The is a

compact crossover SUV Compact crossover SUV is an automobile classification used mainly in North America to describe a segment of crossover SUV, a type of sport utility vehicle, between subcompact crossover SUV and mid-size crossover SUV. By late 2010s, the segment ...

with

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer ca ...

capabilities produced from November 1994 to August 2000 by

Nissan , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bra ...

. A prototype was first shown at the October 1993 Tokyo Auto show. It was offered with three different

inline-four engine A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...

s: from the original 1.5-liter '' GA15DE'', to a larger 1.8-liter '' SR18DE'', and finally a 2.0-liter '' SR20DE'' in the Rasheen Forza. The car has five seats and a rugged, quirky and angularly styled body. It is a very small and short four-wheel drive that is often compared to Eastern European cars in design, particularly the Wartburg 353, but is also reminiscent of Nissan's "Pike" cars (

Be-1 Blue Origin, LLC is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, the company ...

, Pao, Figaro, and S-Cargo). As for the Be-1 and Figaro, Rasheen production was carried out by contract manufacturer Takada Kogyo. It was exclusive to Nissan Japanese dealership network called Nissan Red Stage. The Rasheen shared its platform with the Nissan Sunny (B14), including adopting the chassis ''NB14''. Rasheen also used powertrain components from the Nissan Pulsar (N14) with four-wheel drive. Nissan-RasheenForza

It had full-time four wheel drive, Nissan's

ATTESA ATTESA (acronym for Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All-Terrain) is a four-wheel drive system used in some automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan, including some models under its luxury marque Infiniti. The 'mech ...

powertrain system. This is a

viscous coupling A viscous coupling is a mechanical device which transfers torque and rotation by the medium of a viscous fluid. Design Rotary viscous couplings with interleaved, perforated plates and filled with viscous fluids are used in automotive system ...

that determines where to send torque based on traction situations.

Anti-lock brakes An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a automobile safety, safety anti-Skid (automobile), skid Brake, braking system used on aircraft and on land motor vehicle, vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing t ...

were introduced September 1996 along with various trim packages introduced during the production period. Originally only built with a 1.5-liter inline-four, the 1.8-liter engine was added to the lineup in January 1997, only available with the automatic transmission. After having been shown at the 1997

Tokyo Motor Show The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show ...

, the even bigger ''SR20DE''-engined Rasheen Forza was added in July 1998. This produced . By August 2000 production had come to a halt, amidst the restructuring following

Carlos Ghosn Carlos Ghosn (; ; ar, كارلوس غصن; , born 9 March 1954) is a businessman who holds Brazilian and French nationality. Ghosn was the CEO of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Ni ...

's "Nissan Revival Plan" and Nissan Rasheen was replaced by Nissan X-Trail/

Rogue A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior. Rogue or rogues may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * Rogue Arts, a film production company * Rogue Entertainment, a software co ...

References

External links

Nissan Rasheen
{{Modern-auto-stub Rasheen All-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1994 2000s cars Retro-style automobiles