Nissan vehicle driving through thick snow

NISSAN PROJECT NORTH

Canadian
Winter Tested

Discover Project North and find out how a wide range of Nissan models are validated in real-life Canadian winter driving conditions.

“Harsh winters are a fact of life here in Canada. To help ensure Nissan vehicles perform well in deep snow and freezing temperatures, we take them to task in extreme winter conditions — a program we call Project North.”

 

— Scott Grieco, NCI Total Customer Satisfaction Director

 

 

Two Nissan vehicles parked on snow-covered road

PROJECT NORTH LOCATION

Extreme Is the Norm

Project North mainly takes place in Sagueney and Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec. Historically, areas have seen an average annual snowfall of over 300 cm, with temperatures that can dip below -20 °C — a benchmark for North America’s harshest winter conditions.

Plus, to address specific winter needs based on customer surveys, we put select Nissan models through their paces in Timmins, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg.

NISSAN VEHICLES FOR CANADIAN WINTER

Project North Alumni

“We do what’s necessary to put the vehicle through severe Canadian winter conditions — even if it means getting up at 3:00 am or driving into a blizzard at 10:00 pm.”

— Marcelo Tesolin, Project North New Model Sr. Engineer

PROJECT NORTH TESTING

Nissan vs. Winter

Project North adds an extra layer of real-world validation when it comes to cold weather. By taking some of our most popular models out in extreme Canadian conditions, we can be even more confident in their winter capability.

WINTER VEHICLE PERFORMANCE

As Real as It Gets

Canada’s climate can feel like five countries in one. When driving Nissan vehicles in Quebec, we come up against virtually all the winter weather conditions found in North America. See how we evaluate our vehicles’ winter performance for the nuanced needs of Canadian drivers.

20,000 km in Freezing, Snowy Conditions

Performance exercises start early in the morning, when temperatures are typically at their lowest. With hand-picked routes in Northern Quebec, we drive Project North vehicles up to 20,000 km in temperatures lower than -20 °C. This lets us validate hardware and tech like Intelligent All-Wheel Drive in the field — which we did on the all-new 2025 Kicks, the 2024 Rogue and more. [[2036]]

Active Blizzards and Snow Intake

We also take vehicles out in active blizzards. Apart from evaluating systems and hardware like AWD and Intelligent 4X4 on models like Frontier and Pathfinder in real-world conditions, it allows us to monitor snow intake. For example, we want to ensure our vehicles aren’t taking on too much snow when a truck tosses up fresh powder on the highway — a spontaneous scenario that happens in Canada and now helps inform our global standards. [[2035]] [[2036]]

Salt, Sand and Gravel

Beyond heavy snow, we also validate on terrain that includes salt, sand and gravel — materials used to tame icy surfaces. Since this kind of terrain can damage or corrode your car’s exterior, we also evaluate the paint used on Nissan vehicles to help ensure it stands up to the elements — key when you’re interested in a sportier looking ride like the 2025 Sentra. [[2036]]

Starting and Driving in Extreme Cold

Project North also lets us look at our vehicles’ start function in the extreme cold. When it comes to the 2025 ARIYA, our all-electric crossover, we have specific exercises to help ensure the batteries and charging features can stand up to extreme Canadian temperatures. [[1161]]

Interior view of Nissan vehicle cabin in winter conditions

WINTER VEHICLE COMFORT

Cozy Through It All

Making sure your cabin warms up quickly and remains cozy is a big part of Project North. We park certain models outside overnight in -20 °C temperatures to see how they respond when we start them up — and quality assure cabin comfort in harsh real-world conditions.

“Our goal with Project North is to use a wide variety of winter conditions to ensure Nissan’s design, test and evaluation standards become the Cold Weather Global Benchmark.”

— Kuno Paeng, Field Quality Investigations Sr. Manager

NISSAN VEHICLES FOR WINTER IN CANADA

Project North Verified

Explore models we validated in real Canadian winter conditions — and see what’s next for Project North.

 

 

Kicks®

Nissan Kicks
  • Available Intelligent All-Wheel Drive [[2036]]
  • Standard heated front seats
  • Available heated steering wheel and Automatic Temperature Control
  • Available Bose® headrest speakers [[1522]]

2025 model used

Rogue®

Nissan Rogue
  • Standard Intelligent All-Wheel Drive [[2036]]
  • Standard heated front seats, steering wheel and outside mirrors
  • Standard Dual-Zone Automatic Temperature Control                                                   

2024 model used

Pathfinder® 

Nissan Pathfinder
  • Standard Intelligent 4X4 [[2035]]
  • Standard Terrain and Drive Mode Selector
  • Standard heated leather steering wheel and heated outside mirrors                                                                                                    

2023 model used

ARIYA

Nissan ARIYA
  • Available e-4ORCE All-Wheel Drive technology [[1139]]
  • Standard heated front and rear seats, steering wheel and outside mirrors                                                                                                                                                                 

2023 model used

Frontier®

Nissan Frontier
  • Standard Intelligent 4X4
  • Standard heated leather steering wheel and heated seats
  • Standard Remote Engine Start [[2078]] 

2023 model used

Sentra®

Nissan Sentra
  • Available Remote Engine Start [[2078]]
  • Standard heated front seats
  • Available leather-wrapped heated steering wheel                                                          

2024 model used

PROJECT NORTH CONTINUES

Check Back Soon

Check back soon

Project North doesn’t end here. Come back in the future to see how upcoming Nissan models handle harsh Canadian winter conditions.