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Top five most useful features in the Nissan Terra

The Terra takes things to new levels with these features.

Earl Lee on Jun 08, 2023

Top 5 Most Useful features in the Nissan Terra

The Nissan Terra made a wave in its first generation, and it still continues to make waves in its current form. The Terra has many features in its spec sheet, more than what most people need. If we were to list and talk about all of its features, it would take the whole day, so let’s list five of the most useful features of the Nissan Terra that we find ourselves using all the time.

Before anything else, however, let’s get some things out of the way. We get how the engine is a feature that we will use all the time to actually drive the car and it’s a hoot to drive as well. A 2.5-liter turbo-diesel engine that produces 187 hp and 450 Nm of torque mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission. Everything is installed on a ladder-frame chassis and suspended by a bunch of dampers that are up there in terms of ride comfort compared to the rest of the segment. With all of that out of the way, are there other features that make the Terra a fantastic SUV, aside from the fundamentals? Check out these five listed.

Related: What do Nissan owners think about their car

A fully-loaded infotainment system

The first is that gorgeous seven-inch advanced touchscreen display audio with Bose premium audio. It goes without saying, but right after we push the start button in the cabin, we immediately reach for our cable and connect it to the infotainment system. Following that, it’s setting up our music and our navigation information. It’s fantastic that the infotainment system can accommodate all our demands and more. From its Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity to its eight-speaker Bose audio system, everything is premium and all there.

You get the full smartphone experience in your car as well as the full sound that the professionals at Bose have given to the Terra in its top-of-the-line trim. So in summary, you get a fully-featured infotainment experience from the visuals to the sound, and on top of that, you also get an 11-inch display for your rear passengers to enjoy while on a long drive.

VIP seating with a dash of convenience

Whenever the term VIP is brought up in the automotive industry, it’s not out of the question to think about limos, captains’ chairs, and power everything for passengers. However, in the case of the Terra, the VIP is the driver. This car treats its driver well with Zero Gravity seats for added comfort. We can safely say that paired with the five-link rear suspension and the double-wishbone front suspension, the ride is better than most, and comparable to crossovers and sedans to a point. The ride still feels strong, with hints of its pickup platform shining through, but on the day-to-day, the Terra is marked as one of the more comfortable SUVs in the market today.

It’s not just the driver’s seat that has a few tricks up its sleeve, but also that second row. With all of the other second-row seats in other seven-seat midsize SUVs being manually folded and operated, Nissan actually over-engineered the process to the point where all you need to do is to flip a switch and the seats tumble, allowing your passengers at the rear to ingress and egress with minimal effort.

See everything and more

The Around View Monitor gives you a great view of everything around you. Nissan was really one of the first brands to push the feature in the market, and it’s safe to say that many drivers have taken to this feature with great interest. It came to the point where almost every brand now at least has one model in their lineups that have a 360-degree camera or an around-view monitor. Nissan's rendition of the technology also offers parking sensors at the rear for added peace of mind but also a rearview camera just in case you have a lot of heads or cargo in the back. On the more extreme side of things, there is an off-road mode also that gives you a better view while you’re going on a bit of an adventure.

In most cases, the reason why we’re fawning about this is because of its usefulness in tight city streets and parking. In flowery terms, this feature is a perfect fit for conquering the tight tracks of the urban jungle.

Safety at speed

We talked about how nice the engine was, earlier, but it’s also worth noting that the brakes on the Terra are also good in practice. However, as an added bonus and layer of safety, Nissan bundles in the Intelligent Mobility suite of features which includes autonomous safety and driving features. You never know it until you need it, but there were a few instances where the mobility suite and all its safety tech came in handy to avoid a crash.

In particular, we found a ton of use and safety with the Forward Collision Warning and Intelligent Emergency Braking. In the instances where you find yourself not paying attention the system can save you a crash, we know it did for us. On the topic of attention, Nissan also bundled in a Driver Attention Alert to detect whether the driver is paying full attention or not. It cuts out the inattentiveness at the source, adding to the safety that the car provides. We don’t like admitting it, but all of these systems helped us keep safe and out of harm’s way during our drives with the Terra.

Safety all around

There are times when things “come out of nowhere” on the road. In reality, it’s more likely that these “things” came out from blind spots around the car. For those instances, Blind Spot Warning, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, are both important features to keep on and keep using on the Terra

During our outings with the car, Blind Spot Warning went off multiple times, indicating that there was another vehicle that we might not have been able to see at the time. It worked well, even going so far as to detect motorcycles and even pedestrians. Rear Cross Traffic Alert is also in the mix, and it helps immensely when backing out from a parking slot in case the Around View Monitor doesn’t catch someone crossing behind you. These two features feed off the same hardware and help you avoid those fender benders brought on by carelessness.