Nissan Navara Black Edition 2024 Review

The $60,455 pre-ORCs Nissan Navara Black Edition is based on the auto-transmission ST-spec dual-cab ute which retails for $55,455. For Nissan, bringing the ST up to Black Edition level involved a claimed $9700 spend on upgrades. So, if the company is correct, the Black Edition saves the buyer $4700. The Navara Black Edition is priced close to the PRO-4X ($61,905 pre-ORCs) and is around $10,000 short of the full-fruit $71,265 Navara PRO-4X Warrior flagship.

Close competitors to the Black Edition Navara include mid-spec models such as Ford’s XLT Ranger ($63,640), Toyota’s SR5 HiLux ($63,260) and Isuzu’s D-MAX LS-U ($62,500).

The Navara Black Edition’s focus is largely cosmetic: the only real changes are the swap to Yokohama Geolander A/T tyres and the standard inclusion of the normally optional soft tonneau cover.

Navara Back Edition spotters need to look for gloss-black wheels, a black sports bar, a matt black grille surround and black door handles and side mirrors.

And black doesn’t mean all-black: There are two standard colours, Solid White and Black Star, while optional Twilight Grey and Brilliant Silver add $700 to the price.

The rest is all ST: Cloth seat trim, LED lights, power windows all-round, including the sliding back window, privacy tinting for the second-row and rear windows, black side steps and the usual leather-clad steering wheel rim and shift lever. Down-spec items include key starting, a pull-up handbrake and manual air conditioning.

The front seats don’t have power adjustment, but the side mirrors do – and a de-misting function as well.

The Black Edition’s normally standard soft tonneau cover was replaced on our review car by the neat, locally-made HSP electric roll-top tub cover which is a $500 option and connects with the central locking system. The roll-top activates by a button aft of the left-side roof pillar, or by a smartphone app, or the car’s key fob.

The warranty is industry-standard at five years/unlimited-kilometres with roadside assist factoredin for the whole period. Servicing comes at yearly intervals, or when the odometer clicks over at 20,000km – which is a bit of an upgrade over the competitors that ask for servicing every 12 months or 15,000km. The outlier is Toyota’s HiLux, which requires servicing every six months or 10,000km.

Servicing prices are capped over six years, respectively set at $574, $619, $809, $657, $646 and $916 at scheduled intervals, and there’s the option of a lower cost pre-paid maintenance plan package which saves $915 over five years.

The Nissan Navara ran out of ANCAP rating currency in January 2023, up until which point it had enjoyed a full five stars.

The safety tech is nevertheless pretty comprehensive, and includes high- and low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB). Some high-profile competitors such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux offer low-speed AEB only. And while there’s an array of cameras informing a bird’s eye viewing system, the Black Edition Navara’s most noticed missing features include pedestrian/cyclist avoidance, reverse AEB, blind-spot monitoring, road sign detection, adaptive cruise control and rear cross-traffic alert.

The seven-airbag Black Edition Navara doesn’t get a front centre airbag either.

Despite its ranking towards the upper end of the Navara range, the Black Edition is a mix of low grade and high grade features.

It has a small but cosily-integrated eight-inch touch-screen giving access to Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and a seven-inch digital display between the analogue speedo and tacho dials providing digital readouts of such things as fuel consumption and road speed. In addition, an array of USB-A and USB-C points resides around the front and rear of the centre console, and the Navara also features two 12-volt outlets and self-dipping LED headlights. Although the leather-trimmed steering wheel and shift lever help to up the ambience, everything else tends towards Spartan.

The twin-turbo 2.3-litre common-rail direct injection diesel has been doing service in the Navara for a long time, and produces outputs of 140kW and 450Nm, which are identical to the Isuzu D-MAX’s 3.0-litre engine but less than the 150kW/500Nm 2.8-litre Toyota HiLux and the 154kW/500Nm twin-turbo 2.0-litre Ford Ranger.

