Nissan's wake-up call

	the firm built a mock-up of the new car to show to prospective buyers – but they didn’t like it

Japanese giant Nissan has added a new trim to its Note range, and also revealed some exciting new safety kit that will be offered on future cars.

The latest supermini-MPV is called the Acenta R, and it comes in red or black metallic finishes, with standard 16-inch alloys and rear privacy glass. There is also Bluetooth phone connectivity, electric windows all-round, air-con and a chilled glovebox.

Note Acenta Rs can be ordered now for 1 September delivery. Prices range from £11,840 for the 1.4-litre petrol to £13,540 for the 1.6 auto.

Meanwhile, Nissan raft of clever new safety equipment includes a system that monitors the driver’s face to determine whether they are too tired to continue their journey. The ingenious set-up uses a cam­era to look into the owner’s eyes and det­ermine whether they are drowsy. If they appear to be nodding off at the wheel, an alarm is sounded and the seatbelt tightened.

It works in conjunction with an advanced new lane departure warn­ing system. While competitors have developed similar set-ups that feature cameras mounted in the back of the rear view mirror – the Citroen C5 is one model with such a set-up – Nissan’s device has cameras under the car which trigger a warning if it starts to weave across the road.