The local sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment received yet a new member in the form of the Nissan Terra Sport. It was released sometime in February and dethroned the then-range-topping variant — the VL 4x4 AT — making it the top-of-the-line model of the nameplate.
Of course, its arrival is not met without a warm welcome from segment staples, like the Toyota Fortuner GR-S. That said, we’re going to pit these two SUV models together to see which of them best suits your budget, your style, and your motoring needs. Join us to find out which sporty SUV is better.
The Nissan Terra Sport measures 4,900 millimeters (mm) long, 1,865mm wide, and 1,865mm tall. Its wheelbase is 2,850mm and its ground clearance is 225mm.
Meanwhile, the Toyota Fortuner GR-S is built with an overall length of 4,795mm, an overall width of 1,855mm, and an overall height of 1,835mm.
From the outside, the Nissan Terra Sport wears a slew of gloss black appointments, which include a gloss black front grille bordered by quad LED projector headlamps with auto-leveling function and daytime running lights (DRL) with LED signature. A body-colored bumper with a blacked-out under garnish can also be found on its proud front fascia.
The side profile of the Nissan Terra Sport gets gloss black side mirrors, black fender garnishes, black side steps, black door handles, and black roof rails. Further, it wears a set of 18-inch gloss black alloy wheels.
On its rear is a pair of LED taillamps with black trims, a black rear spoiler, a black tailgate garnish, and a black rear bumper that echoes the design found at the fore.
Meanwhile, the Toyota Fortuner GR-S wears a mesh-type grille finished in two-tone paint and dons a GR badge. Flanking the grille are split-type LED headlights, LED DRL with line guides, as well as LED sequential turn signals. LED front fog lamps round up the sporty look of the Gazoofied SUV.
To the side of the Toyota Fortuner GR-S are blacked-out side mirrors, black and chrome door belt moldings, a set of mudguards, and a high-rising roof rail. Four 18-inch alloy wheels with a machine-cut finish provide an additional highlight to its side profile.
At the rear are LED combination lamps with a line guide and sequential light bulbs. It also gets a color-keyed back door garnish.
Both vehicles look sleek and sporty — with all their fancy body kits — which is why we’re calling this round a tie.
Inside the Nissan Terra Sport are Zero Gravity seats, a steering wheel, a gear shifter, and a center console armrest — all finished in black leather. Also notable are its high-contrast seven-inch instrument meter cluster with an advanced drive-assist display, an eight-inch infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and an 11-inch flip-down screen with HDMI input.
As for the Toyota Fortuner GR-S, it offers its occupants seats swathed in suede and leather, a steering wheel wrapped in leather with a GR badge, and door trims finished with leather and red stitching as well as smoke silver metallic trims. It also flaunts a 4.2-inch thin-film transistor instrument cluster and an eight-inch infotainment system — both of which are bordered by smoke-silver metallic trims with matte carbon appliques and red stitching.
Overall, the Nissan Terra Sport impresses with its larger instrument panel and flip-down monitor. On that note, we give this round to the Nissan Terra Sport.
Powering the Nissan Terra Sport is a 2.5-liter diesel engine mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission with manual mode. This setup gives the Nissan Terra Sport 187 horsepower with 450 Newton-meters (Nm) of torque, which applies to both the SUV’s two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive variants.
On the other hand, the Toyota Fortuner GR-S packs a 2.8-liter diesel mill paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. In unison, the powertrain makes 201 horses and 500Nm of torque.
Thanks to a more powerful setup, this round goes to the Toyota Fortuner GR-S.
In terms of safety, the Nissan Terra Sport offers features like airbags, seatbelts, an anti-lock brake system (ABS), an anti-theft system, and parking sensors.
The Nissan Terra Sport is also outfitted with the Nissan Intelligent Mobility system, which adds things like an intelligent around-view monitor, an intelligent rearview monitor, an intelligent forward collision warning system, intelligent emergency braking, lane departure warning, and intelligent driver awareness, among others.
Meanwhile, the Toyota Fortuner GR-S comes with ABS with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, vehicle stability control with traction control, hill start assist, downhill assist control, a blind sport monitor, and rear cross-traffic alert.
To add to that, Toyota gave the Fortuner GR-S the Toyota Safety Sense suite of safety features, namely a pre-collision assist system, lane departure alert, and adaptive cruise control.
This round is a tie due to both SUV models are offering seemingly identical safety features.
Nissan Terra Sport
Terra Sport 4X2 AT – P2.119 million
Terra Sport 4X4 AT – P2.459 million
Toyota Fortuner GR-S
Fortuner GR-S – P2.595 million
The battle of the sporty SUV models concludes in a tie. Both automobiles proved that they have what it takes to provide an answer to the needs of Filipino car buyers who want a ride that’s a cut above the rest.
Photos from Nissan and Toyota
Also read:
Cabin check: What’s inside the Nissan Terra Sport
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