Nissan Navara

The Navara Warrior first hit the market in early 2020, followed by the tougher facelifted model in 2021. We've driven it a few times since then, but we knew it was time to see how it handles everyday life with our team.

Our six-month stint with the Navara Pro-4X Warrior has come to a close, so you can now get the full six-part story below.

• TOTAL KILOMETRES: 8718km
• AVERAGE FUEL USE: 11.4L/100km

JUMP AHEAD

• Part 1: Beach baptism
• Part 2: Sand to snow
• Part 3: Back in the 'burbs
• Part 4: Comparing models
• Part 5: Low-down on low range
• Part 6: Motorbiking

Part 1: Beach baptism

After we helped (or hindered) the assembly of our PRO-4X Warrior down the production line at Premcar, it then took a week to get it registered and back to us at 4X4 Aus HQ where it will be for the next six months.

When we usually collect a test car, they have been run in and tested but our Warrior had just 28 kays on the odometer when we collected it from Nissan so a road trip run-in was called for.

The Warrior arrived as Melbourne swung from summer to autumn and we wanted to get in some beach time before things cooled down, so we hit the highway for a 1000km run up to Newcastle in order to get some sand in the Warrior’s Cooper AT3 treads.

I’ve said before when testing Navaras that the seating position takes a bit of getting used to if you’re coming at it from other 4x4 utes and that might take a couple of days.

The leather seats are manually adjusted, which is a bit of a surprise for a top-of-the-range ute, and there’s no reach adjustment for the steering column, just height adjustment. But once you get in to the groove, the Navara cabin is a nice, comfortable and easy-to-use place to wile away the highway miles in.

All the controls are easy to find and operate, there’s a 12-volt and USB power outlet in the centre stack and another set of them inside the console, plus another USB outlet at the back of the console for rear-seat passengers so you can keep all your devices plugged in and charging.

Apple CarPlay or Android Auto are included to provide the tunes and navigation for the road trip, again with easy controls.

The rear seat base in the double-cab Navara folds up to reveals some storage spaces underneath it where we stowed a few items that shouldn’t be needed often, and with the seat up we were able to stash a bicycle and luggage there without having to carry them out in the elements in the cargo tray.

We ordered our Warrior with the six-speed manual gearbox and at highway speeds it sits at 2200rpm on the open road, which does seem a bit high, but the engine isn’t buzzy at those revs and it still allows for easy overtaking in top gear if needed. Easier still with a shift back a gear or two.

I was surprised that the Navara doesn’t have radar cruise control, but happy at the same time as I find those systems annoying as they can lull the driver in to not paying attention to their speed while the system latches on to the back of the car in front. Normal cruise control allows me to set it to keep the speed within the limit and make my own call on it when approaching other vehicles or traffic on the highway.

The Navara has an 80-litre fuel tank and it felt like it was eating through that quickly as we cruised along. Every time I looked at the gauge it seemed to be half empty so I would top it up but it didn’t take as much as expected.

Nissan quotes the fuel use at 7.5L/100km on the ADR combined scale and this is the same in the Warrior as it is in the regular PRO-4X manual double-cab despite the Warrior riding higher and wearing bigger and heavier all-terrain tyres. With these off-road improvements, I would expect the test rate to be higher.

On the highway it logged 10.5L/100km and it will be interesting to see if that drops at all as the new car loosens up.

It seems that we timed our trip north poorly as it coincided with record rainfall and severe flooding along the coast and beach driving was off the cards. The first opportunity to put the Warrior in to four-wheel drive came not on the sand, but when pulling a passenger car out of a boggy front driveway.

Four-wheel drive selection in the Navara comes via an electronic dial as it does in most modern 4x4s and the Warrior slipped in to 4x4 High Range without too much fuss, however it would not go in to low range. We tried rolling forward, edging back, switching back and forth (we’ve done this once or twice before) but it would not select low range.

We had to pull the car out in high range, which wasn’t ideal on the sodden lawn, but it got the job done. It was only once I had the car back up on the road and fiddling with the dial some more that I was able to get it to select low range, however, that wasn’t when I needed it.

We’ll be experimenting to find the best way to make this work when it’s needed as the next time might not be so easy and forgiving.

We’ll motor onwards to find some sunshine and sand as the Warrior is proving to be a sweet tourer and I certainly appreciate the positive comments on the look of the car whenever I’m stopped somewhere along the way.

TOTAL KILOMETRES: 1405km
KILOMETRES THIS MONTH: 1377km
AVERAGE FUEL USE: 10.55L/100km

Part 2: Sand to snow

Our drive north in search of some sun and sandy beaches gave us plenty of time to get acquainted with our PRO-4X Warrior, both on the beaches and the highway.

