Gear up for the test drive as launch Date is declared – 20th August 2013.
The Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co. is ready to unveil its new SUV in india named Nissan Terrano by the end of August. Well, two of the most important factors which determines the fate of a car in India are its initial cost which is around 9.60 lacs in this case and its running cost or fuel efficiency for the 1.5l dCi diesel engine is 17-19 kmpl and for the 1.6l MPFI petrol engine it is 10-14 kmpl and the engine shall displace 1598 cc. The max power and max torque figures for the diesel engine are 108 bhp /3900 rpm and 248 Nm/2250 rpm and for the petrol engine are 100.6 bhp /5850 rpm and 145 Nm/3750 rpm. There is 6 speed manual transmission gearbox for the diesel version and 5 speed manual transmission gearbox for the petrol version respectively. There’s no news of Automatic transmission as yet. Now let’s talk about the acceleration and pick up to quench the thirst of speed lovers, well for the diesel version the highest achievable speed shall be 170-175 kmhr and time taken to reach from 0-100kmhr will most probably be in range of 12-14 sec; for petrol version it is 155-165 kmhr and 11-13 sec.
Let’s talk about the exterior beauty now. From the pic revealed by Nissan, Terrano looks more or less like a fluffy Renault Duster. The front seems to have trapezium-shaped grill holding the brand logo at the centre and the prominent big (15 inch say) wheels which are most expected to be alloy made and have 12 spokes on it. This mini- SUV has complete aerodynamic look with no. of edges and curves at the appropriate places as can be deduced from the pic. The ORVMs are supposed to be electrically adjustable with turn indicators on them. The headlamps look bold and fleshy which might have automatic light sensing while the fog lamps are safely placed inside a cubicle. The front windshield is wide and shall have rain sensing wipers, the rear might also be equipped with the same. Roof railings and body coloured door handles are clearly visible from the pic.
Interiors, Nissan is said to have worked nicely on interiors to offer comfortable seating and attractive dashboard and instrument panel with distance-to-empty and Eco mode readings. The steering is expected to be electrically powered with audio control buttons on it. It is expected that the car has a GPS navigation system displayed on a coloured screen, rear view parking camera, dual zone air conditioning, rear a/c vents, glovebox, Bluetooth phone pairing/handsfree, integrated music system with USB, Aux-in ports.
From the safety point of view, the car is expected to have airbags for driver and passenger, driver seat belt reminder, ABS with EBD, child lock, central lock, etc.
Well this is what is predictable right now, but the wait will be soon over as the launching date is approaching near. The car has to compete with Ford ecosport, Mahindra XUV and of course Renault Duster. If the price and mileage factor suit Indian mindsets then the car can have good initial market. Rest will also depend upon the riding and handling capability of the car.
