Nissan has recently launched a facelifted version of Micra and now it is launching an all new SUV, Nissan Terrano, into the Indian market. This car will compete in the Cross over segment with the Ford’s record seller, EcoSport. The company has been previewing the car by releasing various teasers of the car and the latest one is about an all wheel drive system for this upcoming car. Nissan Terrano will make it into the market in September this year.
Well to be honest, Nissan Terrano is not exactly a new car for the Indian market. It is simply a new name for the company’s SUV line up. In reality, Terrano is a Nissan tagged Renault Duster. The Nissan Renault alliance is indulged in cross sharing of its products and the launch of Terrano will put an end to this practice of ‘ Badge Engineering” by this alliance. With almost the same specs, Terrano and Duster might start competing with each other.
Nissan though has tried to give the car a refreshing look by working on the exterior. The car has a new front fascia comprising of a redesigned bonnet and a power dome. The front also has a V shaped grille with chrome bars endorsing a Nissan Badge on it. The car also has angular head lights and a redesigned bumper with fog lights. It offers a frameless window look and also has a new tail gate.
Talking about the car performance, expect it to be like the Renault Duster. It will be equipped by the same 1.5 liter diesel engine with 2 tuning states. It is still unclear whether Terrano will come with a petrol engine option or not. But this car will have a 4WD variant that will surely give it, its own place in the market.
This SUV will primarily compete with Ford EcoSport. The second generation of EcoSport was unveiled at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo and has been launched recently, this year. The car is breaking all records in the Indian market and is proving to be the bestselling car in India. Last year Ford had sold around 76,000 units in India. Now the EcoSport in just 17 days of launch has sold 25,000 units. It achieved 1/3rd of the total sales in less than a month. It is expected that the car will outdo the company’s annual sales by the end of July.
An EcoSport dealer said that “People who were looking to buy vehicles like the Swift, DZire and even Amaze, are going for EcoSport because of its competitive pricing and also it covers wide range of price segments including small cars, sedans and even SUVs.” The car has been launched with a highly competitive starting price of only Rs 5.59 lacs.
Terrano trying to compete with EcoSport that has already set the market on fire, is quite challenging. The incorporation of the 4WD technology will surely give it an upper hand as many SUV buyers have been wishing for it in Duster as well as in EcoSport. It will also offer an all wheel drive system something that Duster has not yet brought to India. Nissan Terrano will be priced slightly more than Renault Duster.
Whether Nissan Terrano is able to set records or not, only time can say that. Till then we will have to wait.
