First look: Nissan hints at next Patrol

IT IS being touted as the next-generation Patrol, but Nissan’s Terranaut off-roader, revealed ahead of its Geneva motor show debut next week, is far from it – for the moment at least.

Described as a "manned, mobile science laboratory, earth’s equivalent of a lunar rover", the Terranaut wagon is slightly shorter (59mm) than the current Patrol but is wider and taller. It measures 4965mm long, 2150mm high and 2100mm wide.

Created by the London-based Nissan Design Europe, the Terranaut carries the traditional face of a Nissan 4WD, with a bold grille flanked on either side by horizontal headlamps. But the similarities end there.

New-age features include a glass roof dome that marks the uppermost element of the vehicle’s "science lab" and a pair of swing doors and no central B-pillar on one side of the vehicle.

Touch pads used to open the doors electrically are covered with a tactile silicon finish, while the seats have air vents in the base and backrests with "breathing" fabrics.