standard on CIMA HYBRID VIP G/CIMA HYBRID VIP, a factory-installed option on CIMA HYBRID)
• Power-reclining rear seats enabling the most appropriate, relaxed posture and excellent ride comfort (CIMA HYBRID VIP G/CIMA HYBRID VIP) and heated rear seats (standard on CIMA HYBRID VIP G/CIMA HYBRID VIP, a factory-installed option on CIMA HYBRID)
• Power ottoman-style legrest for the front passenger seat
  

Comfortable Rear Seat Features

• Private Theater System powered by a Bose® 5.1 Surround Sound System for rear seats (standard on CIMA HYBRID VIP G, a factory-installed option on CIMA HYBRID); with 16 strategically placed speakers, concert hall quality sound is recreated for all seating positions
• High-definition 7-inch VGA display installed in the front seat headrests, providing high-quality clear images
• Overhead reading light for rear seats
• Rear seat personal light and illuminated vanity mirror
• Electrically operated rear window sunshade
• Rear door sunshades
• DC 12V power sockets on and inside the center console
• Front passenger seat control switch for adjusting front passenger power seat that can be operated by both driver and rear seats
• Built-in control switch in the rear center armrest for operating audio and air conditioning systems and adjusting seats (standard on CIMA HYBRID VIP G/CIMA HYBRID VIP)
• Rear door auto closer that can firmly close the door by just lightly closing
• Trunk auto closer that can lock the trunk door by just lightly pushing down the trunk lid

CARWINGS Navigation System (HDD system with a terrestrial digital TV tuner)

4. Product Quality Efforts
Paint Process
Darker body colors require glossier finishes. To achieve a clearer gloss, experienced paint takumi polishes each body surface individually by hand in a special room off of the production line after the surface coating is finished, in addition to the conventional paint process. Then the top coat is applied for a beautiful, gloss finish.

Special Inspection Process
At the end of the inspection process, a specially qualified, experienced inspector carefully conducts a quality inspection on every vehicle. A close check is conducted using both tactile assessment and digital measuring instruments.

Test Driving Process
An experienced test driver in the driver's seat and an experienced inspector in the rear seat conduct an inspection on the test course, recreating various driving conditions. Every vehicle is closely inspected by dynamic evaluation for driving and handling, designed to pick up any potential faint squeak or rattle in the cabin.

Quality Inspection Confirmation
After all quality inspections are completed, quality inspection confirmation for the new Cima, with the signature of Tochigi Plant Manager, is loaded on each vehicle.

Sales target:1,000 units/year
Price range:7,350,000 yen to 8,400,000 yen, including consumption tax
Sales launch events:May 26 (Sat.) - 27 (Sun.)

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