The much-anticipated Nissan Terrano, which is essentially a re-badged Renault Duster, has been formally unveiled. The Terrano is the third model to receive the cross-badging treatment in the Renault-Nissan alliance. However, this time around, it is Nissan that’s borrowing a Renault product to sell under its own brand.

However, Nissan hasn’t just stuck its ‘hamburger’ emblems on the new Terrano. The Japanese company has invested in making some significant styling and sheet metal changes that go beyond soft parts like the bumpers, lights and grille, to make the Duster-based SUV look like a pukka Nissan. And there’s no doubt that the company has succeeded.

TheTerrano’s bonnet gets revised character lines that form a slight ‘V’, which flows into the new nose with its distinctive Nissan family grille, inspired by the larger Pathfinder SUV. The all-new headlamps look quite striking, and the re-sculpted single-colour front bumper also looks a lot sharper with more detailing around the fog lamps. In profile, the Terrano will be mistaken for a Duster, but a closer look does reveal more rounded door panels with a new crease running along their length and blacked out B- and C-pillars. Continued..