Nissan Navara SL Warrior 2022 Video Review

Aussies can’t get enough of the homegrown Nissan Navara Warrior, two versions of which have been a smash-hit since late 2019.

Now comes the cut-price 2022 Nissan Navara SL Warrior, which undercuts the PRO-4X Warrior by almost $10,000 and brings all of Premcar’s off-road upgrades, but misses out on a raft of standard equipment.

The Navara SL Warrior is priced from $58,000 almost twelve thousand dollars more than the standard SL dual cab, but a handsome ten grand less than the fully loaded Pro 4 x Warrior a homegrown factory-backed rock-crushing dual-cab 4x4 ute that has been a sellout success. 

I reckon the SL Warrior looks pretty cool and it starts with the new footwear. These Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres should be pretty good on and off-road and they're shot to these cool looking rooster 17-inch black alloy wheels.

You've also got the custom front bull bar with winch compatibility, an LED light bar built in and these LED driving lights as well as with the pricier Warrior a Navara branded bash plate and three millimetre underbody shield do protection duties while Monroe shocks and coil springs with bigger bump stops all round increase wheel articulation.

The suspension tweaks deliver a 1.5 inch lift taking grand clearance from 220 to a decent 260 millimetres and there's a broader footprint too, with 30 millimetre wide wheel tracks hugged by black wheel-arch extensions.

This is a solid off-road package that would cost more to build yourself is fully integrated with all of the Navara safety systems meets Nissan's global durability standards and is backed by a factory warranty. Sure it misses out on the Pro 4X's rear sports bar sidesteps and front LED headlights, but it still looks lean and mean and is arguably more purposeful than the pricier Warrior.

While there are plenty of chassis upgrades the engine remains untouched which means the Navara's trusty but aging twin turbo four-cylinder diesel and seven-speed automatic transmission must soldier on. It's not a bad powertrain but in terms of flexibility and outputs it falls short of rivals in the class pumping out 500 nM and there's even some utes in this category that have a 10-speed Auto and V6 diesel grunt, that said all the essentials are here including a selectable 4x4 system with low range ratios a rear diff lock and heel descent control.

The Navara SL Warrior is an impressively engineered mud-slinger that delivers improved performance and confidence behind the wheel both off-road and on all of the Prem Car mods are covered by Nissan's 5-year warranty and capped price servicing continues, although the costs are higher than regular Navara models.

It's true that the Navara is one of the oldest mainstream utes available in Australia today and it really shows the driving position is limiting and the engine performance is lacklustre but in my mind they're not deal breakers, especially when you consider just how capable the SL Warrior is on balance.

I reckon the newest Warrior is good value and if you can live with the Legacy issues you get a great off-road package that's fully integrated looks the part and will do the job for less than you'd spend if you built it yourself.