Yet another model to join the big lineage of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) in India will be Nissan Murano. Nissan India, the domestic subsidiary of the Japanese auto maker, is soon planning to brings its best selling mid-size SUV for the domestic buyers. The company has very strategically tried to tap the highly potential market of SUVs by taking the decision of launching Nissan Murano. The question that has risen is that would the arrival of yet another SUV affect the sales of Ford EcoSport and Renault Duster. The three utility vehicles that have been performing exceptionally well in the Indian market include Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport and Nissan Terrano.
There was a time when SUV enthusiasts did not have much options to choose from except models from Mahindra and Mahindra and Tata Motors. However, the entry of Renault Duster changed the whole scenario and kicked off a new trend of SUVs. Since then, almost every firm started coming up with their own models out of which Ford EcoSport gained a lot of attention due to its aggressive pricing strategy. Nissan Murano was first unveiled in 2002 after which it underwent several upgrades in the global market. While the auto market of US and Canada have this SUV in the diesel version, the UK showrooms provide the option of petrol as well as diesel versions.
The Indian market might get the diesel powertrain mainly because of the obvious benefits it carries along with itself. The 3.5-litre DOHC 24-valve V6 engine is expected to churn out 260 bhp with a peak torque of 334 Nm using Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) technology. Nissan Murano would be available in 2WD or front wheel drive as well as 4WD or 4-wheel drive. This could prove as a threat to Renault Duster as the French multinational is also going to come up with Duster 4x4 in order to bridge the competition it has been facing from the new batch of SUVs.
The new offering by Nissan comes with attractive exteriors and comfortable interiors that would help in luring maximum number of young buyers. The interiors come in cloth as well as leather options in black and beige colour. Taking account of the exterior colour variants, the Nissan Murano comes in eight options in the US market. The colours include midnight garnet, tinted bronze, graphite blue, pearl white, super black, sapphire black, gun metallic and brilliant silver. Industry experts are of a view that it will be a technology loaded model with features such as intelligent key, DVD monitors and rear view monitors, Bluetooth hands free phone system, Nissan Hard Drive Navigation System, Bose audio system and iPod integration system.
Safety features such as Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), immobiliser, Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) with Traction Control System (TCS) and airbags (dual front, front side and side curtain side) are also packed within the car. The VDC has the ability to sense any under steer or over steer and respond immediately to reduce speed and apply brakes on the required wheels. Similarly, TCS controls an untimely slip by taking instant action of control. Other standard features expected in this highly promising SUV are power windows, speed sensitive electronically powered steering, 20-inch alloy wheels, bi-xenon headlights and dual-zone surround automatic climate control.
It must be noted that there has been no confirmation on the exact release date of this SUV but experts are of the opinion that it could launch soon, causing a major threat to its competitors. Renault Duster and Ford EcoSport are among the most preferred utility vehicles apart from Nissan Terrano. Bringing out Nissan Murano could be one of the best decisions of the Japanese auto major but a competitive pricing strategy would only be able to take over the established models. This might also lead to the company cutting down on a few features, however, it is quite obvious that sales figures will certainly be affected.
