2021 Nissan Navara teased a week before its debut

It was teased for the first time back in May before spy shots emerged two weeks ago, and now the facelifted 2021 Nissan Navara has been officially previewed for the first time.

Nissan Australia today posted a short video across its social media channels highlighting the history of its local ute models, at the end of which was this teaser shot accompanied by the words ‘New Nissan Navara coming soon’.

The Japanese car-maker also confirmed the upgraded Navara would make its world debut in a little over a week, saying: “With over 80 years of ute-building know-how, the Nissan Navara it [sic] is at the core of what we do. See how #Nissan is redefining Navara November 5th!”

We’ve covered the 2021 Nissan Navara extensively, including that Australia will be one of the world’s first markets to receive it – before the end of this year – and that it will be joined by another hard-core locally-developed Warrior version, before it’s finally replaced by a new Mitsubishi Triton-based model in 2024.

Unlike the base model seen previously in spy shots, the Navara pictured here features the new upper and lower ‘eyelash’ LED lighting signature that will be a highlight of Nissan’s new-look MY21 pick-up range.

The distinctive new headlight design will be accompanied by a chunky new front bumper with big side air intakes and a bold upright chromed grille, plus a bulging new bonnet to replace the existing model’s concave unit.

No technical details have been announced for the facelifted ute. However, powertrains are expected to remain largely unchanged from the current model, including 120kW/403Nm single-turbo and 140kW/450Nm twin-turbo versions of the same 2.3-litre four-cylinder diesel engine.

They will again be matched to six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic transmissions, and single-cab, dual-cab and King Cab body styles in pick-up and cab/chassis configuration, plus 4x2 and 4x4 variants with towing capacity up to 3500kg, should also continue.

But we expect upgrades for the Navara’s cabin, equipment list and standard safety package, which currently lacks the latest driver assist features including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keeping, blind spot monitoring and radar cruise control.

The MY20 Series 4 Navara released in March 2020 brought reductions in interior noise and a new 8.0-inch Alliance In-Vehicle Infotainment (AIVI) touch-screen multimedia system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The MY21 Series 5 Nissan Navara, as we expect it to be called, will be the last new ute to be released by a major car-maker in 2020, following the all-new Isuzu D-MAX and Mazda BT-50, facelifted Toyota HiLux and updated Ford Ranger in recent months.

An all-new replacement for the Great Wall Steed – simply dubbed the GWM Ute – will arrive around the same time.

Watch this space for all the details next Thursday (November 5).