The Nissan Navara has “come home”. It’s now a South African-built bakkie – tuned for our conditions and specified to suit the needs of local bakkie buyers. Is the facelifted model good enough to help Nissan secure a bigger share of the leisure double-cab segment? We briefly drove the newcomer in Cape Town this week.
What’s new on the Navara?
It’s fair to say that the arrival of the all-new Navara in 2017 didn’t go down nearly as well as Nissan had hoped. Compared with its predecessor, the imported 3rd-generation (D23) model faced much tougher and diverse competition in the local market and its debut was arguably overshadowed by the arrival of its ill-fated German cousin, the Mercedes-Benz X-Class, with which it shares a platform.
Nissan admittedly attempted to make its leisure double-cab more attractive to luxury-family-car buyers (who would ostensibly use their bakkies to pursue outdoor activities on weekends) by fitting the Navara with a coil-sprung – rather than a traditional leaf-sprung – rear suspension. The thinking behind that was to make the bakkie more stable at speed and that it would deliver a comfortable ride quality when travelling over rougher road surfaces. Results were varied… and most buyers apparently preferred the packaging and specification of the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen Amarok.
The new Navara’s revised face is bold and strong. Red isn’t its best colour, however.
Following a substantial investment in its Rosslyn production facility, Nissan is now assembling the facelifted version of the Navara on local soil. Moreover, the bakkie has undergone extensive local testing and tuning to suit Southern African conditions. Among a plethora of updates, the Navara features a more distinctive (and bold) design – especially at the front, new tyres, suspension improvements, reduced vibration and motion from the body, a recalibrated steering, a larger capacity single-turbo engine, a deeper load tub, plus there’s more in the way of connectivity options and safety features.
New Nissan Navara engine
The new 2.5-litre turbodiesel is surprisingly quiet and seems more refined than the old 2.3-litre unit.
It seems that consumers’ appetite for stronger engines has officially spilt over from the car to the bakkie segment, where Ford, Toyota and especially Volkswagen have extracted rather lofty peak outputs from their pick-up motors. Suffice to say that if a brand wants to offer a bakkie at the high-end of the double-cab market, that model is unlikely to get much of a look in if it cannot produce 450 Nm!
To that end, the pre-facelift Navara’s 2.3-litre turbodiesel has been superseded by a new 2.5-litre single-turbo diesel unit that produces 140 kW and 450 Nm of torque in the LE and PRO (2X or 4X) spec derivatives… and the latter output is just enough for Nissan’s newcomer to stay in the hunt with the Hilux and Ranger.
Out on the road, the engine felt refined and pulled eagerly without sounding laboured at the upper end of its rev range. There was a little bit of lag at pull-away, but the Nissan’s motor certainly doesn’t lack overtaking oomph and quickly got up to freeway speeds. The 7-speed automatic transmission seems to be quite adept at selecting the right gear for the situation; it didn’t hang onto gears needlessly.
Fuel consumption for the new engine is claimed at 8.1 L/100 km, which seems entirely achievable, considering that we saw an indicated return of 9.6 L/100 km after completing the launch route.
What’s the Navara like to drive?
The updated Navara could be the best-riding bakkie on mixed road surfaces.
The Nissan’s reworked suspension (aided by other tweaks to the bakkie’s structure) has undoubtedly resulted in an improved, more forgiving ride quality. While traversing some of the Cape’s wet and pockmarked dirt roads, the Navara’s suspension soaked up the myriad bumps and dips with admirable composure. Whereas many ladder-frame-based vehicles shudder over washboard rutted sections, the Navara felt well-controlled. There is some firmness (you’ll know when you drive over hard ridges), but the ride is particularly stable on dirt. Is this the market’s best-riding bakkie on mixed road surfaces?
Meanwhile, the bakkie’s steering is particularly light and requires some familiarisation. Bakkies usually have light steering configurations (to ensure they’re easy to manoeuvre in slow, off-road situations), but the Navara’s feels even lighter – although quite direct for a bakkie. The following statement may sound ludicrous, but the Navara arguably has the most sportscar-like chassis in the bakkie market!
Once out on the freeway, the Navara was particularly quiet inside, which demonstrates that Nissan has succeeded in its goal of reducing vibration and harshness in the right areas.
Are the insides up to standard?
More features and connectivity are now available, but the Navara’s cabin lacks luxury soft-touch points.
The Nissan’s interior design hasn’t had much of an update, but you do get more connectivity options in the form of 4 USB ports and a 12V power outlet. Android Auto and Apple Carplay can be accessed via a cable connection and displayed through the centre infotainment touchscreen. It’s not as fancy a screen or system as, say, in the Ranger or the updated Hilux, but it does the job.
In terms of outright luxury, the Navara doesn’t compare well with the segment leaders. The cabin is neat, but finished in a variety of plastics, none of which are soft-touch. When you compare the Nissan’s workmanlike interior with the leather-trimmed cabins of the Hilux, Ranger and GWM P-Series, it’s noticeably more utilitarian. That said, the leather seats are particularly comfortable and LE derivatives sport a leather-trimmed steering wheel and transmission shifter. It would be nice, though, to have more soft-touch materials on the dash and door panels – that would lift the level of luxury appreciably.
The top-spec LE and PRO derivatives come equipped with numerous new safety features in the forms of forward-collision alert, automatic emergency braking, high-beam assist and rear cross-traffic alert. PRO versions also feature a 360-degree camera system, navigation and rear privacy glass.
What’s more, the Navara’s load tub has increased in size and now holds a further 100 kg (up to 1 003 kg for the LE and PRO double-cab 4×4 automatic). The 4×2 automatics can hold 1 086 kg. The towing capacities equal those of the Nissan’s rivals (750 kg unbraked and 3 500 kg braked).
Nissan Navara pricing and aftersales
Nissan’s new South African-built Navara is available from R311 000 (for the entry-level single-cab derivative) up to R740 000 for the top-spec Double Cab Pro 4×4. It is sold with a 6-year/150 000 km warranty and a 6-year/90 000 km service plan. For the full list of Navara pricing click here.
Summary
The Nissan load tub can hold 100 kg, which takes the load capacity over 1-tonne.
The updated, locally-produced Nissan Navara stands out as a bakkie that rides especially well and feels stable over all road surfaces. The new engine seems punchy enough to compete with those of the competition and is frugal enough when driven fairly. The interior connectivity and safety options are certainly a step up, but the plasticky feel of the interior lets the package down slightly. If you’re looking for a bakkie that feels fancy inside then the Navara doesn’t quite meet expectations. It will, however, be great to see how it shapes up now against familiar rivals in an upcoming bakkie bonanza shootout.
