Nissan Terra 2019 Review

History lesson

Despite being a ladder-frame SUV pioneer with its Patrol and the original Pathfinder of the 1980s, Nissan has been without a full-chassis, ute-based SUV for five years.

First launched as a two-door, the original WD-series Pathfinder of 1986 came with petrol and diesel engines, before it was replaced in 1996 by the popular D22-series Navara-based R50-series Pathfinder with six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines.

The third-generation R51-series Pathfinder lobbed in 2005, based on the D40-series Navara and powered by a 2.5-litre turbo-diesel, but it was phased out in 2013, when the Mk4 R52-series Pathie became a monocoque-based seven-seat wagon to rival V6 people-movers like the Toyota Kluger.

Now, Nissan has returned to the tradition of its first three Pathfinder generations with an all-new 4x4 off-road wagon based on the latest D23 Series 3 Navara ute, this time called the Terra.

Rather than the five-seat, 135kW/251Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol version released in China last month, Nissan Australia is keen on the seven-seat diesel-powered Terra launched in the Philippines this week.

In addition to its small JUKE, mid-size QASHQAI and X-TRAIL and large Pathfinder crossovers, and its full-size Patrol SUV, the Terra would be a handy rival for the growing number of ute-based large SUVs – the most popular of which is the Isuzu MU-X, which so far this year is averaging more than 600 sales a month.

Before the Terra comes to local showrooms, Nissan Australia will need to make a business case for production of a model fitted with the same Euro 5 emissions-compliant 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel that already powers our Navara.

The south-east Asian-spec Terra’s 2.5-litre diesel produce the same 140kW at 3600rpm and 450Nm from 2000rpm – and is matched to the same six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic transmissions – but only meets the Euro 4 emissions standard.

It’s also likely to have to add autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which is all but a prerequisite for a five-star ANCAP safety rating in Australia.

However, given the newer 2.3-litre diesel powers the Navara, alongside which the Terra will be produced in Thailand, and AEB is standard in the X-Class – the Navara-based ute Nissan builds for Mercedes-Benz in Spain – it’s a matter of when not if the Terra will come to Australia.

Apart from AEB, which is available only in top-shelf versions of Ford’s upgraded 2019 Everest, the Terra comes with a solid range of safety and comfort technologies.

These include Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Warning, Intelligent Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection, Smart Rear View Mirror, LED headlights, six airbags, stability/traction control, anti-lock brakes and a reversing camera, plus leather seat trim, eight-way power driver’s seat adjustment, dual-zone climate control and Apple CarPlay connectivity.

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What’s new?

Aside from most of these new features, the Terra is basically a Navara with a mildly restyled front-end design and a five-door wagon body that’s new from the B-pillars rearward and houses three rows of seats.

Riding on a 2850mm wheelbase, the Philippines-spec Terra measures 4885mm long, 1865mm wide and 1835mm high – in line with its contemporaries.

The dashboard is unchanged from high-spec D23-series Navaras, which is no bad thing given there’s a large, prominent colour touch-screen and pop-out cup-holders directly in front of the outboard air outlets.

Of course, there are still plenty of hard plastic surfaces, including on the window sills and dash top, and the steering wheel doesn’t offer reach adjustment, both of which are par for this class.

But the Terra is much quieter than the Navara inside (although probably not as quiet as Everest), thanks to three-layer dash insulation, thicker floor carpet and acoustic glass, cutting engine, road and wind noise respectively.

Nissan is claiming best-in-class cabin space, and the Terra comes with 60:40-split second row of seats that tumbles away behind the front seats individually via outboard levers or handy buttons on the centre console.

There are also effective rear air-conditioning outlets at the rear of the centre console and in the roof, plus grab-rails in the roof and A/B-pillars.

But while front occupants sit slightly lower than in the old-school Navara and middle-row passengers have a good view outside from the elevated and sliding rear bench, headroom isn’t dazzling and the third-row is tight, making the twin rear seats a kids-only zone.

On the upside, Nissan says the Terra’s cargo bay is 1148mm wide, 1030mm long behind the third row and 1913mm long behind the second, providing adventure-goers with plenty of usable space.

However, it was unable to provide any cargo volume figures or a towing capacity, although the latter is likely to match its key rivals at about 3000kg.

Solid foundations

Because it starts life as one of the better utes, the Terra is one of the better ladder-chassis SUVs when it comes to ride and handling.

Nissan claims class-leading steering, ride comfort and roll stiffness, and the Terra certainly points accurately – for a big SUV – sits relatively flat in corners and irons out mid-corner road irregularities better than many of its competitors.

A brief on-road drive in the Philippines wasn’t long enough to proclaim it matches the class-leading Everest for dynamics, but its double-wishbone front and five-link rear suspension from the all-coil Navara should go close.

The Navara’s rolling chassis also provides the Terra with a solid base for off-roading, but once again an 18km drive over rocky terrain into the soft volcanic soil of a semi-dry river bed carved into the foothills of Mount Pinatubo wasn’t extreme enough to test its rock-hopping ability.

But with switchable 2H, 4H and 4L modes, a rear diff lock, generous 225mm of ground clearance, good wheel articulation, reasonable underbody protection, hill descent control and hill start assist, the Terra made light work of the light-duty off-road work we subjected it to.

Other key off-road stats include a 450mm wading depth, 32.3-degree approach angle and 26.6-degree departure angle, while the 360-degree the bird’s-eye view and wing mirror-mounted cameras are useful for negotiating nasty rocks and stumps in the bush at low speed.

However, the large multi-mode video display that replaces a conventional rear-view mirror does obscure some forward vision and we couldn’t fully deactivate the traction control in the vehicle we drove.

The Terra will be available in the Philippines from August in five versions, only the most expensive of which is 4x4. A rear-drive Terra would give Nissan Australia a direct entry-level, sub-$50K rival for the Everest and MU-X 4x2s.

Provided its pricing and safety levels are competitive when it does eventually arrive here, there’s no doubt the Nissan Terra will provide adventurous Australians with yet another attractive go-anywhere SUV option.

How much does the 2018 Nissan Terra cost?
On sale: TBC
Price: From under $50,000 (estimated)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Transmission: Six-speed manual and automatic
Output: 140kW/450Nm
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: TBC

Further reading: