2018 Nissan NP300 Navara-based SUV spy shots – Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
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Nissan is out testing a mid-size SUV based on the rugged underpinnings of the global NP300 Navara pickup truck, and we’ll see it make its debut next April at the 2018 Beijing Auto Show.
The information was confirmed to Drive by Nissan’s global head of commercial vehicles, Ashwani Gupta, during last week’s 2017 Tokyo Motor Show.
He didn’t reveal any further details on the SUV but did say Nissan has a long history with body-on-frame vehicles.
The SUV, whose name is yet to be announced, could be considered a spiritual successor to the Xterra which was last sold in the United States in 2015. That’s because the NP300 Navara pickup, with which it will share a platform, was sold here in previous generations as a Frontier. And the Frontier shared its underpinnings with the Xterra.
Interestingly, we hear that Nissan is cooking up a new Frontier for the U.S. market. The new pickup is due later this decade and is expected to be closely related to the global NP300 Navara.
As for a modern Xterra, Nissan certainly has room for the vehicle in its U.S. lineup, especially now that the similarly sized Pathfinder has adopted car-like unibody construction.
The previous Xterra was one of the few mid-size SUVs civil enough to drive around town but also perfectly capable off the pavement, and a new generation could prove decent competition for the new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and Ford Bronco.
Stay tuned.
