Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior revealed

The new Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior has been revealed ahead of its release in December.

Pricing is yet to be announced for the tough new Navara range-topper, which is based on the $56,450 Nissan Navara N-TREK released in August (which itself is based on the $52,750 ST-X) and is Australian designed and modified. However, the Warrior’s most direct rivals will be the popular Toyota HiLux Rugged X and Holden Colorado SportsCat by HSV, both of which are priced from $62,490.

That should slot the toughest Navara between $61K Wildtrak and $76K Raptor versions of the Ford Ranger.

And with 4x4 dual-cabs accounting for 60 per cent of all utes sold Down Under, where two-thirds of all Rangers sold are premium XLT or Wildtrak variants priced over $55,000, the Warrior will finally give Nissan a player in this lucrative top-dollar sub-segment of the market.

The new Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior is created by Premcar, the Melbourne-based vehicle engineering company that evolved from Prodrive, which previously produced FPV performance models for Ford and TRD vehicles for Toyota.

Nissan enlisted Premcar to develop and manufacture the Warrior to OEM standards. The Warrior will be assembled at the company’s new 6300 square-metre production facility in Epping (Vic).

Fitted with a range of off-road components from top-tier OEM level suppliers including Monroe Tenneco and EGR, the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior was subject to extensive local suitability and durability testing and will come with a factory five-year, unlimited-km warranty.

Externally, the Warrior is distinguished by a redesigned front-end with hoopless body-colour steel bullbar from EGR, integrated 470mm LED light bar from Hella, orange-accented foglight bezel with integrated ‘bark buster’ and bold 3M decals – ‘Navara’ on the tailgate and ‘N-TREK Warrior’ on the body sides (orange for black vehicles and black for all other colours).

There are no powertrain changes, so the Navara’s 140kW/450Nm 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel four-cylinder matched with six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic transmissions carry over.

Interior updates are limited to N-TREK Warrior-embroidered front head restraints and four orange-accented carpet floor mats. However, these cosmetics are in addition to N-TREK extras including black leather seat trim with orange fabric inserts, heated front seats and orange stitching on the centre console, front armrests and steering wheel.

Read the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior Review

Exterior N-TREK additions include a black grille, LED headlight bezels, foglight bezels, roof rails, alloy sports bar, rear bumper, fender flares, door-handles and wheels, and orange accents for the black lower fascia, side mirrors and side steps.

The Warrior also benefits from July’s MY19 Navara Series 4 upgrade that brought a new 8.0-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the N-TREK’s black/orange-themed cosmetic package.

The Warrior brings additional visual and mechanical upgrades including a new suspension set-up with dual-rate springs and upgraded dampers that is designed to improve handling, ride, stability, steering response and ground clearance (by around 50mm).

Indeed, it’s underneath where the important upgrades lurk, including a 3mm stainless steel front bashplate from Frontline, which also supplies a unique towbar and cross member to accommodate the larger full-size spare wheel.

The Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior rides on unique 17-inch black alloy Rosta wheels, which are smaller than the N-TREK’s 18s to accommodate larger 32.2-inch 275/70 Cooper AT3 LT all-terrain tyres.

These increase the ride height by 25mm and, combined with a 15mm lift from the new springs and dampers, ground clearance is up by a total of 40mm (to 268mm). Track has been boosted to 1600mm front and rear.

The vehicle's taller and wider stance is apparent even at a glance.

Premcar says it settled on a softer primary spring rate to improve ride comfort and off-road articulation, and a higher but more progressive secondary rate to maintain composure and performance, both in cornering, heavy duty off-roading, when laden and when towing.

The Navara’s standard dampers were replaced by Monroe shock absorbers with a larger outer tube diameter containing greater oil volume for better cooling and rough-road capability, a thicker piston rod for increased strength and a Premcar-specified internal valve code to match the springs and tyres, including more compression damping for quicker response.

Nissan says the upgraded suspension set-up improves the Navara’s off-road ability without reducing comfort, safety or its 3500kg towing capacity.

The changes also improve approach, departure and rampover angles.

To maintain the vehicle’s factory warranty, Premcar says all ball-joint, tie-rod and driveshaft angles were tested to ensure they don’t exceed their design limits and that no additional loads are passed into the vehicle’s chassis.

Development testing took place on varied road surfaces at the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) and on sandy tracks, gravel roads and rough Mallee terrain between Ouyen in Victoria and Pinnaroo on the South Australian border.

“The market has shifted considerably in the last two years with Ute sales leading the way, but Ute buyers are looking for a higher grade with more features that make their vehicle stand out,” said Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester.

“The Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior is locally designed and engineered for Australian conditions. We expect this to be a strong addition to the Navara line-up,” Lester stated.

Nissan Australia will offer both automatic and manual versions of the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior.

The chassis upgrades do not affect stated fuel economy or towing capacity (3500kg). There has, however, been a slight reduction to payload. While the donor N-TREK has a maximum payload of  923/917kg (man/auto), the Warrior variants are pegged at 724kg.