Nissan has expanded its ProPilot technology to be available across the full range of automatic Qashqai models, meaning this hugely popular SUV will be able to do a lot more of the driving for you.

ProPilot is a system that encompasses a full range of driver assistance technologies, meaning you can press a button and have a number of systems swing into place. While it's not designed to be totally autonomous, it will keep you in lane and maintain a safe distance from the car in front, reacting to changes in speed on the road. 

ProPilot will bring the car to a complete halt, and then resume driving again if that stop is for less than 3 seconds. It's a system designed to assist with motorway driving as well as stop-start driving in traffic, although you still need to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel at all times.

It uses a combination of cameras and radar to identify the traffic conditions and other vehicles and is able to steer the car around corners, keeping in the middle of the correct lane when on the motorway.

The driver needs to stay alert, however, because the car will hand back control to the driver following a warning signal if it's lost sight of lane markings, for example.

Systems like ProPilot can make stop-start motoring less tiresome for the driver, being able to control the car in slow moving traffic, the sort of thing you might encounter in a traffic jam. As it's very much an evolution of adaptive cruise control, it's also great for long distance motorway driving.

It's available on automatic Qashqai models, priced at £595 for N-Connecta, while it's included as standard on Tekna and Tekna+ models. The starting price for a ProPilot model is £28,040.

ProPilot is also available on the Nissan Leaf - the company's all-electric car - and is due to be introduced to the X-Trail later in 2019.