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Nissan Terrano: Dacia-based compact SUV not on local radar

An official sketch of the all-new Nissan Terrano has been released ahead of its launch into the Indian market in the coming months.


The Terrano is based on the rugged Dacia Duster compact SUV (below), with Nissan taking advantage of its alliance with Renault, the owner of the budget Romanian marque.

Described as a "premium SUV", Nissan Terrano will be produced in right-hand drive at the manufacturer's Oragadam Plant in India alongside the Micra hatchback, Sunny (Almera) sedan and Evalia van (also known as NV200).

Based on the Dacia B0 platform and related to the Nissan Juke and new Pulsar hatch, the Nissan Terrano is likely to compare closely to the Duster, which measures 4315mm long, 1822mm wide, 1630mm tall and 2673mm between the wheels – roughly the same size as the Skoda Yeti.

Available predominantly in developing markets, the Duster is available in front- and four-wheel drive layouts and with the choice of three four-cylinder engines: 1.6- and 2.0-litre petrol units and a 1.5-litre diesel.

The same engines are expected to find their way under the bonnet of the Terrano, which will go on sale in India before the end of the 2013 financial year (ending March 2014).

Nissan Motor India president and CEO Kenichiro Yomura says he expects the Terrano to become a “very important model for Nissan”.

“You can see from this 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 Dacia-based compact SUV sees the Terrano nameplate return to Nissan’s line-up after a seven-year absence. The previous Terrano II was sold in Australia until 1999, although production continued for other markets until 2006.

A comeback appears unlikely in the short-term, however, with Nissan Australia corporate communications general manager Peter Fadeyev revealing there has been no discussion within the local division about reintroducing the Terrano to our market at this stage.

Nissan is the second-largest distributor of SUVs in Australia, having sold 13,341 across the country so far this year, trailing only Toyota on 23,127.

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