Nissan Terra

Nissan introduced minor changes in the colour schemes of the Terra in its facelifted version but retained the layout, which now looks slightly dated by modern standards. However, the cabin feels nice and wide with robust build quality, featuring black fabric in lower-spec EL and VE variants, burgundy red with black leather in mid-spec VL variants, and all-black leather in top-spec Sport variants for the interior trim.

Talking about the seats, they are finished in black fabric in EL and VE variants and black leather in the rest. The centre console padding is finished in good quality leather across all variants, and so are the steering wheel and gear lever in VL and Sport variants. While the second-row seats have a 60:40 split arrangement, the third-row seats have a 50:50 split arrangement. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Good quality leather and sturdy feel in the cabin

Con: Cabin layout feels slightly dated

Features and Technology

For its price, the Nissan Terra has decent equipment on offer, if not the segment-best. This huge mid-size SUV has a few features that are offered as standard, including keyless entry with a push start-stop button, shark fin antenna, a 7-inch drive-assist TFT display in the instrument console, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, sunglass holder, floor ambient lighting, rear AC vents, three 12V power sockets, USB charging ports in all the three rows and inside chrome door handles. 

The EL 4x2 MT and VE 4x2 AT variants have manual AC and an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with a 6-speaker audio system, while the other higher-spec variants have dual-zone automatic climate control and a larger 9-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system, along with a premium 8-speaker BOSE audio system and additional features like integrated navigation, electrically-adjustable driver’s seat, wireless charger and 11-inch flip-down rearview monitor. 

Apart from the base-spec EL 4x2 MT variant, all the variants of the Terra have cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, and an electronic parking brake. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Fantastic sound experience from the BOSE audio system

Con: No ventilated front seats

With the facelift which it received in 2021, the Nissan Terra got a fresh dose of snazziness which was missing in the pre-facelifted version. However, it is still not an SUV that will beg for attention on the road, and instead, has a handsome design, stance and proportions which make it look timeless. 

The front profile of the Nissan Terra looks authoritative, with a large trapezoidal grille that has a tapered design in its upper half. This grille gets thick chrome edges on the sides and elegant-looking slats across its width. The headlamps have an angular design with C-shaped outer edges and come with an all-LED arrangement for the lights and DRLs. 

The front bumper of the Nissan Terra was also revised in the facelift and now gets C-shaped chrome surrounds for the LED fog lamps on the corners. The Terra also has front and rear silver scuff plates and more chrome garnish over the fender element, door handles and above the rear license plate housing on the boot lid. 

From the side, the Nissan Terra has a nice-looking tall stance complemented by its 18-inch alloy wheels, which are blacked-out in Sport variants and diamond-cut in others) and a high ground clearance of 225mm. At the back, the Nissan Terra has large trapezoidal combination tail lamps with refreshed LED inserts.

The colour options for the Terra include Nebula Metallic Red, Forged Metallic Copper, Lunar Metallic Grey, Galaxy Black, Brilliant Silver and Aspen Pearl White. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Traditional upright stance and nice proportions

Cons: No sunroof

Nissan claims a fuel efficiency of 10.7 kmpl for the Terra, which is pretty decent for an SUV of its size. The owners have been claiming a fuel efficiency of 10-11 kmpl in highway driving conditions and 7-8 kmpl in city driving conditions. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Impressive highway fuel efficiency

Con: Real-world city efficiency could have been better

The suspension setup of the Nissan Terra includes an independent double wishbone with coil springs and stabilizer bar at the front and a five-link with coil spring and stabilizer bar at the rear. While the base EL variant gets front discs and rear drums, all other variants have ventilated disc brakes on all four wheels. Also offered as standard in all the variants are 18-inch alloy wheels with 255/60 R18 tyres. 

Besides the 4x2 variants that come with rear-wheel drive configuration, the Nissan Terra also comes with the option of a 4x4 drive system which has part-time, shift-on-fly four-wheel drive modes – 2H, 4H and 4L. Also offered in these four-wheel drive variants is an electronic locking rear differential. These systems do give the Nissan Terra an undisputable driving experience on off-road terrains. 

Pros and Cons:

• Pro: Excellent off-road driving capability and low-speed comfort
• Con: Body roll at triple-digit speeds

Powering the 2023 Nissan Terra is a robust 2.5-litre diesel engine, delivering an impressive 190 horsepower and 450 Nm of torque. This powertrain configuration remains consistent across all variants. The engine pairs seamlessly with either a 6-speed manual gearbox for the rear-wheel-drive variant or a 7-speed automatic torque converter for the 4-wheel-drive variant, catering to diverse driving preferences. 

This midsize SUV boasts commendable performance figures, offering a well-balanced blend of power and efficiency. Additionally, the drivetrain configurations and gearboxes tailored for specific variants ensure optimal performance across varied terrains.

The safety features that are offered as standard in all the variants of the Nissan Terra are six airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, vehicle dynamic control with traction control, auto headlamps, hill start assist, reverse parking sensors and reverse camera. 

Apart from the base-spec EL 4x2 MT variant, all the other variants of Nissan Terra come standard with Nissan Intelligent Mobility, which is Nissan’s version of the ADAS suite. This package includes an intelligent around-view monitor with moving object detection, an intelligent rearview monitor, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, intelligent driver alertness, blind spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert.

The 4x4 variants of the Nissan Terra also come with additional safety features like an off-road monitor in the intelligent around-view monitor system and hill descent control. The lower-spec EL 4x2 MT and VE 4x2 AT variants miss out on the tyre pressure monitoring system.

Pros and cons:

Pro: ADAS features standard from the second-base variant 

Con: Tyre pressure monitoring system should have been standard

Boot Space and Storage

For its size, the Nissan Terra has a decent number of small storage spaces, including space beneath the front centre console, bottle holders and usable map pockets in all four door panels and cup holders in the front centre console and door panels at the front, centre armrest in the second row and side trims in the third row.

The Nissan Terra has a wheelbase of 2,850mm, which is good enough to liberate excellent space in the second row and decent space in the third row. Nissan hasn’t claimed the official boot space figures for the Terra with the third-row seats up and folded down. However, with both second and third-row seats folded down, one can get a flat floor experience with a massive space of 1,643 litres. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Massive boot space after folding down second and third-row seats

Con: Minimal boot space with third-row seats up

Competitor Comparison

The Nissan Terra belongs to the body-on-frame mid-size seven-seater SUV segment, which has some other established rivals like Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest, Mitsubishi Montero Sport, Isuzu MU-X and KG Mobility Rexton. In addition to these big and burly traditional SUVs, the Nissan Terra also faces competition from some premium midsize monocoque SUVs and crossovers, including GWM Haval H6, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Subaru Forester, Chery Tiggo 8 Pro and Volkswagen Tharu.

Conclusion and Final Verdict

The Nissan Terra is a typical Japanese vehicle, which might not beg for your attention with a snazzy, out-of-the-box design inside-out and a whole lot of features. Instead, it is pretty conventional in its design approach and gets only the essential features which are usable daily. 

The traditional upright and boxy stance of the Nissan Terra and its timeless design makes it look timeless, while its core strengths are its durable underpinnings and the reliable and robust diesel engine. The space and equipment levels in the Nissan Terra are pretty decent, though we would have loved to see more here.