The Nissan Z will be here by the end of the year

Wednesday, 4 May 2022

Nissan is introducing four new models by the end of the year, including the Z sports car.

Nissan has confirmed it will launch four major model refreshes in the second half of 2022, including the Pathfinder, X-Trail, Qashqai and the Z sports car.

Exact dates haven’t been given yet, but Nissan says the updates make its SUV line-up “one of the freshest” in New Zealand.

“The all-new Z, Pathfinder, X-Trail and Qashqai will join the just-updated Patrol, along with the tough and rugged Navara, to give Nissan one of the newest and most exciting model line-ups in the country,” said Nissan New Zealand’s managing director, Ben Hamilton.

Nissan is refreshing its family in the second half of 2022.

The new Pathfinder brings a new interior and exterior design, a reworked four-wheel drive system and a new nine-speed automatic transmission to the fray, along with an updated version of the old 3.5-litre V6, this time making 212kW of power and 351Nm of torque – a bump of 10kW/11Nm.

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The new Pathfinder uses the old 3.5-litre V6 but ditches the CVT.

* Nissan's electrification plan basically confirms hybrid GT-R

* Nissan's new Qashqai heading to NZ with e-Power

If you want a hybrid, the Qashqai is the only option thus far.

* Nissan reveals thoroughly revised Pathfinder

At the moment there isn’t a hybrid version coming, but the previous generation had an electrified 2.5-litre supercharged four-cylinder, so never say never.

Next, the X-Trail wears a similar face to the Pathfinder, along with a high-spec interior with a five-inch, seven-inch or 12.3-inch instrument display behind the wheel while a massive 10.8-inch head-up display beams pertinent info onto the windscreen in the driver's line of sight.

Power will come from a 135kW/245Nm 2.5-litre naturally aspirated engine with a CVT transmission. Again, a hybrid version has yet to be confirmed, but we’d be surprised if Nissan doesn’t give the X-Trail extra electrification to compete with the Toyota RAV4.

The Qashqai is the only of the three SUVs to have a hybrid pencilled in. Power will initially be sourced from a new turbocharged 1.3-litre four-cylinder, making 110kW/250Nm.

That’s an increase in output over the old 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine, which made 106kW/200Nm, while also decreasing consumption and emissions to 6.1L/100km and 138g/km of CO2, also putting it in line for a small rebate.

Afterwards, Nissan will launch the range-extender 140kW/300Nm e-Power Qashqai, which operates like the similar system in the e-Power Note.

Unlike a conventional hybrid, which uses an electric motor to assist a petrol engine, e-Power works as a range-extender by employing a large electric motor to drive the wheels, while a 1.5-litre three-cylinder combustion engine acts solely as a generator for the battery.

But the most interesting is the new Z, which ditches the alphanumerical naming of previous versions and replaces it with a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 producing 298kW and 475Nm of torque, paired with a six-speed manual or a nine-speed auto.

Nissan hasn’t mentioned official performance figures yet but expect a 0-100km/h time of around four and a half seconds.

Final pricing will be confirmed closer to each model’s respective launch, as will any remaining unknown specifications.