The Nissan Terra was one of the most short-lived vehicles South Africa has ever seen.
The seven-seater rival to the likes of the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Everest debuted in a limited run in March 2022 and was completely sold out within days of its arrival.
Nissan announced the pricing of the SUV on 16 March of that year and confirmed to TopAuto on the 18th that all the units earmarked for the country had been allocated, and that it had no plans to bring in any more.
Unfortunately, Nissan didn’t reveal how many examples of the Terra it brought into the country at the time, though considering the relatively unknown nameplate only took a couple of days to be sold out, it shouldn’t have been a lot.
Looking at new-car sales numbers for that year, we can estimate approximately how many examples of Nissan’s three-row 4×4 are currently driving around within our borders:
- March 2022 – 73 units
- April 2022 – 18 units
- May 2022 – 20 units
- June 2022 – 7 units
- July 2022 – 10 units
- August 2022 – 5 units
- September 2022 – 2 units
- October 2022 – 1 unit
- November 2022 – 1 unit
- December 2022 – 1 unit
- January 2023 – 0 units
- February 2023 – 1 unit
- March 2023 – 4 units
Tallying up these figures shows that the Japanese manufacturer sold at least 143 Terra SUVs in the country over the span of 12 months starting March 2022.
There is a chance that a handful more units could have trickled into South Africa without the public knowing as car companies do not always reveal all their vehicles’ movements across borders.
Even so, with just over 140 Terras ever registered in the nation’s new-vehicle database, it’s rather safe to say that the seven-seater adventure SUV is one of, if not the rarest modern Nissan in South Africa today.
Terra specifications
The Terra was sold in XE, SE, and LE derivatives all driven by a 2.5-litre, turbo-diesel engine producing 140kW and 450Nm, paired to the buyer’s choice between a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission.
The XE and SE were both available in rear-wheel drive as well as 4×4, while the LE was exclusively offered as a 4×4.
Depending on the model, amenities on the SUV included Quad-LED projector headlamps with daytime running lights, a 9-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, model-specific fabric or leather upholsteries, climate control, all-round parking sensors, and an around-view monitor with moving object detection.
The Terra measured 4,900mm long, 1,865mm wide, and 1,865mm tall with a generous 243mm ground clearance.
At launch in March 2022, pricing for the Nissan was bookended at R596,900 for the XE manual, going up to R853,900 for the top-spec LE 4×4 Auto.
It seems few owners have let go in the two-and-a-half years since. Scouring the used market, we only found two examples of the Terra for sale at the moment.
The cheapest is a 2022 model year Terra XE Auto with 43,000km on the clock listed at R499,900.
Alternatively, you can pick up a mid-spec SE Auto model with 38,000km under its belt that was registered in 2023 for R599,900.
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