Nissan Navara-based SUV - Rendering

Expected to be launched by 2018.

Nissan is working on a Nissan Navara-based SUV that would be something like what the Toyota Fortuner is for the Toyota HiLux or what the Ford Everest is for the Ford Ranger. Last week, a prototype was spied testing for the first time. While the production model is still around two years away from making its official appearance, a speculative rendering from Theophilus Chin shows what the Navara-based SUV may look like.

While the rendering nearly matches with the test mule up front, naturally, the rear-end is where things change. The rendering shows a Nissan Terrano-inspired rear-end, but the test mule seen in spyshots has a rear-end very similar to the third generation Nissan Pathfinder. The profile too has quite some notable resemblance to the Pathfinder.

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The Nissan Navara-based SUV could either be a successor to the Nissan X-Terra or an extension to the Nissan Navara range as the SUV version. If the latter be the case, the design may be kept very similar to the pickup version, a strategy successfully followed by close competitors like Ford and Toyota. The SUV version could be offered with the YD25DDTi 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine from the pickup version, and made available with 6-speed manual and 7-speed automatic transmission choices in 2WD and 4WD drivetrain configurations. In Australia, it could serve as the Nissan Patrol replacement.

[Image Source: Theophilus Chin]