You may not give much thought on what goes into testing the cars of today and I imagine there are a few that aren't too bothered as long as it works. I am one who is interested in how things work and how they are assembled, in another life I may have been an engineer. Probably.
Cars are used in many varying situations in varying conditions so it's important for manufacturers to make cars that can handle whatever life throws at them. Nissan have been giving its cars the 'dishwasher treatment' to ensure they are watertight and will keep the inside dry. But hang on, how does it fit? It's not literally a dishwasher of course, it's a specially built area at Nissan's European Technical Centre based in Cranfield, UK.
The ultimate car wash: 30,000 litres are used in total in the test - that's enough to fill 142 bath tubs!
At the ETC cars such as the Qashqai, Juke and X-Trail are sprayed using thousands of litres of water - 24,000 in fact - to ensure the car is watertight. During the test the cars are subjected to 1,000 litres of water in just 15 minutes which is equivalent to a metre of rainfall - or a British summer. But don't think it's all done by machines though, it's all done by hand to ensure the test is as demanding on the car as possible.
If that wasn't gruelling enough the cars then get treated to a high pressure jet wash aimed directly at the seals to really test the build quality. To make the test more extreme the jet wash operates at 150 bar, 40 more than domestic units. But don't think all the water goes to waste, once the tank is empty the water is filtered and recycled back in to the tank, ready for the next car.
Carl Sandy is one of the Nissan engineers who have helped develop the punishing test standards. He explained: “Another member of the team will be in the car with a high-definition endoscope to see inside the panels, looking for even the tiniest drop of water that may have made it through.” The test is so thorough that the team even strip out the interior to make sure the inside is completely dry.
The Rainmaker: Who needs a rain dance when you have Carl Sandy?
Carl added: “Rigorous testing is important because not every market is the same. For example, in Russia, commercial jet washers run at a higher pressure to cope with road dirt. Through continuous evolution of test standards, we make sure that our cars stand up to the most demanding driving requirements in Europe."