As such, it has racked up more than 3500km since our last report. The Warrior proved up to the tasks we pointed it at, as it was more than capable on the sand and comfortable and efficient on the highway.

We mentioned in our first instalment that we had some trouble getting the transfer case to click into low range, and this continued on our beach drives. It really takes some messing around, switching the dial from 4x4 high to low range, rocking the car forward and back, switching it again, and sometimes we couldn’t get it into low range when we needed it to.

It needs to be done on flat, smooth ground where there is no load on the drivetrain, even though the gearbox is in neutral and the clutch is in. This is just an annoyance and it has failed to stop us so far, but we can imagine situations where it could leave us in trouble.

Another thing that has taken us a while to get used to is the fuel range. We were recording consumption in the low 10L/100km range, and with the 80-litre tank figured we should be good for close to 800km touring range, but the distance-to-empty computer had us coming up short.

After getting a few tanks through the car, we found that when the DTE was reaching zero kilometres there was still 10 to 15 litres of fuel in the tank, and once we figured that out we were confidently racking up 750km+ to each tank before filling up.

While some might not think 10L/100km is good for a modern 4x4 ute, you need to consider that this car has raised ride height and larger, heavier Light Truck tyres fitted to improve off-road performance, and these will be detrimental to fuel consumption. Fit these modifications to any otherwise standard vehicle and fuel consumption will go up. As for this car, the suspension and tyres are a standard part of the Warrior package over the regular Navara PRO-4X.

With close to 800km touring range, a comfortable and well-appointed interior and healthy performance from the bi-turbo 2.3-litre diesel engine, the Warrior makes a competent highway cruiser.

Back in Melbourne and with the onset of winter, the Navara has been relegated to commuting duties which it also handles with ease and comfort. The action of the clutch and gearshift are both light and pose no problem with city driving; although, we’re rueing the lack of seat heaters on cold mornings.

Nowhere was that more evident than on a morning drive up in the hills for an early season snow drive. The cold fronts coming through dumped a nice amount of the white stuff mid-week and we ran to the hills with some of the team from Ironman 4x4 for a jaunt.

Aside from the cold seats, the Warrior applied itself well to the greasy roads and snow-covered tracks. Snow over the sealed roads meant we were in 4x4 high range early and that was enough for most of the conditions once we got off the black (now white) top. On a few steeper climbs and in deeper snow we went for low range and the transfer case wouldn’t engage on the first time, but it went in straight away later on.

The standard Warrior-spec Cooper AT3 tyres did really well in these conditions with the pressures dropped to 17psi. Driving in deeper snow is akin to driving in soft sand and similar rules apply here. The opportunity gave us another terrain to tick off for the Warrior.

TOTAL KILOMETRES: 5253km
KILOMETRES THIS MONTH: 3848km
AVERAGE FUEL USE: 10.61L/100km

Part 3: Back in the 'burbs

From sandy beaches up north to snowy mountains in the south-east, it’s been fun searching out different terrain for our Navara PRO-4X Warrior to take on, but this past month it has been in town on commuter duty.

While long hours on the highway and days on off-road tracks really give you an appreciation of what a car is like to live with and how it performs particular tasks, it’s really when you are back home and living the everyday grind that you start to appreciate the nuances of any vehicle. And as with any vehicle, the Warrior has features we love and loathe.

Every time I get in the Warrior after driving something else and I press the clutch in and start changing gears, it makes me smile. There’s something about driving a car with a manual gearbox that floats my boat, as it gives me a better connection with the car and the drive is more engaging.

I know manuals aren’t for everyone, but I like them and I give massive kudos to Nissan for giving us the choice in this halo model. Driving the manual Warrior around town is never a chore, as the clutch action is light and the gear shift easy to navigate. It’s just as simple on the highways and off road.

Something I haven’t enjoyed so much since being back in Melbourne in winter is the lack of seat heaters in a $70K halo model variant. Yeah, I know, I’m soft, and I don’t expect such comforts in every car, but as the top-spec model and with leather seats, I’d expect seat heaters in the Warrior. Add in the fact that the car’s heater seems to take a long time to warm up, and the missing seat heaters are even more noticeable.

I said at the beginning of this loan period that the Navara has a strange seating position, but it’s one you soon get accustomed to. I was reminded again of this after a couple of weeks driving the Grand Cherokee L, and getting back in the Warrior felt odd. The seat squab is relatively flat and high and there is no reach adjustment for the steering column to get it just right for my size. A few days behind the wheel, though, and all feels normal again.

