Nissan Navara Cab Chassis 2015 Review

Nissan Navara Cab Chassis range
Australian Launch Review
Albury, NSW

Follow the pricing trail from the $19,490 (plus on-roads) Navara DX Single Cab Chassis 4x2 with a petrol engine, rubber floor mats and manual transmission all the way to the full-fruit ST-X King Cab Pick Up 4x4 auto (with style-side tray) at $51,490, the latest NP300 Navaras offer something for everyone. With top-spec variants receiving the twin-turbo diesel engine and class-leading efficiency, the Navara gains sophistication and spec without sacrificing load-hauling, off-road ability.

The rural town of Albury, just on the Victoria-NSW border, is a progressive country space, combining traditional farming practices with heavy industry, advanced engineering (the JOSS supercar was developed here)… and an increasingly urbane hub.

It’s the perfect place to launch the NP300 Nissan Navara Cab Chassis variants, as they aim to deliver traditional rugged values with modern sophistication.

Even the mix of roads is perfect to sample the rear leaf-sprung Navara’s breadth of ability, from the monotone Hume through to high-speed country back-road tarmac, fast gravel roads and single-lane tracks.

Couple that with a choice of 325kg-laden or unladen vehicles and a challenging off-road course at the nearby Wodonga TAFE, and there’s a range of challenges as broad as Navara’s now-27 strong variant offering.

Our first taste of the Cab Chassis range is a King Cab ST 4x4 Pick Up (there’s no ‘bare’ or tray option on ST) with the $2500 cost-optional seven-speed automatic transmission. It also gains the twin-turbocharged version of the new 2.3-litre four-cylinder donk, as seen in the Dual Cab NP300 which has been with us since June.

Vital stats are 140kW/450Nm, 7.0L/100km, five-star ANCAP rating, even with a Nissan bull-bar fitted, four seats with rear cab access via ‘suicide’ style doors and a price of $44,490 plus on-road costs. Braked towing capacity is 3500kg and payload 999kg with auto, down from 1002kg in the standard six-speed manual.

Inside the ST is a competent companion with its comfortable cloth seats and Bluetooth audio and phone capabilities, with a nicely-designed cabin lifting it apart from its squared-up predecessor.

There’s four seats, with the rear section two small fold-out chairs, but the rear section is better suited to carrying your sleeping bad and camp clothing, rather than a couple of adults.

The rear leaf spring suspension arrangement is 6kg lighter than the preceding system, with shorter springs and small ‘dampers’ adding ground clearance and reducing NVH respectively.

The first road section offers a mix of predominantly tarmac country back roads, degrading from smooth to in quite poor condition.

Interestingly the steering feels lighter than it does in our ST-X Dual Cab long termer we’ve asked Nissan to clarify if there are steering rack other geometry changes in the Cab Chassis, leaf spring arrangement.

Over small bumps the ride is stiff, but relatively smooth given the vehicle’s purpose. Find something like a pothole and the chassis gets the jitters through to the cabin. At one point, the laden tray-back Navara ahead of us momentarily loses rear wheel surface contact over a sharp bump.

Switch onto fast, smooth gravel and the ST settles down, seemingly in its element and with well-controlled stability control.

Braking (discs up-front, drums at the rear) initially feels over-assisted, on either surface. Dig deeper into the pedal and the step-up in retardation doesn’t really arrive, either.

As in the Dual Cab, the downsized diesel feels as though it’s working pretty hard, especially against its predecessor’s V6. There’s a range of noises, too, at odds with the new-found refinement found in the cabin.

A bit of diesel chatter at idle is retained under load, but once at speed the Navara is quiet. Roll off the throttle on intersection approach, and a ‘tappety’ sound permeates, and when the cooling fans kick in there’s a noise familiar to Navara owners of the 1990s.

Evidence that the diesel needs to work hard to carry the ST’s 1991kg kerb weight is in the fuel consumption on this relatively light-throttle leg. At 8.5L/100km, it’s 1.5L/100km over the claim.

For the second phase of the road drive, we swap into an RX King Cab Chassis 4x2 with the six-speed manual transmission and single-turbo version of the 2.3-litre diesel engine. It also sports a Nissan Genuine tray body.

The engine produces 120kW/403Nm, with the torque peak running from 1500-2500rpm as per the twin-turbo.

The $28,490 (plus on-road costs) RX misses out on niceties such as alloy wheels, NissanConnect smartphone integration, leather accented steering wheel, shifter and handbrake lever and 5.0-inch audio display of the ST, but is still a comfortable enough space. Its turning circle is also reduced to 11.8m from 12.4m and its 1649kg kerb weight offers a substantial saving.

Besides the obvious lack of true off-road capability, the RX grinds out a 1261kg payload with a similar 3500kg braked towing capacity.
Shuffling between the tarmac and country gravel roads the RX feels much lighter on its feet than the ST, the combination of manual transmission and the lower-powered engine actually proving more spritely in a narrow 2000-2500rpm power band.

The ‘brake limited slip differential’ and stability control work in combination to retain the rear end, which feels a little low on natural traction when unladen.

The gearbox itself offers a long shifter that is easy to reach but makes cross-gate upshifts a slow process, and a high clutch bite point takes some adjustment, but braking performance, agility – and even the ride – are decent for the class, though the latter can still give you the jitters.

Fuel consumption is also down to 7.3L/100km, up from the 6.4L/100km claim.

For the off-road component we sample another automatic ST King Cab Pick Up, as well as a manual RX Single Cab Tray back. Both complete the myriad tasks – from negotiating moguls and steep inclines to a water crossing (showing off the 450mm wading depth) and sand crossing – with ease.

The ability to switch the automatic into the manual gate aids in final control on those steeper sections, offering strong enough engine braking that almost renders the capable hill descent control obsolete.

The manual, with its high bite point and 2.717 transfer ratio, makes getting off the start line difficult, but offers strong climbing and crawling capability all the same.

For reference the ST King Cab offers 32.2 degree approach, 26.5 degree departure and 23.7 breakover angles, the RX Single Cab 32.4, 24.3 and 22.8 respectively. The latter, when given a 325kg payload, did bottom out on a couple of occasions through the course.

All Navara variants are covered under Nissan’s myNissan Service Certainty plan. Fixed price servicing is available for up to six years or 120,000km, whichever comes first. Service intervals are 12 months or 20,000km for diesel models, 12 months or 10,000km for the 2.5-litre petrol found in the entry-spec DX 4x2 Single Cab.

The standard warranty is three years or 100,000km, though a genuine Nissan extended warranty is optionally available. A three-year roadside assistance program is also included in the cost of the vehicle.

In the context of its competition, the Navara has moved into a space that isn’t merely rudimentary. There’s a new sophistication to its styling, spec and technology, but in practice it cannot match the refinement of the Amarok or Ranger… and that is in either coil-sprung or leaf-sprung form.

If specification, value and off-road ability rate higher than on-road refinement however, there is much to like about the newly-expanded NP300 range.

2015 Nissan Navara ST King Cab Pick Up 4x4 pricing and specifications:
Price: $42,990 manual, $44,490 auto (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder twin-turbocharged diesel
Output: 140kW/450Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual (Seven-speed auto, as tested)
Fuel: 6.5L/100km manual, 7.0L/100km auto (ADR Combined)
CO2: 172g/km manual, 186g/km auto (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP

What we liked:
>> Confident styling
>> Good specification
>> Still highly capable off-road

Not so much:
>> Ride compared with coil-sprung variant
>> Noisy diesel under load; works harder than previous V6
>> Brake pedal response and feel