At this level the Nissan engine winds up with power-weight ratios that are similar to the Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-MAX but down a little on the Toyota HiLux.

The Navara’s seven-speed transmission, with drive-mode selections including Sport, Off-Road and Towing, is a plus, but is eclipsed by the Ford’s 10-speed auto. The HiLux and D-MAX both have six-speed autos.

Somewhere down the track, Navara electrification appears to be on the cards, as Nissan’s powertrain vice president recently let it slip that the company is already deep into development of e-POWER hybrid technology – already familiar in Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail models – for use in larger commercial vehicles such as the Navara.

The Nissan Navara claims a combined fuel consumption figure of 7.9L/100km which is at the upper end of the scale when compared with its Ranger and HiLux rivals, and illustrates that new technology usually trumps old-school.

The Nissan Navara’s fuel consumption is more than the twin-turbo 2.0-litre Ranger’s officially-claimed 7.2L/100km and more than the latest Toyota HiLux which uses 48-volt electrical assistance to claim the same figure. The Navara’s quoted C02 output is 208g/km. Our test Navara Black Edition averaged 9L/100km on a not very demanding week of urban and inter-urban driving.

With its coil-sprung, five-link live-axle at the rear, the Navara is a known quantity in the workhorse ute segment. Despite the tyre upgrade, there are no easily discernible changes in the way the Black Edition behaves in general use.

Dynamically, the Navara is actually not doing a bad job given its age. The engine is not in the same class as the twin-turbo 2.0-litre Ford Ranger but it is nonetheless effective and is in-step with many of its rivals, including the China-sourced contingent.

Engine noise and accelerator response are familiar, as are the ride, grip and steering response which only vary when the tub is loaded. The turns required to go from lock to lock (3.4) and the 12.5-metre turning circle are virtually the same as you find across the 4x4 ute segment.

Braking is by ventilated discs up front and drums at the rear, which is the basic system still used by various ute manufacturers despite the increasing adoption of all-wheel disc systems.

We’ve subjected the Navara to countless off-road comparison tests, but this review was conducted under more benign conditions.

It can be said however, that the Navara is a proven performer that in most off-road conditions will keep pace with its rivals. All the gear necessary to go off-road is present, including dual-range driveline, electrically-lockable rear differential, frontal underbody protection, workable 220mm ground clearance and approach/departure angles, plus hill-start assist and hill descent control electronics.

The 600mm wading depth places it at a bit of a disadvantage though, in a segment where competitors offer a fair bit more. The Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-MAX for example will cope with up to 800mm.

The Nissan Navara Black Edition is rated to carry a 1088kg payload and its tub dimensions are more generous than the aforementioned rivals.

The 3.5-tonne towing capacity is pretty much standard fare at this level of the 4x4 ute market, and the Navara’s towing ability is aided by a trailer-sway control system for peace of mind when towing a weighty trailer/caravan.

The Black Edition cab might lack the leather trim, power seats and other trinkets of further-upmarket Navaras such as the PRO-4X Warrior but it’s quite a charmer nonetheless.

There is no cause for complaint with the cloth-clad seats, and accommodation is adequate for four or five passengers. Decent all-round ventilation is improved by the power-sliding rear window and the rear-seat air vents located at the back of the centre console.

A real surprise in this age of utes that are asked to double as family vehicles, and one that has bugged the Navara for years, is the fact that the steering wheel can only be adjusted vertically (for rake).

The Navara’s sales performances certainly don’t encourage complacency, but the Nissan workhorse ute continues to float along steadily, among the top-ten sellers. Past performances indicate that’s where it’s likely to stay until the company sorts out plans for the future.

Nissan has a contender at each level of the 4x4 pickup segment and the Navara Black Edition, despite its limited run, can only help keep things moving in this all-important market segment.

2024 Nissan Navara Black Edition at a glance:
Price: $60,455 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo-diesel
Output: 140kW/450Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.9L/100km
CO2: 208g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

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