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>>Ok. So this is a badge-engineered Renault Duster alright, but the thing is Nissan has
done a fair bit of cosmetic surgery to make the Nissan Terrano stand out. To a layman,
this would actually look like an all new SUV. Let's look at the changes in detail. Up front,
you have completely redesigned headlamps, a trademark Nissan grille and redesigned bumpers.
The bonnet too has been slightly altered as well.
In profile, the changes are far less obvious. The changes here include these blacked out
pillars between the glass area and a straighter crease line along the bottom of the doors.
And the roof rails have a different colour combination.
The XL Plus variant that we're driving has 16-inch steel wheels, although it looks better
with these 16-inch machined alloy wheels found on the XV variant.
It's the rear of the Nissan Terrano that really stands out. The chunky tail-lamps flow into
the boot lid, with the reverse lamp on the boot. The tail gate has been redesigned completely
and so have the bumpers -- which definitely look more premium compared to the Renault
Duster. Powering this variant of the Nissan Terrano
is a 1.5 litre diesel engine putting out 84 bhp of power with a five-speed manual transmission
driving the front wheels. This engine has far less turbo-lag compared to the more powerful
110PS variant and picks up easily with fewer gear shifts needed. The steering too feels
pretty direct and light to use. Fuel efficiency is this engine's strong point,
with the multi-information display showing we were getting nearly 14 kmpl despite extended
periods of idling with the AC on. Claimed mileage is over 20 kmpl.
Ride quality is excellent across varied terrain -- it simply cruises along comfortably on
tarmac at high speed, feeling pretty stable. And when you take it off-road, the 205 mm
of ground clearance and robust suspension make sure nothing really ruffles the Terrano.
If only Nissan had added a four-wheel drive variant to the line-up, the Terrano would
seem almost invincible! Inside the Terrano the changes are more subtle.
The centre console on the dashboard gets rectangular AC vents compared to the round ones in the
Duster. There's also a convenient storage box with a lid, but plastic quality is similar
to the Duster. Some of the Duster's quirks continue on the
Terrano -- like the placement of the rear-view mirror adjustment under the handbrake and
central locking button on the dashboard. The Terrano also loses out on steering audio controls,
although it has a Bluetooth enabled music system.
The use of beige interiors adds to the feeling of space. Legroom is decent in the Terrano
and boot space is huge at 475 litres. The XL Plus variant we're driving comes with
two airbags and ABS as standard, along with parking sensors. All variants only get manual
air-conditioning. So does the Nissan Terrano have what it takes
to carve a space for itself at a premium to the Renault Duster? Step back for a moment
and imagine you've never seen a Renault Duster -- and then you'll see that the Nissan Terrano
does make a case for itself as a pretty good-looking compact SUV, with excellent ride quality and
go-anywhere ability, well, almost. However, we wish it had just a few more features to
justify its price point.