Nissan Terra SUV revealed

Nissan has today revealed its tough new Terra, a rugged body-on-frame large SUV that will rival the likes of the Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X, Toyota Fortuner, Holden Trailblazer and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport.

The Nissan Terra will make its global premiere in China this spring, most likely at Beijing motor show in April, and although it's only slated for the Chinese market at present, the Navara-based ute is on the wish list for Australia.

As we reported recently, the Renault-Nissan alliance's global head honcho for light commercial vehicles, Ahswani Gupta, said a business case for the heavy-duty the Nissan Terra could get the green-light in Australia.

"Because of the extreme conditions of usage, we believe the customer exists for authentic, capable frame-based trucks and Australia is part of this study for this," he told motoring.com.au at last week's D23 Navara Series 3 launch.

Although details are thin on the ground at present, the new Nissan Terra is based on the D23 Nissan Navara ute. Take a look at the photos and you'll see the similarities with the Navara ute – except for the rear-end which is all new.

The interior of the Terra is virtually identical to the Navara ute as well.

The Nissan Terra's rugged ladder-frame chassis, considerable ground clearance and uprated rear suspension will give it the sort of off-road capability sought-after by many Australian buyers.

It's not yet clear what engines will power the Nissan Terra. We expect the same 2.3-litre turbo-diesel engine (140kW/450Nm) as found in the Navara ute.

The spiritual successor to the original ladder-framed Nissan Pathfinder, which today uses a monocoque chassis more suited to urban than outback conditions, the Nissan Terra was originally pooh-poohed by Nissan Australia due its lack of safety features.

It's understood that Gupta is currently looking at a way to improve the vehicle's safety systems, which are currently engineered for Asian markets and are unlikely to pass muster in Australia.

However, Nissan Australia boss Stephen Lester previously stated that he is working with Gupta's team to see "what is possible" and refused to rule the Nissan Terra out for the Australian market.

"Any car that you are going to bring into the market has to meet Australian standards, so down the road we will have to look at what the specific specifications could mean and how they could be related to ANCAP five-star," said Lester.

Of the car's Chinese introduction, Gupta stated he was "very pleased" the Nissan Terra will soon be launched in China.

"This rugged SUV is practical, authentic, and designed to go anywhere. The Nissan Terra goes on sale this spring, first in China, with other Asian markets soon to follow."

He explained that in 2017 Nissan sold almost one million LCV and 'frame' vehicles, a seven per cent increase on the year before.

"Nissan's frame and LCV business is seeing steady growth, and with our ambitious midterm plan and growing product line-up, we're confident that this growth will continue."

Will that growth include the introduction of the Nissan Terra in Australia? If the rugged SUV was (hypothetically) given the green light today, it would probably take at least a couple of years before introduced in Oz.