Nissan Terra Revealed; Will Rival Fortuner, Endeavour

Though the China-spec SUV is powered by a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol, the Terra will eventually get a diesel option as well for other markets  

Nissan has fully revealed its new full-size premium SUV, the Terra, for the Chinese market. It is Nissan’s first ladder frame-based offering in a long time and will rival SUVs such as the Ford Endeavour and the Toyota Fortuner in markets like Thailand. Like its rivals, the Terra too is based on a popular pickup truck, the Nissan Navara. 

Dimensions

Features 

Lights  

The Nissan Terra comes with LED projector headlamps with daytime running LEDs and tail lamps featuring LED graphics. This is identical to what you see in the Fortuner and the Endeavour as well; however, the Ford offers bi-xenon projectors. 

Audio system 

The Nissan Terra features a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system coupled to a 6-speaker system, same as the Fortuner. Both the Fortuner and the Terra misses out on Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. The Endeavour gets things right here as it comes with a larger screen (8-inches) and features both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. The Endeavour also comes with a standard 10-speaker system that features active noise cancellation. The Endeavour’s infotainment system calls emergency services automatically in case of a mishap (airbags deployed) as well.

Comfort and convenience 

The Terra gets features such as passive keyless entry with push-button engine start-stop, powered driver’s seat, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, electric sunroof and leather upholstery. It is largely similar to the Fortuner’s equipment list except for the dual-zone climate control and sunroof. The Endeavour, on the other hand, offers more as it gets a bigger panoramic sunroof, multi-colour ambient lighting, semi-autonomous parking feature and programmable key (push-button start-stop should be offered with the upcoming facelift).

Safety

All the three SUVs offer up to seven airbags (Endeavour offers six airbags, missing out on driver’s knee airbag), ABS with EBD and brake assist along with ESP (electronic stability program), TC (traction control), hill launch assist, tyre pressure monitoring system, and Isofix child seat anchors.

Powertrain

The Nissan Navara is powered by a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine which puts out 183PS and 251Nm. The engine is mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed automatic. Like its rivals it offers both rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive setups. The Terra is expected to get a diesel engine (borrowed from the Navara) as well for other markets. 

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It could be the Navara’s 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel or the 2.5-litre diesel. Both the engines put out 190PS and 450Nm. It is just that the torque starts building up way lower in the twin-turbo unit: at around 1500rpm compared to 2000rpm in the 2.5-litre unit. Transmission options should be similar to the 2.5-litre petrol. Nissan could offer either of the two diesels here along with the petrol like the Fortuner. 

Will it come to India? 

After China, Nissan has already announced the Terra for the Philippines and subsequently, Thailand will get it too. We believe that Nissan will eventually launch it in India as well as its rivals are doing pretty well here. The Ford Endeavour, for instance, retails ~500 units monthly, while the Toyota Fortuner is doing around 2k units. The combined retail figure of these ladder frame-based SUVs is well over double the sales of similarly priced monocoque SUVs (~ Rs 30-35 lakh) such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Skoda Kodiaq. Moreover, Nissan certainly needs more products in its current portfolio, which is noncompetitive, ageing and boring right now in comparison to some of the other mass-market players.

Check out: Skoda Kodiaq Review