Review: Nissan Terrano

Renault had its barrage of launches in the first year that they entered India and then this year was all about figuring things out for the future. Renault and Nissan have had a great relationship till date and even now they share the same platforms for their cars as well as the production facility in Chennai.

After the response that the Renault Duster received from the Indian customers, Nissan moved its gaze to the SUV segment. The Nissan Terrano is the third model in the Renault-Nissan India line-up to receive the badge-engineering treatment. Nissan had the heads up for the other two cars but this time it was the other way around.

Unlike the other two badge-engineered models in the Renault-Nissan stable - the Scala and the Pulse - both of which have got mild tweaks to their exteriors to differentiate them from their Nissan equivalents; Nissan has gone a step further with the Terrano and made significant styling changes, including heavy alterations to the sheet metal. These include redesigned bumpers and lights and a new grille, all of which help the Nissan Terrano look like a proper Nissan - the inspirations being the Pathfinder SUV.

This gives the Terrano a striking look and a completely different one when compared to the Renault Duster but the side profile of the Terrano still reminds you of the Renault SUV. Even the rear has the familiar styling of the Renault Duster; however, the Nissan Terrano gets a different tail gate with tail-lamps that extend onto it.

Inside, the Terrano gets beige interiors but the base trim comes with all black interiors. The Nissan comes with a different steering wheel with silver-finish inserts, however, there are no column-mounted controls for the audio system. The audio system is also new and comes with a CD player, aux-in, USB and Bluetooth mobile connectivity as well. Overall, the space inside is the same as the Duster.

The Nissan Terrano comes with the same 1.5-litre dCi diesel powerplant in two states of tune - 84bhp and 109bhp. There's also a 1.6-litre petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, as is the 84bhp diesel. The 109bhp diesel comes paired with a six-speed manual gearbox.

There have been no mechanical changes from the Duster and this means, the Terrano more or less drives similar to the Renault. The Terrano drives brilliantly and even on rough roads and pothole ridden paths, the Terrano has the suspension setup to gobble all the vibrations and give the driver and passenger a smooth drive.

With prices starting from as low as 9.76 lakhs, the Terrano is a brilliant piece of machinery and has enough to stand against the Duster from which it has been re-badged. Nissan has done an incredible job to change the looks, features of the car and we think it will be well received.