South Africa-bound Nissan Tekton reveal date officially confirmed
· Citizen
Supposed to have debuted in February, which turned out to be the launch month for the Gravite MPV, Nissan has finally confirmed a date of reveal for its Tekton compact SUV.
Coming our way
One of at least two new SUVs coming to South Africa this year, the other being the Y63 Patrol, the Tekton will formally bow on 9 July before going on-sale later in the year.
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The Indian-made Renault Duster will serve as the Tekton’s base. Picture: Renault IndiaThe replacement for the India-only Terrano, the Tekton will be produced at alliance partner Renault’s Chennai plant, which also produces the Magnite, the Gravite based on the Renault Triber and from either year-end or next year, a Nissan badged version of the Renault Boreal.
Qashqai successor
Set to fill gap left vacant by the Qashqai, the Tekton, as is well-known by now, uses the Indian-spec Renault Duster as a base, which itself will come to South Africa later this year as a replacement for the current model sourced from the Dacia plant in Mioveni, Romania.
The Tekton will be spiritual replacement for the Terrano that used the first generation Duster as a base in India. Picture: Nissan GlobalSimilar to the aforementioned Terrano – which used the first generation Duster as a base and as such, had no to relation with the original also known as the Pathfinder – the Tekton will use the CMF-B platform and seat five.
Dimensions
As such, it is expected to have the same dimensions as the Indian-market Duster, namely:
- Length: 4 343 mm;
- Wheelbase: 2 657 mm;
- Height: 1 669 mm;
- Width: 1 813 mm;
- Ground clearance: 212 mm
At the same time, the same luggage capacity as the Duster is also expected, between 518 and 1 789-litres of boot space.
From Renault to Nissan
Teased and spied undergoing testing systematically since being approved two years ago, the Tekton has Nissan specific styling at the front and rear to differentiate itself from the Duster.
So far, these include a wraparound grille, new LED headlights, Tekton script on the restyled bonnet and at the rear, C-shaped LED light clusters connected by a central full-width illuminated bar.
Tekton’s rear facia has received a number of Nissan specific touches. Picture: Nissan IndiaA new bumper and block letter Tekton script across the tailgate rounds the visual changes off.
Inside, Nissan is likely to make smaller changes to the Duster’s interior, which for the moment, is still to be seen.
Underneath the bonnet
Up front, the similarities are set to continue with the same powertrain options as the Duster.
These include a 1.0-litre TCe pumping out 74kW/160Nm and the 1.3 TCe co-developed with Daimler rated at 118kW/260Nm.
The third option is the intricate hybrid that combines a normally aspirated 1.8-litre petrol engine with a 1.4-kWh battery pack and two electric motors for a combined output of 118 kW.
Transmissions for the former pair are a six-speed manual or in the case of the 1.3, an optional seven-speed dual-clutch.
For the hybrid, the multi-mode transmission combines a four-speed automatic with the ratios of the electric motors, effectively resulting in a unique six-speed setup.
As with the Indian Duster, the Tekton will initially only be offered with front-wheel drive. However, four-wheel drive could be introduced as the system is available on the European Duster.
While Renault has also not closed the door on the return of the 1.5 dCi turbodiesel engine, for the Tekton, this is unlikely to happen.
Watch this space
Its date of reveal now confirmed, expect possible more details of the Tekton to emerge in the form of teasers before the wraps come in less than two months’ time.
As mentioned, it has been approved for South Africa and will slot-in between the Magnite and X-Trail, with the incoming Patrol set to be the brand’s flagship SUV once again.