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By
ALISTAIR KENNEDY
28 May 2007
Nissan has long been one of the major players in the Australian 4WD/SUV
scene and is set to expand its range to five vehicles with the release
of a new compact soft-roader called Dualis.
In the rapidly growing SUV market it’s becoming
increasingly difficult to categorise some of the latest arrivals
and Dualis is especially difficult to pigeonhole. While Nissan
Australia is suggesting that it will be trying to attract buyers
away from hatchbacks such as Volkswagen Golf, the closest we can
come for the purpose of comparison is the recently-released Suzuki
SX4. Both are essentially road cars with the capacity for mild
off-road work.
The choice of name is a bit of a compromise and,
in our eyes at least, disappointing. In most overseas markets the
car is called Qashqai, pronounced Kash-Ky, after a nomadic tribe
from southern Iran. While it is a bit of a tongue twister and
would have required a bit of work to communicate it to Australian
buyers it does have a lot more character than the rather bland
name of Dualis.
However, given the problems that plagued Nissan
Australia when it renamed Pulsar as Tiida, this conservative
approach is perhaps understandable.
First shown as a concept car at the 2004 Geneva
Motor Show, Dualis was the first vehicle to be designed at Nissan’s
new European design centre in London. While it does have a similar
flowing roofline to its larger soft-road sibling Murano, its
overall appearance is simpler and less likely to polarise opinions
than the bigger car.
Dualis is also available with front-wheel drive,
however only the four-wheel drive version will come to Australia.
In its native Britain (it’s built at Nissan’s
Sunderland plant) Dualis comes with a choice of four engines, 1.6-
and 2.0-litre petrol and 1.5- and 2.0-litre turbo diesel. Only the
larger of the two petrol engines will be sent to Australia with no
immediate plans to import either of the diesels.
The 2.0-litre petrol engine is an all-new unit
which is also offered in the overseas versions of the upcoming new
X-Trail. It generates power of 104 kW at 6000 rpm and a useful 196
Nm of torque at 4800 revs.
Transmission options are six-speed manual and
continuously variable transmission (CVT).
We were able to take Dualis on an extended drive
around London and south-west England and the further we drove the
more impressed we were with this competent, contemporary vehicle.
With its high driving position, compact dimensions
and 10.6-metre turning circle it was equally at home in the
congestion of the big cities and on fast-moving motorways. We
spent a lot of time on typically British narrow country roads
where Dualis’ handling was almost car-like and we were able to
push it hard through winding sections with confidence.
We’ve got a wait of at least six months to get
to grips with Dualis in Australian conditions but can’t see any
reason why this versatile little SUV/hatchback cross won’t be a
success down under.
Equipment levels in the UK model are high with the
entry level 2.0-litre petrol model coming with air conditioning,
front, side and curtain airbags, ABS brakes with brake assist and
electronic brakeforce distribution and stability control as
standard. Options include satellite navigation, reversing camera
and three-quarter length glass roof.
There’s good interior space in all seats and a
reasonably large, practically-shaped rear storage area. The rear
seats have a 60/40 split but cannot be folded completely flat.
There are twin drinkholders in the front console and in the rear
centre armrest.
Full Australian specifications and prices won’t
be available until Dualis is released late this year, although
given that larger soft-roaders such as Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail
and Honda CR-V start at just over $30,000 we’d expect the
smaller, less powerful Dualis to be priced in the mid-to-high
$20,000 range.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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