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Seen for the first time undergoing testing last month, the first of Nissan’s two incoming Renault-based SUVs has again been spied in India ahead of its market launch next year.
First of two
Still wrapped in heavy layers of cladding, the model, currently known only as the “two-row”, will use the Renault Duster as a base, but with Nissan specific styling and subtle interior differences.
Set to be joined later by a three-row derivative of the Renault Boreal, itself a restyled Dacia Bigster, the newcomer is expected to retain the same engine options as the Duster, namely a conventional turbocharged petrol engine and a mild-hybrid.
Absent though is a turbodiesel option as a result of the latter. However, the option of four-wheel drive is expected to feature as on the Renault.
While the latest spy images by gaadiwaadi.com doesn’t provide any new hints, speculation has continued as to whether the Terrano name will again be used.
Used on a rebadged version of the first generation Duster sold exclusivity in India, the moniker, worn famously on a ladder-frame SUV once sold as the updated Terrano II in South Africa, is likely to present the best option, though for the moment, nothing has yet been permitted.
Arriving in South Africa next year
What has, however, been approved is that the incoming model and seven-seat Boreal offshoot will be coming to South Africa as part of an intense product renewal next year.
“[These] products will be Nissan’s answer to the Chinese competition in South Africa. We believe [India] is a good source to bring competitive and technologically advanced response to the market,” Nissan Managing Director for South Africa and Independent African Markets, Maciej Klenkiewicz, told the media at the unveiling of the facelift Magnite in Cape Town last year.
Set to be positioned above the Magnite, the Duster-based model will become the de facto replacement for the discontinued Qashqai, while the Boreal version will the gap above it but below the X-Trail.
The roll-out will be completed by the arrival of the all-new Y63 Patrol soon after. Not expected is the Nissan badged version of the Renault Triber teased earlier this year as this model will be for India only.
A product portfolio that will also include the so-called “evolved” or heavily updated Navara at a later stage, the brand has indicated that is committed to the local market despite recent comments about is rumoured departure.
“South Africa is not only the headquarters of our operations in [Africa], but also the entire continent. Nissan has been in South Africa for 60 years, and we are committed to South Africa and Africa,” Klenkiewicz said at a roundtable discussion earlier this month.
“We are also working closely with India, so I can assure you, a sourcing plant for the products coming to South Africa will be competitive, brand-new, well-designed and fulfil customers’ expectations”.
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