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, reports The Citizen.

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 July 9 before going on-sale later in the year.

The 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.

Similar 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 343mm
• Wheelbase: 2 657mm
• Height: 1 669mm
• Width: 1 813mm
• Ground clearance: 212mm

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.

A 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 1.3TCe 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 118kW.

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.

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