The year 1994 is considered the beginning of today's highly successful SUV segment . In the spring, the Toyota RAV4 , the founder of this segment, was shown in Geneva. Ironically, although Toyota is Japanese, Japan got its first SUV from rival Nissan.
The angular Rasheen was first presented in the form of a concept in October 1993 at the Tokyo Motor Show, and even then, bad speakers claimed that it was a combination of Eastern European cars , led by the Lada Niva and the Wartburg 353. However, Nissan was not deterred, and at the beginning of 1994 (that is, in similar horizon as Toyota) introduced the serial form of the Rasheen (production took place from November 1994). It is still recognizable at first glance thanks to its angular body with distinctive, color-coded bumpers, large headlights, abundant side glazing and a fifth door that opens to the right. Since there were several types on offer, the Rasheen can be seen with or without a rear spare wheel or even with a front roll bar. Production was handled by the Takada Kogyo plant, which, among other things, produced today's legendary Nissans of the Pike series (Be-1, Figaro, Pao and S-Cargo).
With a length of 4210 mm , a width of 1720 mm, a height of 1515 mm and a wheelbase of 2430 mm, the Rasheen would rank in today's SUV segment alongside the Citroën C4 Cactus, the Opel Mokka or the Ford EcoSport. And speaking of the Cactus, this playful representative of French production is strikingly similar to the large front seats with lousy lateral guidance and checkered upholstery in the photos. Otherwise, the interior is a mix of more or less 90s Japanese style, including the odd automatic transmission selector, the large four-spoke steering wheel or the sliding heater control. What is unique today is the instrument panel, which is not only optically part of the dashboard, but on closer inspection it also lacks all digital indicators. These are on a separate display to the right of the steering wheel.
Technically, the Rasheen is based on the Sunny hatchback , which is also well known in Europe. The compact SUV shares a two-axle drive with the sharp version of the Sunny GTI-R. The original model had only a single GA15DE four-cylinder gasoline engine with a volume of 1.5 liters and a power of 105 hp under the hood. In the spring of 1997, a larger SR18DE eighteen -cylinder engine with a power of 125 hp got under the hood. As I mentioned, all-wheel drive was standard, complemented by a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission . In addition to all-wheel drive, the curb weight of 1,310 kg also promised good handling and driving characteristics on paper.
Those who wanted an even more powerful unit had to wait for the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of 1997. Here the Rasheen Forza was presented (however, it did not go on sale until July 1998) with a two- liter SR20DE petrol engine with a power of 145 hp, which, among other things, was mounted in a small 100NX GTI coupe. All-wheel drive was retained, but only an automatic transmission was available. In addition to the different engine, the Forza also differed in appearance, mainly thanks to the more prominent plastic fender extensions, the four round headlights in front or the radiator grille with vertical slats.
The production of Rasheen was ended in August 2000 by the new strategy of the then president of the brand, Carlos Ghosn, who set himself the goal of restructuring the brand. The Rasheen's successor was the X-Trail, which was also sold in Europe in the same year, but was a few numbers bigger compared to the Rasheen.
Source: Nissan, Takada Kogyo, period car catalogs
