Nissan announced about launching an SUV earlier in February this year. The company seems to be very confident regarding this car. As well all know that the Terrano is a renamed Renault Duster. Talking about Duster it is doing exceptionally well in the country and has consistently been the company’s best seller. Nissan has similar expectations from Terrano. The company has been cautious with the car and has been rigorously test driving it since quite some time now. On various occasions the car has been spotted in and around Chennai. But the cars were highly camouflaged during all the test drives.
Now for the first time, a completely undisguised Nissan Terrano has been captured. Thanks to the Autoblogs Twitter follower, Mrunal Gandhi we get to view the Terrano 2 days prior to its official unveiling. In the image the car seems to be at halt in a compound with few other Nissan models. Terrano will be officially unveiled on the 20th of August.
Nissan and Renault have an alliance due to which they can cross share their products in their markets. Cross sharing is basically the term used when a company borrows a car from another company and tags it with its own name. Renault and Nissan entered the Indian market when there was already a lot of competition. To capture more market and roll out products quickly, both the company started practicing ‘badge engineering’ extensively. Renault Pulse and Nissan Micra are the same cars with different names. Same is the case with Renault Scala and Nissan Sunny. Now Nissan is all set to launch Terrano which is nothing but a modified Renault Duster.
The previous rebadged products attracted a lot of criticism as the vehicles did not have any individuality of their own. Therefore with Terrano, the company has tried to use a little more of creativity. The car is similar when we compare the dimensions and engine specs but the company has tried to make the car look different and more appealing. Firstly Terrano is much more muscular than Duster. The car is endorsing a new grille with a large company badge. This honeycomb V shaped grille is resting on a redesigned bumper. The headlights too have been changed. The car also exhibits new wheels and darkened pillars. The rear shows a unique tail gate and we must admit it is simply outstanding. The car is using a split tail light arrangement and a considerable part of the light is carried to the boot lid.
President and CEO of Nissan Motor India Pvt. Limited, Mr. Kenichiro Yomura while explaining about the new designing of Terrano said that “You can see from the sketch that Terrano has a bold and distinctive design that I am confident will appeal to our growing customer base in India, as will its driving performance and range of other features that will be revealed at a later date.”
The car will be offering the same engine options as we see in Duster. Terrano will have the same 1.5 liter dCi diesel engine with 2 tunable states. The first will offer an output of 85 bhp and a torque of 200 Nm while the second will give an output of 108 bhp and a torque of 248 Nm. The petrol run model will be powered by a 1.6 liter engine. The car will be using a 4 wheel drive system unlike Duster.
Since it is a cross shared product, Nissan will have to price the car more than the Renault Duster. It is expected that the company will price the Terrano Rs 50000 more than the Duster. With its launch on the 20th of August, it is definite that the car will reach the showrooms in the festive season.
Nissan Terrano will have to compete with the Ford EcoSport after its launch. It will be very difficult for the company to takeover EcoSport as it has already set historic sales records in the country.