Words by: Erica de Zuzuarregui
Since its introduction last year, many people have been wondering about what the Nissan Terra has to offer in an overcrowded segment such as the Pickup Platform Vehicle category. Well, select members of the media were given the keys to the midsize Nissan SUV to try and see what it brings to the table.
The group boarded a plane going to Legazpi and upon landing, we were welcomed by at least 15 Nissan Terras and did a 2 hour drive to Naga City for lunch at Casa Soriano. First impressions are, I love the look and size of the Terra, it has a great selection of color variants (Brilliant Silver, Galaxy Black, FieryRed, Aspen Pearl White, Earth Brown, Flare Metallic Gold and Lunar Metallic Gray), the ride was comfortable, had ample leg room, decent enough infotainment system and it had a great Around view monitor and an extra set of camera that was already mounted on the rear view mirror which allows you to get different camera angles, the Terra also had safety features such as lane departure warning and collision warning on its side mirrors. Seats had nice leather on them, which gives its passengers more comfort, hence making most of the passengers fall asleep before and after lunch.
We then drove to Quintinan Hills in Albay where we were surprised with a majestic view of the Mayon Volcano with the combination of the beautiful sunset. While enjoying the breeze, view and atmosphere of the Quintinan Hills, President and Managing Director of Nissan Philippines, Ramesh Narasimhan, then shared the good news that Nissan Terra will have a limited edition Terra VL in Fiery Red and Nissan will only sell 100 of these in our country. 70 units will be the Terra 4x2 VL and the remaining 30 will be the Terra 4x4 VL. And what’s even better is that the Fiery Red will have the same price as the other variants.
The next day, our 51-strong group was split into two groups The first group was set out to experience Terra’s 4x4 capabilities as they headed out to an off-road trail headed by George Ramirez’while witnessing the beauty of Mayon Volcano as a consistent backdrop. The 2nd group went off to an ATV experience. It was about 3.5-4KM ride going to the summit of Mayon Volcano. It was so close you could almost touch it.
All in all it was a beautiful journey and experience and we were very fortunate during this trip because Mayon Volcano showed itself the whole time. According to Sir James, Nissan Terra sure has a lot going for it. As for me, the Terra was spacious, delivered just the right amount of power, the steering is a little bit on the heavy side but it makes up for other things
