New Nissan SUV is a mini Patrol look-alike!

Nissan's new little Tekton SUV pays homage to the iconic Patrol and will rival Suzuki’s Vitara and Kia Seltos when it arrives in 2026.

Overnight Nissan officially revealed its newest small SUV – the Tekton, the brand’s version of Renault’s Duster – and it’s looking a bit like a Patrol Mini-Me.

It was only in July that Renault launched the Duster – a rugged little small SUV that’s actually originally from the Dacia brand also owned by Renault.

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Now Nissan has drawn on its alliance with Renault to launch a version of the Duster itself – the Tekton. The catch is, so far the model is only available in India, but Nissan stated it would bring the model to other select markets.

If Nissan were to take the Tekton to Australia the SUV would fit nicely between the Juke and Qashqai at 4.3m end-to-end and rival the Seltos and Vitara, along with the Mazda CX-30 and Hyundai Kona.

For now though we might have a look into the near future with what we can see in the Indian Tekton. The design pays homage to the giant off-road capable Patrol, according to Nissan.

"The all-new Nissan Tekton draws its design inspiration from our legendary Nissan Patrol,” said Nissan’s Senior Vice President of Global Design Alfonso Albaisa.

2026 Nissan Tekton.

“It is designed to disrupt, dominate, and deliver everything today’s modern consumer desires. Imposing, stylish, and built to set a new benchmark in India and beyond, the design and build quality are distinctly Nissan—embodying the best of Nissan’s SUV DNA.”

The bulging bonnet, the beefy lower bumper and the C-shaped LED headlights have been inspired by the Patrol’s styling, Nissan said. The side profile has a tall, muscular shape and the C-shaped theme is carried through to the taillights. The tailgate also features Tekton lettering and a red LED lightbar.

The Tekton will use Renault’s Duster model as its foundation and be built at Nissan’s Chennai plant in India.

2026 Nissan Tekton.

CarsGuide has reached out to Nissan Australia regarding the likelihood of the Tekton arriving locally. Nissan will no doubt have watched the success of the Renault Duster twin in Australia and may decide to offer its own version.

The Duster is quickly becoming one of the Renault’s most popular cars in Australia with 111 sales in just two months - a relatively surprising result given the brand's small presence in Australia and the Duster name being almost unknown.

If Nissan does launch an Aussie Tekton it’ll likely share the same 1.3-litre 113kW/270Nm turbo-petro four-cylinder or the 96kW/230Nm 1.2-litre turbo three-cylinder as the Duster. Of course while front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive are offered and the Duster nor Tekton definitely don’t share the off-road capability of the Patrol.