2022 Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior review

I find it fascinating the way car buyers sniff out a ruse. When Mercedes launched the X-Class at what it thought was an unsuspecting public, just about everybody clocked that it was a Nissan Navara and stayed away from the three-pointed price tags in their droves. When that car launched, our Amarok-owning builders were still making a mess of the house and snorted when I rolled up in the X-Class.

“Nice car,” said the foreman. “Pity it’s just a Navara in drag. I’d just buy the Navara and save my money.”

This was before the Navara Pro-4X Warrior existed though. While the Warrior – as it will henceforth be known – doesn’t quite charge the dizzying heights of the X350d, it’s only ten grand behind it, albeit with a good chunk of the things that Merc had and a few it didn’t. And people are buying it, perhaps because it’s more honest or because it’s quite good or perhaps both. Let’s find out.

69

Pricing and Features

The Navara Pro-4X Warrior lands on your driveway from the Thai factory, via a couple of extra stops, at $69,990 before on-road costs, which is a lot.

You get 17-inch alloys, a six-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, tub liner, keyless entry and start, cruise control, sat-nav, auto LED headlights, fake leather bits in the cabin, folding and heated door mirrors, auto wipers and a full-size spare.

The Warrior arrives in the country as a top-end Navara Pro-4X (that really sounds like a 1990s Intel chip) before being shipped off to Premcar for the fitment of more than nine grand worth of shiny new things.

69

Among these are a chunky winch-compatible bull bar with integrated LED light bar, a tow bar exclusive to the Warrior, a bigger 3mm steel bash plate in contrasting red colour, a GVM upgrade to 3250kg (100kg more than standard) and a lot of blacked-out bodywork.

With all of that and the mechanical changes outlined down below, the Warrior looks properly mean, with a bit of a Minecraft vibe thrown in.

A hilariously small 8.0-inch touchscreen hosts Nissan’s old media software and it’s got a real 1990s Pulsar vibe to it, even though 1990s Pulsars didn’t have touchscreens. Things to improve when you plug in your phone, with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay along for the ride and it does have built-in sat-nav (handy when your phone's maps app stalls because you're out of mobile coverage). Either way, it’s still better than a brand new Toyota’s software.

69

The safety spec is not at all bad for an ageing ute and makes you wonder why a few family-focused SUVs don’t have all of the same features. You get seven airbags (including a driver’s knee airbag), the usual braking and stability controls, forward auto emergency braking, forward collision warning, 360-degree cameras, reverse cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning and lane-keep assist.

There are also three top tether points and two ISOFIX points for child seats.

The Navara scored five ANCAP stars in 2015, which is a long time ago, especially considering all of the changes to the ANCAP system since then.

69

Comfort and Space

The first thing you notice about the Warrior is just how far off the ground it is. Thankfully for front-seat passengers, the grab handles and huge side steps let you swing in without too much trouble, although if I had a dodgy hip or knee it would be precisely no fun, so perhaps have a think about that.

The same goes for thinking it might be okay for loading kids in and out of – it’s a long way up and that extra 40mm of ride height means more than it sounds.

The front seats are a bit soft at first but seem supportive enough for a road trip. The steering wheel seems too small, though and again feels like it’s out of a hatchback. All the switchgear is pretty old but perfectly functional and the cabin is well made and well laid out.

69

The centre armrest has a usefully-sized bin housing USB-A and USB-C connectors. You also get two cupholders in the front and bottle holders in the doors.

The rear seats are hardly palatial and entry is tricky with the narrow doors, but it’s a dual-cab ute so that's to be expected. Leg and knee room is adequate for up to six-footers and there’s an added bonus of very dark tinting plus that trademark electrically-operated window section in the rear windscreen. You even get rear air vents – way too many proper passenger cars still don’t get those. There is also a single USB charger.

The rear tailgate is high and undamped, so keep an eye on the kids when you’re opening up.

69

On the Road

Under the bonnet is a 2.3-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel engine, growling up 140kW and 450Nm in a fairly narrow 1500-2500rpm rev band. Power gets to the road either through the rear wheels (in 2H mode) or all four wheels (4H and 4L modes) with a locking rear differential thrown in for the rough stuff.

The Warrior is a full 40mm further from the dirt at 260mm (15mm from the suspension, 25mm from the tyres if you’re into that kind of thing), The front and rear tracks are also wider by 30mm for a healthy 1600mm, at which I believe certain people would reverentially whisper the word, “stance”.

Springs and dampers are also changed to improve the ute’s ride and handling and there’s a bigger “jounce” bumper to lessen the impact of reaching the end of the suspension travel, turning a bang into a gentler thunk.

69

Once you’re in, it’s very comfortable and you do rather feel that you should check with air-traffic control as you approach speed bumps, but the view out across the bonnet is what car-makers like to call “commanding.” The reality is that you can’t see much immediately in front of you or behind you, so the array of cameras is not just welcome, but it’s mandatory. Down the road, of course, you can see plenty.

These sorts of cars are hardly paragons of handling, but the Warrior isn’t bad, especially with the increased ride height. The tyres do it no favours and are pretty noisy but in the wet conditions we had the car, it performed very well.

The extra sidewall and the revised springs and dampers deliver a distinctly better ride than most unladen utes but the steering is fairly vague on sealed roads. Which is to be expected.

69

The engine is a cacophony of induction roar and a bit of diesel clatter when cold, but quietens down as it warms and speeds rise. It feels strong and considering it’s hauling two kilos short of 2300kg in kerb weight, it does alright.

But it’s not going to flog a Raptor in a straight fight. Which is probably not why you’d be considering this car, so that’s fine. That’s the one thing the X-Class got right, though, the 3.5-litre V6 turbo-diesel.

It’s a big unit and its 1895mm height provokes the odd sharp intake of breath in shopping centre car parks. It also has a huge turning circle of 12.5 metres, so the slow steering – annoying enough when you’re driving around the suburbs – makes the inevitable multi-point turns quite a workout.

69

I didn’t have the opportunity to take the Warrior off-road, which is a great pity because, with its various mud-plugging jiggery-pokery, it’s got the kind of capability I’d love to test. However, I don’t think, given the recent weather, that even the 600mm wading depth would be enough.

Most folks are going to spend a lot of time in town in their Warrior and few will get too dirty, so I imagine my experience is representative of most prospective owners. Unless road conditions are seriously bad (or basic), you won’t spend much – if any – time in 4H around town, so rear-wheel drive will do fine for the most part.

Given we were on the road for the time we had the Navara, its 8.9L/100km against 8.1L/100km claimed was pretty good going.

69

Ownership

Nissan offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, five years of roadside assist and capped-price servicing.

Unfortunately, a twin-turbo diesel is fairly complicated and that’s reflected in the service pricing. It’s a lot more expensive than most of the competition, with prices north of $580 and up to a few ticks over $700.

That’s a lot of money and a Ranger – for instance – is currently priced at roughly half that lower figure. You’ll need to return to the dealer every 12 months or 20,000km.

69

VERDICT

Despite the aggro looks, the Navara Warrior is a fairly agreeable machine on the road once you take into account its sheer size. It’s not the benchmark for dual-cab utes apart from the reasonably cushy ride but around town, it’s quite liveable.

As its rivals improve, and in the Ranger’s case are about to score a whole new generation, it’s the Warrior’s looks rather than its dynamics and interior that are going to keep it in the game against the likes of Raptor and Toyota's HiLux Rogue and Rugged.

2022 Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior specifications