Tiida and Navara stake Nissan's claim

Nissan is examining 14 new vehicles for the Australian market over the next three years. That was the news Nissan chief, Shinya Hannya, conveyed to the Sydney show crowd on the unveiling of its AIMS offerings.

While the Pathfinder and Murano are already here from the company's 2006 line-up, the Tiida Pulsar replacement, new Navara light commercial/AWD utility and revised versions of the 350Z all are on the way and feature strongly in Nissan's Sydney presence.

For 2006 the 350Z gets a redesigned front bumper and Xenon headlamps, LED rear
combination lamps and new 18-inch wheels. The interior features more alloy, more storage and new control layouts. Best of all, the 3.5-litre V6 gets an extra 15kW (up to 221kW) and bigger brakes are standard across the range.

The revised Zs (three coupes and two soft-tops) are available from December.

The all-new D40 Navara, arrives in early 2006 bigger than ever before and in both 4x2 and 4x4 versions. Sharing much running gear (and styling) with the Pathfinder, the new Navara will be sold alongside the existing D22 Navara as part of a dual sales campaign which Nissan says is "aimed to give customers even greater choice in a very popular market segment."

But the most important launch for Nissan was undoubtedly the Tiida hatch and sedan.

The Tiida will replace Nissan's popular Pulsar and while neither the hatch nor sedan are as wild as the Tiida Sports Concept also on display, they look modern and handsome. Powered by a 1.8-litre engine, two transmissions will be available - a claimed first-in-class six-speed manual transmission, or an optional four-speed automatic.

The new Nissan Tiida will go on sale in February next year.