Nissan Terrano to Return as Rebadged Renault Duster

The Nissan Terrano is said to be making a comeback, with the model to be a revised version of the Renault Duster.

While Renault recently announced it was bringing the Duster to Australia – with the vehicle built by the company’s value sub-brand Dacia – the small SUV is set to be launched in some select markets under a Nissan badge.

However, the Nissan version of the Duster is expected to come with more features, and will be priced higher than its unidentical twin from Renault, Autocar India reports.

Both brands are part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

The first-generation Dacia Duster was offered in India and Russia as a Nissan Terrano, and recent unconfirmed reports from Motor1 suggest the Japanese carmaker is looking to revive the Terrano name with the all-new Duster.

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In recent days, images of a prototype Dacia Duster have been published by Spanish outlet Motor.es, appearing to show the vehicle with an electric motor mounted to the rear axle.

The ‘e4WD’ system – developed by French company Valeo – allows the front wheels to be powered by a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder engine, while the rear wheels are powered by the electric motor.

According to Autocar India, the electric motor will only begin working when off-road modes have been selected by the driver for low-traction environments, with an automatic transmission to be standard on the e4WD version.

While Australia got the original Nissan Navara-based Terrano, badged as the Pathfinder, the second-generation Terrano II was sold locally up until 1999, powered by a 2.7-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine.

It’s not clear at this stage whether the Duster-based Nissan Terrano is under consideration for Australia, but given the vehicle is being manufactured to Australia’s strict standards for Renault, it could loosen the jar for a new small off-roader to join Nissan’s local line-up.