The Japanese automaker, Nissan, is reviving its presence in India which is evident from the recently launched new generation Micra and now it is emerging that the company is all set to launch its first compact-SUV in India which is based on Renault Duster. The new model will be entitled ‘Terrano’ derived from the company’s earlier model which was discontinued in 2006. The old Terrano was also a mid-size SUV sold in European and in several other global markets with different identities with a surviving period from 1993 to 2006.
The Terrano will be slightly priced over the Renault Duster, expected to be around Rs. 50,000 – 75,000 more than Duster. The partnership agreement between Renault and Nissan, states a clause that the secondary launch of a cross-badged model should have to be slightly overpriced than the primary version of same model launched earlier. Like we seen the cross-badging of same engineering between Nissan’s Sunny and Micra with Renault’s Scala and Pulse.
Apparently, Terrano will be powered by the same 1.5-litre K9K series diesel and 1.6-litre petrol engine. Climate control and better interior ergonomics are the must needed changes that Nissan should make in Terrano. The transmission will be same 5-speed and 6-speed manual gearbox as in the respective variants of the Duster. Hopefully, if Nissan launched the Terrano with X-tronic CVT transmission option, it would be a game changer for the company as well as being a solid contender against the upcoming Ford EcoSport.
Nissan Terrano is expected to procure the substantial changes to get the identical rugged design as same as the X-trail from the same family. The assortment of changes like the new body lines and curves, redesigned bumpers, grille and lamps at both the ends make the car looks more appealing and brisk over the matured design of Duster. The Terrano will make its debut in India by the end of this year and will be the third relevant launch in the segment. The current price of Duster’s top diesel variant is Rs.12.18 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi) and could reach to almost Rs. 13 lakhs (Ex-showroom, Delhi) for Terrano which might be quite an issue for Nissan to boost the sales of Smart-SUV.
Source – Autocar