More Nissan Warriors in the wings

Nissan Australia looks set apply 'Warrior' tough-truck upgrades to more models in its range following this week’s launch of the new Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior dual-cab 4x4 ute, including the Patrol and perhaps even Pathfinder and X-TRAIL.

And the same Melbourne-based auto-engineering specialist that produced Nissan’s new Navara flagship is odds-on to develop the first factory-backed Titan full-size pick-up for Australia.

Locally re-engineered and developed by Premcar, the new Navara Warrior is priced from $62,990 drive-away and aimed directly at Australia's fiercely contested premium lifestyle ute market.

Speaking at the pumped-up ute's national media launch at Dinner Plain in Victoria, Nissan Australia CEO Stephen Lester said there are a number of other obvious candidates to receive the “Warrior spirit” within Nissan's current range.

“In terms of the other models that could be possible, you can look throughout our range and find models that could use a little dose of the Warrior spirit," he said.

“There are probably a few that are not very far off from your own imagination of what could work very, very well, considering the changes that we've made to the Navara.

“We've got some very, very natural models [to which a Warrior conversion could be applied].”

Lester said the Navara was a natural choice for the Warrior treatment, given the surging popularity of premium utes.

However, sales of another Nissan off-road stalwart – the Patrol – have also swelled in recent times, making it a logical option for a Warrior-style upgrades, as we’ve reported previously.

Sales of the full-size off-road SUV have spiked in 2019, with 1782 registrations to November equating with year-on-year growth of 51.7 per cent.

The Patrol’s market share may still be a fraction of that of its arch nemesis, Toyota's LandCruiser (12,822), but without naming it on the record Nissan is keen to capitalise on its recent success, especially given the arrival last month of the facelifted 2020 Patrol.

“You can draw your own conclusions, but the reality is consumers are already speaking with their purchase decisions in some of those other segments, and we'll continue to look at ways, in this case with Premcar, of how we can create the best in that segment, regardless of the model,” said Lester.

When asked if Nissan was currently working any concepts for such models, Lester didn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely,” he said, adding that he wanted to see the new variants “as quickly as possible”.

Premcar's Engineering Director, Bernie Quinn, was somewhat more guarded when asked what other Nissan models might be on his ‘personal wishlist’ for a Warrior conversion.

“Well, we're walking in dangerous territory, aren't we?” he laughed.

“I can think of almost any product in the range that I'm sure we could make an improvement to, some more obvious than others.

“The 4x4 segment for me is a really interesting one. There are other 4x4s in [Nissan's] range where I think we could make a genuine improvement, and that sit in our wheel house in terms of capability.”

Other Nissan SUVs that could be ripe for a Warrior-style package could include soft-roaders like the seven-seat Pathfinder and the recently released X-TRAIL N-TREK.

Nissan Australia has previously stated that local right-hand drive conversion is the most likely way it could sell the full-size Titan pick-up here for the first time if such a project was approved in Japan, and Lester reiterated that intent at the Warrior launch.

The Nissan Australia chief said his desire to see a factory-backed Titan plying Australian roads was “100 per cent, unquestioned” and added that Premcar is at the top of a list of potential local LHD converters.

“We'll look to work with Premcar wherever we can; we've got a very good relationship with them,” he said.

“If we were to be successful to get the approval to bring Titan into the market and do a conversion … and I'm not suggesting that Premcar will be the vendor, because there are a multitude of vendors in Australia that are all highly capable … we've got a great start with Premcar and we're going to really focus on how we can bring Warrior and the Warrior ethos to our products.”

Quinn was similarly circumspect when quizzed on any potential projects that currently lie outside of Nissan Australia's existing line-up.

“Look, anything is possible with this relationship but I think we have to build our credibility,” he said.

“I'm not getting ahead of myself. I'm not getting too excited. I'm not putting projects into the budget that aren't fully tested from a feasibility perspective, but I'm feeling very positive about it [Premcar's relationship with Nissan].

“The critical thing now is good market acceptance of the product [Navara N-TREK Warrior], and then success breeds success – that's what will happen.”

Lester said the Navara N-TREK Warrior and the broader Warrior concept was a showcase for Australian engineering and product expertise.

“The ambition was to not only create the best Warrior, or Navara Warrior in this case, but it's also then to be able to say 'Look, what else can we do this with? What are the limitations?'” he said.

“Hopefully the team feels now that we're really injected with a 'can do' spirit … There's a lot we can do here [in Australia]; there are a lot of growth opportunities and there's tonnes of talent.”

Based on the recently released Nissan Navara N-TREK, the Warrior features significant suspension, wheel and tyre upgradse plus a raft of other changes, with Premcar enlisting a number of OEM component suppliers to produce a locally re-engineered off-roader specifically developed for Australian conditions.

The list runs to Monroe/Tenneco springs and dampers, 17-inch alloy Rosta wheels, 32.2-inch Cooper AT3 all-terrain tyres, a Frontline bashplate and towbar, and an ERG colour-matched hoopless bullbar with Hella LED light bar.

There are also 3M decals and a number of cosmetic upgrades on top of those ushered in by the Navara N-TREK, and those added as part of the MY19 Series 4 upgrade in July, including a bigger infotainment touch-screen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity.

Featuring an aggressive stance thanks to a 40mm lift in ride height (with ground clearance of 268mm) and a 30mm increase in track (now 1600mm), the model retains the Navara's 3500kg braked towing limit but suffers a 193kg reduction in maximum payload in auto models (now 724kg), largely thanks to its chunky wheel and tyre combination.

Aimed directly at the Toyota HiLux Rugged X and HSV Colorado SportsCat, the Navara Warrior comes with Nissan’s five-year factory warranty but also a carryover 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel, matched to either a six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic transmission.