Nissan Patrol Warrior, Qashqai E-Power and two mystery models to launch over 18 months

“In the next 18 months, we'll have another four new products in Nissan showrooms”, Australian managing director, Adam Paterson, told motoring media as he flicked to a Nissan Patrol Warrior teaser image.

After launching the new-gen X-Trail, Pathfinder, and Qashqai over a two-month period (and Z sports car before that), you could expect the Japanese carmaker to take a break. Not so.

We know a petrol-electric Qashqai E-Power is on the way, and the much-teased Nissan Patrol Warrior is a given, but what else?

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The Ariya is one possible candidate for Oz release

One of the two remaining slots will likely be filled by a hardcore Nissan Z Nismo at some point. The other is a toss-up between the Ariya – an all-electric SUV twinned with Renault Megane E-Tech on the CMF-EV platform – or perhaps another Navara variant.

Paterson declined to hint at what the mystery cars could be, but with the current product lineup, we’re pretty confident those names will come to Australia.

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A hardcore Z is also possible

Qashqai E-Power first

Originally destined for late 2022, a host of delays have pushed the Qashqai E-Power’s arrival back to this year. An exact date is not confirmed yet for the Toyota Corolla Cross rival, but it will join the new X-Trail E-Power here in time.

Power is 140kW, and on the WLTP combined cycle the Qashqai E-Power's fuel-economy is rated at 5.3L/100km. As it has a front-wheel-drive powertrain, expect a smaller premium over its combustion-powered version than is the case within the X-Trail lineup – the difference expected to be about $3000 more for the E-Power Qashqai.

Like with the X-Trail, expect only the upper-trim ST-L and Ti to be available with the hybrid powertrain, meaning a starting price of around $45K, climbing to $50K-plus for the flagship model.

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Patrol Warrior to follow

Confirmed in September last year with an expected 12-month turn-around, this one’s pretty obvious.

It’ll retain the Patrol’s 5.6-litre direct-injection petrol V8 developing at least 298kW of power and 560Nm of torque that will exhale through a side-exit exhaust.

Expect a suspension lift, chunky all-terrain rubber, under-body and frontal protection – as well as a starting price of $120K-plus.

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Nismo Z, Ariya or Navara?

This is where things get a little harder to guess – the models above are confirmed awaiting a release date, but Nissan remains tight-lipped about the Ariya and hardcore Z.

The Ariya electric crossover is slated for launch just as soon as global production allows. Although, after launching in Japan and Europe in 2021, we’re lagging a long way behind. With no emissions policies in place, there’s no need for Nissan to divert Ariya production to Australia.

But, 18 months from now, things could very well change, making a better case for the electric SUV with its 500-plus kilometre WLTP driving range and available AWD.

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A Nismo Z is also very likely to debut. The base Z impressed the team at Wheels with its Japanese muscle car vibes, but it’s a grand tourer that lacks the razor sharpness of Toyota’s Supra.

A once-over from in-house tuner Nismo could well sort that out. Japanese reports suggest a version already in the works, with a global reveal sometime this year and an eventual Australian price in the region of $90-100K.

We’re pretty convinced that these two are the vehicles left to launch, but the reality could be different. It may be that a new Navara variant pops up, or a late-life upgrade for the Leaf electric car. We'll have to wait and see.