2027 Nissan Terrano: Likely Australia-bound off-road SUV spied testing

Nissan is testing a production version of its plug-in hybrid Terrano off-road SUV, and it’s not trying to hide it.

Images of this vehicle, spied in Beijing complete with sloppily applied camouflage that doesn’t even conceal the badges, have been widely shared across the internet.

The Terrano PHEV was revealed in concept form at Auto China in Beijing this April, ahead of a market launch there before April 2027. Nissan Australia is keen on bringing it here, calling it a “priority model” for our market.

“You saw the Terrano concept vehicle. To me that would be something we seriously need to look at, and there would be demand for that at this point,” said Nissan Australia boss Steve Milette in May.

“The Terrano [is a] fantastic... [ladder] frame SUV… It's a beautiful, beautiful product, and so you know these are all the kinds of business cases that we are evaluating for our market.”

It's set to be exported to various global markets and produced in right-hand drive. Nissan's Chinese partner Dongfeng is even looking at exporting it in right-hand drive, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) guise to Nissan's home market of Japan.

The production Terrano closely resembles the concept, if with a more conventional rear-end treatment. The boomerang-shaped tail-lights of the concept appear to have been replaced with more vertically oriented ones, while there's a more conventional bar across the external spare tyre carrier.

Nissan didn't show off the concept's interior, but a spy photo of the production model's cabin reveals a similarly chunky design language, with conventional buttons and knobs on the steering wheel and centre console.

The Terrano is understood to be related to the Frontier Pro ute which, though yet to be publicly announced by Nissan Australia, is expected to arrive here in 2027 with a PHEV powertrain and potentially wearing the Navara Pro nameplate.

Nissan has revealed little in the way of technical details about the Terrano, developed with Chinese joint-venture partner Dongfeng.

Given its relation to the Frontier Pro, it could share its double-wishbone independent front and five-link non-independent rear suspension.

It could also share its PHEV powertrain, which comprises a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 105kW of power and 220Nm of torque, mated with a 156kW/350Nm electric motor for total system outputs of 320kW and 800Nm.

The Frontier Pro uses a 33kWh ternary lithium battery and offers 131km of electric range on the NEDC cycle, with fuel consumption of 1.3L/100km with a charged battery and 7.2L/100km with a depleted one.

It's unclear if there will also be conventional combustion-powered versions of the Terrano, as there will be for the Frontier Pro.

In China and soon in export markets like the UAE, the Frontier Pro will be offered with 190kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and 140kW/500Nm 2.3-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines.

Other Dongfeng Nissan products that could come to Australia include the N7 electric sedan, badged as the Primera in some export markets, plus the NX8 crossover SUV, which is offered with electric or extended-range electric powertrains. Nissan says it's currently conducting product planning and business case evaluations of all of them.

Nissan Australia has already been putting the Frontier Pro through its paces in Australia, subjecting it to towing, off-road and other testing. It also hinted it's working on Australian-specific tuning for the model.

The Terrano could slot into the gap between the X-Trail mid-size SUV and the Patrol large off-road SUV, which is now vacant following the departure of the large Pathfinder crossover SUV.

This would give Nissan its first sub-Patrol body-on-frame SUV since the R51 Pathfinder was replaced in 2013.

The Terrano dusts off a long-running nameplate previously applied to the likes of the Pathfinder and Dacia/Renault Duster; there was also the Spanish-built Terrano II off-road SUV, sold here from 1997 to 1999.

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