Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior 2020 Review

The Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior is based on the D23 Navara dual-cab ute built in Thailand, with important local modifications applied to the suspension by automotive engineering company Premcar.

From a group of local suppliers Premcar has also sourced better underbody protection (Frontline), a new hoopless colour-matched bullbar (EGR) and an integrated 470mm LED light bar (Hella). Inside there are some cosmetic changes including ‘N-Trek Warrior’ embroidered front headrests.

All of this is bolted together at Premcar’s facility in northern Melbourne. The result is intended to offer better off- and on-road driving manners and look tougher.

The Warrior’s drivetrain fundamentals are unchanged compared to the standard Navara; 2.3-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder 2.3-litre diesel engine mated to a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed auto and a 4x4 system with low-range and an electronic locking rear diff.

Pricing for the Warrior is set at $63,490 drive-away for the manual and $65,990 drive-away for the auto we’re testing here. That’s a $500 bump compared to the launch pricing announced late in 2019.

That’s competitive against the popular Ford Ranger Wildtrak and the locally-developed Toyota HiLux Rugged X. It easily undercuts the $76,490 Ranger Raptor, although that’s on another level when it comes to capability. Another logical rival is the HSV SportsCat, but sadly that model is about to die along with Holden itself.

Apart from the unique gear mentioned above, the Warrior pretty much aligns with the N-Trek special-edition when it comes to equipment, including the black sports bar, side steps, roof rails and two-channel Utili-track system and tubliner in the tray.

Comfort equipment includes leather trim, heated front seats, eight-way power adjustment for the driver, a new-generation 8.0-inch touch-screen with Apple and Android connection and satellite-navigation, cruise control and dual-zone climate control.

Crucially, the Warrior comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre Nissan factory warranty. There’s also a capped-price 12-month/20,000km service plan that covers the first six years of ownership. That tallies up to $3769.

The Nissan Navara lags behind utes from other brands including Ford, Toyota and Mitsubishi (Triton) in not offering autonomous emergency braking (AEB).

As a result there’s no way the Navara could hope to now achieve the five-star ANCAP rating it scored in 2015.

Safety gear does include seven airbags, an around-view monitor and reversing camera, three second-row top-tether anchorage points and two Isofix points. Hill descent control, hill start assist and stability/traction control are the key driver-assist features on offer.

The Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior has a better story to tell when it comes to the upgrades developed, tested and installed by Premcar, a company basically made up of the propeller heads from Ford Performance Vehicles.

The suspension was the focus and the key changes included larger volume Monroe dampers with Premcar-tuned valving, dual-rate Tenneco springs, new front jounce bumpers and larger-diameter 275/70 Cooper AT3 all-terrain tyres riding on 17-inch Rosta wheels.

The larger Cooper spare tyre also required a unique towbar and cross member supplied by Frontline.

The tyres and springs boost ground clearance 40mm to a plentiful 268mm. The approach and ramp over-angles are also improved, but the towbar reduces departure clearance. The front and rear tracks grow by 30mm to 1600mm.

There is no change to the Navara’s key 3500kg braked towing capacity, but the payload is reduced to 724kg from 917kg.

Powering up the Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior was a no-go zone because it would have added too much cost and complexity to the project.

It’s not a deal breaker because the standard 140kW/450Nm outputs are comfortably competitive with the HiLux’s underwhelming and problematic 2.8 and keeps the Ranger’s new twin-turbo 2.0-litre and old five-cylinder 3.2-litre engines, in sight.

You have to venture into the V6 versions of the Navara-based Benz X-class and Volkswagen Amarok before the Warrior gets truly hosed in a straight line.

But gee, a bit more get up and go would still be nice. This engine is a trier, but it just doesn’t have real deep, impressive response. The best that can be said is it trucks along with unsubtle enthusiasm. That is amplified by plenty of diesel combustion rattles and some pretty obvious and slow gearchanges from the auto.

Nissan claims a 7.0L/100km fuel consumption average for the Warrior and we ended up at 9.0L/100km. That’s pretty good for a 2186kg ute, but reflects the fact we didn’t go seriously off-road in the week we had the Warrior. Hey carsales.com.au has already been there and done that here and here. The verdicts? Thumbs up.

So instead of tackling the outback, our week with the Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior was spent dealing with the sort of day-to-day stuff most utes are expected to cope with most of the time.

The Warrior was parked incongruously among a bunch of Toyota Priuses and Subaru Outbacks at an Extinction Rebellion meeting. It didn’t get keyed and your correspondent didn’t get abused. XR proudly repudiates guilt and shaming, so maybe that’s why we escaped.

But if you want to be inconspicuous then don’t drive the Warrior. It stands tall (1895mm), it stands wide (1920mm) and it stands long (5385mm). In other words, it stands out!

Next came a drive to the leafy old-money Melbourne suburb of Toorak, where the Warrior was out of place in a narrow side street. With its 12.7m turning circle and heavy low-speed steering it took about 18 goes to reverse out of the parking space and actually point down the street without clouting anything.

Our Toorak friends watched on in consternation, as if an elephant had walked into their living room. At least the Warrior’s giraffe-high seating position helped negotiate the path.

And finally the Warrior was transport for a 400km round trip into the depths of Victoria’s Otway Ranges for a mountain bike race. Freeway, highway, country bitumen and gravel roads were all part of the experience.

The Warrior revelled beyond urban carparks and streets. The long-travel suspension dispatched the usual crud and corrugations of Australian bitumen roads, making it a better ride than the standard Navara. Float and sag finally seems to be banished from the five-link coil rear-end.

And while the Coopers are a pretty aggressive off-road tyre, they don’t hum noticeably on the bitumen.

The Warrior also proved a better drive than the standard Navara. It steered with a sort of accuracy, held body roll within tolerance and didn’t get too jiggy mid-corner unladen – in the dry on bitumen anyway. On wet bitumen or gravel it didn’t take too much provocation to get the rear-end sliding.

Speaking of gravel, on one backroad a Kangaroo bounced along in parallel until it tripped up and crashed spectacularly head over heels. There you go, Warrior outhandles Kangaroo!

But the drive did also expose and reinforce some deficiencies. Without a lockable cover for the tray, the Giant Anthem (plug!) had to be parked inside overnight. And the new infotainment screen started playing up, debating at times whether to respond to the volume control or not.

Then there’s the more general stuff like the lack of reach adjustment for the steering wheel, the flat front seats and the omission of a grab handle for the driver on the A-pillar.

On the flipside, the Warrior does offer just about the best rear-seat space in the class and the rare standard-fit of rear air-con vents.

Like the Ford Ranger Raptor, the Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior benefits both on and off-road because of its upgraded suspension.

It’s not in the same league as the Raptor, which is a truly amazing vehicle to drive, but it is unquestionably the most capable and complete Navara being offered to buyers right now.

It’s not for everyone or every situation – inner-city back-streets are not its go! But it’s a darn good vehicle in which to escape the city and embark on an adventure.

How much does the 2020 Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior cost?
Price: $65,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 140kW/450Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 186g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2015)