The net has been abuzz recently with talk that the relationship between Renault and Nissan will spawn a cross-badged version of the already rebadged Dacia/Renault Duster called the Nissan Terrano.
The original Terrano was launched back in 1993; South Africans might remember the mid-size SUV and its subsequent discontinuation in 2006. The new Terrano however, is marketed as a “premium SUV” suggesting a departure from the older model.
Should the Terrano make it to South African shores it would slot in between the Juke and Qashqai dimensions wise. Nissan South Africa have stated, however, that there are no plans to introduce the model locally as of yet. The Duster itself is destined for South African shores and should be launched later this year.
The Terrano will not just be a simple rebadging exercise – the SUV will see changes to the exterior design that will allow it to fit in with the design language of the rest of the Nissan SUV range. As with the Duster, a 1, 6-litre petrol and a 1, 5-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder engines with both manual and automatic gearboxes as well as front- or all-wheel drive could make up the model range.
The interesting thing about the Renault/Nissan partnership is that should either of the two manufacturers rebadge one of the others products, the resultant vehicle must be more expensive than the original vehicle. This means that the Terrano will be the costlier of the two siblings in this case.
The Terrano may share manufacturing facilities with the Duster in India, Brazil, Romania and Russia, and therefore may yet see our shores. Autocar India has also confirmed that the Terrano will be reaching their shores by the end of the year, although at this stage it does seem like it won’t leave their borders any time soon.
