In a bid to reaffirm its footing in the Indian market, Nissan has showcased not one but three of its most popular SUVs today – the X-Trail, Juke and the Qashqai.
First things first though, only the X-Trail is being considered to be bought here, with the Qashqai also being tested in the country. Considering Nissan only has two models on offer in India right now in the form of the Magnite and the Kicks, it only makes sense to expand its portfolio. However, the company will only be bringing in these SUVs via the CBU route to gauge interest. While that makes it harder for the brand to price the Qashqai and the Juke aggressively, given the high import duties, the X-Trail certainly seems like an option the brand could bet on.
Nissan X-Trail
Ranking from most likely to least, the X-Trail could be launched in the next six months or so. Some might remember the SUV was sold in India in both first- and second-generation avatars. While we never got the third-generation offering, the fourth-gen model is Nissan’s next bet in India.
Packaged as a premium offering, the X-Trail is sold in both 5 and 7-seater options and is built upon the company’s CMF-C platform. What’s interesting here though is that Nissan offers the SUV in three different trims internationally – 2.5-litre petrol, a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol with a mild-hybrid powertrain and a 1.5 e-Power offering.
The latter could be a unique offering here, technically being an EV with an ICE powertrain. How does it work? Unlike strong and mild hybrids, the e-Power offering uses the 1.5-litre petrol engine as a generator to charge the batteries, it doesn’t drive the wheels. Hence, the fossil-fuel motor is used sparingly, resulting in a healthy fuel economy on paper.
Speaking of the powertrain, Nissan offers it in 2WD and AWD versions, making 204PS and 216PS of power respectively. This would see it going up against the Skoda Kodiaq and the VW Tiguan, if Nissan brings it to our shores that is.
Nissan Qashqai
Similar to the X-Trail, Nissan is also overseeing the feasibility of bringing the Qashqai to India. The mid-sized SUV which could compete against the Tata Harrier, Jeep Compass and Hyundai Tuscon is offered only in a 5-seater option. Similar to the X-Trail, it too gets an option of the e-Power variant (158PS) along with a 1.3-litre engine (192PS) sourced from the Nissan Kicks.
Nissan Juke
Coming to the least likely of the three, Nissan already announced that it doesn’t have any intentions of launching the Juke here anytime soon. The manufacturer showcased the compact SUV to gauge interest. Sporting a well-rounded design (pun intended), the Juke looks, unlike any other compact SUV we’ve seen here. Although, its quirky design might be enough to take on its rivals, importing it as a CBU doesn’t make sense, given the high import rates on CBUs which will end up further increasing the final price of the product.