The Warrior has actually done some ute work while back in town, being used to pick up a set of wheels and tyres and haul push bikes in the tray on a few occasions. The Navara is well-equipped to carry loads in the tray, with four sturdy tie-down loops positioned low in each corner of the tub and the adjustable Utili-Tracks running lengthways along the upper sides of the tub. There’s also the plastic tub liner fitted to the car as part of the Warrior package, which protects the painted metal tray from scratches and damage.

Another Warrior-specific addition to the Navara that hinders your ability to make best use of those cargo tie-down points is the so-called sports bar at the front of the tub. Nissan isn’t the only offender here, as these style-over-substance add-ons find their way in to the back of many upper-spec utes.

"The PRO-4X Warrior is just as easy to live with in the suburbs as it is in the bush"

The sports bar prevents the user from leaning over the side of the tray to access the front tie-down loops when you need to connect and disconnect them, which is an unnecessary pain in the butt when you need to secure cargo in the tub.

As much as we would like it to be, life’s not always about hitting the highway and getting out of town; so, thankfully, the PRO-4X Warrior is just as easy to live with in the suburbs as it is in the bush.

After four months of driving it around, I still get comments from others saying how good the Warrior looks in its Stealth Grey with black wheels and accessories. And I’m happy to say the Warrior continues to prove that it has the performance to match its appearance.

TOTAL KILOMETRES: 7796km
KILOMETRES THIS MONTH: 2543km
AVERAGE FUEL USE: 11.2L/100km

Part 4: Comparing models

I have just spent some time behind the wheel of the regular Navara PRO-4X, the non-Warrior version, which has reminded me what a great job the team at Premcar has done with the PRO-4X to turn it in to the Warrior, particularly in the way the suspension both softens the ride and improves control over rough roads.

With Nissan announcing the arrival of the Navara SL Warrior, it will be a great way for owners to get the benefits of that suspension, wheel and tyre package at a more affordable price. Like the PRO-4X Warrior, the SL will be a vehicle you can tour anywhere in Australia with, right off the showroom floor.

Our PRO-4X Warrior has done plenty of its kilometres on the highway on a few interstate trips, where it has proved well and truly up to the task. Again, the powertrain and suspension are well-suited to racking up the miles, and the fuel consumption being in the low 10L/100km mark made it very economical.

A unique feature of the Navara I could never figure out is why you’d want it, revealed its usefulness on the open road. I like to drive with the window open to let fresh air in the car, especially once you get away from the city and all its filth.

Driving at speed with the window down in most modern cars usually creates a lot of buffeting in the cabin that you can somewhat alleviate by partially opening the rear door windows. The Navara has a sliding opening in the rear window that, when open, creates a flow-through passage for fresh air to move through the cabin without the buffeting, and it is a great way to travel without letting wind or even rain on to the back seat.

Back in town the Warrior has been used to transport pushbikes in its cargo tub. Originally hoping to carry two bikes in the back, it was quickly obvious that isn’t possible without leaving the tailgate open, so compromises had to be made. This would be the case with any double-cab ute and the relatively short length of their cargo tubs.

A single bike fits snuggly diagonally across the tub, which places the bike’s wheels perfectly adjacent to the tie-down points fitted low in each corner of the tub. It’s easy to access the rear one with the tailgate down, but then getting to the front ones is hampered by the sports bar that you can’t reach through to get to the hooks and straps.

This is an area that the Warrior SL has an advantage, as it doesn’t have the sports bar and you could simply reach over the tub-side to attach the tie downs.

With the days getting longer and warmer, we’re looking forward to getting back out in the bush in these last few months we have with the PRO-4X Warrior.

Part 5: Low-down on low range

Has it really been six months that we’ve had our Navara PRO-4X Warrior?

They say that time flies when you’re having fun and we’ve had plenty of fun with the Warrior. From following it down the production line at Premcar, to interstate road trips and weekend bush escapes to the beaches and the snow, it’s proven to be a well set-up and capable 4x4 ute.

The one problem that we have had with the Warrior was recently rectified with a trip back to Nissan. From day one with the car, we’d always found it hesitant to engage 4x4. Now we know that all of these electronically actuated transfer cases can be fussy and fiddly when you go to use them, but the one on the Navara was more so than most.

From towing a mate out of a bog when the Navara wouldn’t go into low range to when we were away on the snow drive when it sometimes went in straight away and at other times it wouldn’t engage at all, it has been a constant problem.

Thankfully, when it went back to the techs at Nissan they also found it to be hesitant to engage 4x4 and low range, so they replaced the electric motor on the transfer case that does that job, under warranty of course.

