Wraps finally come off South Africa-bound new Nissan Tekton

· Citizen

The final round of teaser images released last month, Nissan officially unveiled the all-new Tekton at a gala world showing in Mumbai on 9 July.

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Importance

Set to be positioned between the Magnite and an incoming new model for developing markets – the latter likely to be a Nissan-badged version of the Renault Boreal – the Tekton is effectively Nissan’s version of the Renault Duster, albeit with a number of differences.

The second joint venture model between the alliance partners to debut this year after the Gravite based on the Renault Triber, the Tekton also heralds the start of what Nissan calls its “Dare Beyond” product strategy after the RE: NISSAN restructuring plan.

A €700-million (R13-billion) investment, the Tekton will be produced at the Chennai plant, which also produces the Kwid, Triber, Kiger, Gravite and the Duster soon to arrive in South Africa.

Styling: Duster to Tekton

Confirmed for export to 50 markets, mostly in the Middle East and Africa, the Tekton’s restyling is said to have been inspired by the Patrol’s, especially when viewed from the front.

Tekton is a result of an substantial invest into making it more than a rebadged Duster. Picture: Charl Bosch

Aside from a new Nissan-specific grille, the Tekton also gets new headlights with inverted L-shaped LEDs, an illuminated strip underneath the bonnet line connecting the light clusters, new alloy wheels up to 18 inches and a redesigned front bumper.

The changes to the front facia go further and include a new bonnet with block-letter Tekton badging, a red finish for the centre slat on the grille and a satin silver faux skidplate.

Rear facia changes from the Duster are easy to spot. Picture: Charl Bosch

Not seen fully until now, the Tekton’s rear-end differences from the Duster consist of a new bumper and imitation skidplate, restyled light clusters connected by an LED strip, Tekton badging at the base of the tailgate and an optional two-tone finish.

Dimensions

Although based on the CMF-B platform, as not only the Indian-made Duster, but also the example manufactured in Romania, the Tekton’s dimensions are different, even though its ground clearance is unchanged at 212 mm.

With the rear seat up, boot space is rated at 700-litres. Picture: Charl Bosch

As such, it measures as follows:

  • Length: 4 348 mm;
  • Wheelbase: 2 657 mm;
  • Height: 1 674 mm;
  • Width: 1 815 mm

In addition, boot space is 700 litres with the rear up, while the claimed approach and departure angles are 27 and 35 degrees, respectively.

Colours

As for colours, six hues are available:

  • Pearl White;
  • Blade Silver;
  • Onyx Black;
  • Moonbow Grey;
  • Indigo Blue;
  • Flare Garnet Red

Apart from the Onyx Black, all the other hues can be contrasted with a black roof as part of the optional two-tone exterior.

Inside

Inside, the interior has been carried over from the Duster, retaining the 10.1-inch infotainment display and the 10.25-inch instrument cluster in a “single piece” design.

New, though, is a revised centre console, the same gear lever as the Magnite on manual models, restyled air vents on the passenger’s side, more upmarket materials and paddle shifters for automatic variants.

Interior differences from the Duster are more subtle. Picture: Charl Bosch

In total, four colours have been made available:

  • diamond-pattern black leather with white edging;
  • two-tone black-and-white leather;
  • black leather with brown accents;
  • black leather with red accents and stitching

All models displayed at the unveiling featured a unique two-tone white-and-purple finish, complete with white stitchwork, plus purple and rose-gold accents on the doors, dashboard, and steering wheel.

Up front

In India, the Tekton will have six trim levels: Visia, Visia+, Acenta, N-Connecta, Tekna, and Tekna+, all available with a pair of powertrain options.

Shared with the Duster, the 1.0-litre turbocharged engine, called T160, develops the same 74 kW but six Newton Metres more torque for a total of 166 Nm.

Depicted Tekton is powered by the entry-level 1.0-litre T160 engine. Picture: Charl Bosch

The sole transmission option is a six-speed manual. Claimed fuel consumption is 5.1 L/100 km.

At the range’s summit, the Daimer co-developed 1.3-litre turbo has been uprated from 118 kW to 120 kW. Torque is unchanged at 280 Nm.

Referencing its torque output, the 1.3-litre turbocharged T280 engine serves as the flagship option of the Tekton. Picture: Charl Bosch

As per its official T280 moniker, which again references the engine’s torque output, the flagship Tekton can be specified with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed dual-clutch instead of the Duster’s seven-speed.

No diesel or 4WD

Similar to the Duster, four-wheel drive has been ruled out, for now, over likely cost implications, this despite the Tekton being pitched as a more premium offering.

Seen here in the T160, but also available on certain versions of the T280, is a six-speed manual gearbox. Picture: Charl Bosch

At the same time, Nissan executives, at a post-launch roundtable discussion, dismissed the possibility of a turbodiesel engine being available.

For the time being, the Tekton also missed out on the Duster’s self-charging hybrid powertrain, which combines a normally aspirated 1.8-litre petrol engine with a 1.4-kWh battery pack driving two electric motors for a total system output of 118 kW.

Coming to South Africa

Spanning 12 variants across the six trim levels and two engine options in India, the Tekton will have a starting price of Rs 1 049 000 for the T160 Visia and end with the T280 Tekna+ DCT, priced at Rs 1 859 000.

A vital model for Nissan South Africa, the Tekton has been given the green light for the local market, and will arrive in September as the de facto replacement for the Qashqai.

Despite its pricing in India ranging from the equivalent of R179 531 to R318 159 when converted directly and excluding taxes, expect the final asking price to be considerably higher.

As such, expect it to start around the R450 000 mark, based on the priciest Magnite at R370 900 and the entry-level X-Trail at R687 900.

Final pricing and spec will only be announced once an official date for South Africa is approved.

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