Renault-Nissan alliance is churning out decent volumes out of their badge engineering strategy. The most successful car of their alliance in India is the Renault Duster SUV, selling in high volumes. On 20th August Nissan will unveil the Terrano, which is similar to Duster and will be priced over it. To further increase their SUV lineup in India, Nissan is said to be working to bring in the Qashqai. The crossover is intended to be positioned above the Terrano if it gets a green signal.
Initially, the company was considering the Sylphy sedan for India in the Rs. 12 – 20 lakh price range but looking at the increasing demand for SUVs, the plan has been cancelled and instead the manufacturer will launch the Qashqai. The Nissan Qashqai is not a full-sized SUV but an SUV based on a regular car platform with raised ground clearance and compact dimensions at par with the Renault Duster. What makes it look premium is the smartly carved out design.
The Nissan Qashqai looks sporty, agile and modern. Nissan has treated the SUV with muscular styling elements and strong cuts and creases, which reflects the aggressive new design language of the company. The interiors however appear to have numb styling like the Duster. Extensive use of grey colour is not what an Indian buyer wants out of a premium SUV. We can expect good quality levels and long list of gadgetry in the Qashqai.
In the international market, the Nissan Qashqai features 4-cylinder petrol and 4-cylinder k9k diesel engines and we expect the latter to be introduced in the Indian market. The Qashqai is available with an option of front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive setup, automatic and manual transmissions and seating configuration of five and seven. If the plan is executed well then the Nissan Qashqai is expected to be introduced next year in India, starting at Rs. 14 lakhs for the base variant.
Source – Autocar India