We were keen to put it to the test and with the spring weather thawing Melbourne out, we got away for a Sunday in the bush. And we’re happy to say that the transfer case engaged straight away each time we used it.

The suspension is perfect in that it improves both the ride quality on- and off-road

Our day trip out around the forests near Toolangi reinforced my beliefs that the two best improvements you can make to any standard 4x4 are a quality and well-controlled suspension upgrade, and tougher tyres that you can depend on in rough tracks and conditions.

Thankfully, Nissan and Premcar have done these upgrades for you with the PRO-4X Warrior and it’s all part of the new-car package, covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. And the gear all works well too.

The suspension is perfect in that it improves both the ride quality on- and off-road, and copes with the bumps and bashes you cop on rough tracks or low-speed off-road driving. The Cooper AT3 tyres that are part of the Warrior package haven’t given us any reason to complain; again, they have been excellent for both on- and off-road driving.

It’s rare that we can get a new car with these features straight from the manufacturer so it will be hard to replace the Warrior in the 4X4 Shed. Let’s see what we can come up with next.

Part 6: Motorbiking

After a three-month stint with the Mazda BT-50 Thunder, I found myself without a ute but with a mountain of lugging to do. Editor Raudonikis took pity on me and threw me the keys to the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior.

Besides our visual similarities (Matt and I regularly get mistaken for each other at car meets and gigs), it turns out Raudonikis and I both enjoy similar things about the Warrior, starting with some of its more analogue features.

The biggie in this regard, is the six-speed manual gearbox our Warrior is optioned with. Like Matt, I enjoy how connected and engaged I feel with a good stick shift and, boy, is this a good one. Even in traffic, shifting the tractable Warrior never felt like a chore. And the manual ’box suits the Warrior’s burly vibe down to the ground.

Other analogue features I give the Warrior big ticks for include the old-school handbrake, buttons to operate the climate control and – praise be! – rotary dials for volume control and scan.

I’m no luddite, though. While Matt was glad of the Warrior’s lack of radar cruise control, I was missing it, as well as speed-sign monitoring. You see, I’ve grown to rely on this kind of tech to reduce the number of rude letters I receive in the mail from the good people at Fines Victoria. Luckily, the Navara is no rocket ship off the lights, so that helped tame my top-fuel instincts.

The Warrior is otherwise well-equipped with safety tech, including intelligent AEB, blind-spot monitoring and active lane assist. None of which I found overly intrusive.

As a package, the Warrior is a tougher-looking proposition than the BT-50 Thunder I’ve been in previously. The chunky Cooper all-terrains no doubt have a lot to do with that, with the Mazda’s more-anaemic rubber leaving it looking a little like a rugby player in ballet flats.

The whole package is super-cohesive to my eye, although I’d swap the frankly pointless (aren’t they all?) sports bar for a tonneau cover in a heartbeat. The nifty fold-up rear seat went some way to making up for the open tray, swallowing all kinds of loads that I didn’t want to expose to Melbourne’s ever-changing weather conditions.

While I didn’t get the Warrior anywhere near off-road, I love the idea that it is ready to go bush straight off the showroom floor, with everything covered under the factory warranty. What I did do was a stack of shifting workshop equipment and car parts, making good use of the lined tub and handy tie-down loops in the tray – while cursing the sports bar that makes it difficult to access the rear loops.

I also did a spot of towing with the Warrior, but nothing that put any kinds of strain on the big girl. I’ve been neglecting my 1971 Triumph Tiger since the start of COVID and if there is one thing old English motorcycles do not like, it is not being ridden! The bike and lightweight trailer were never going to trouble the Nissan, but they looked pretty cool. And I loved that I could store the heavy tow tongue under the rear seat afterwards, instead of having it floating around the cabin.

Overall, I found that the Warrior’s steering, ride and handling are class-leading. Even with the tray heavily-loaded, the Warrior remained composed even on shitty B-roads.

I was also impressed that the ute’s serious off-road credentials do little to hamper its utility as a well-mannered daily driver, with no excess noise from the all-terrain rubber – or anywhere else, for that matter. Fuel economy is also completely acceptable, especially given the extra weight of Premcar’s off-road add-ons.

If you aren’t fazed by Warriors’s dated-but-practical infotainment set-up and are happy to miss out on a few luxuries (heated seats, anyone?), then it is hard to go past the Warrior as a highly-capable all-rounder - Simon Telford

TOTAL KILOMETRES: 8718km
KILOMETRES THIS MONTH: 922km
AVERAGE FUEL USE: 11.4L/100km