Nissan Navara ST-X 2026 Review

Still months away from its March 2026 entry into showrooms, we have no idea what the new 2026 Nissan Navara is going to cost.

What Nissan does with the pricing of a vehicle it can promote truthfully as all-new compared to its predecessor but also barely differentiated from a Mitsubishi Triton is going to be fascinating.

The orthodox expectation would be price rises, but Nissan has been changing the narrative a bit of late, holding the line with the QASHQAI and cutting the price of the X-TRAIL.

Certainly, hefty price rises for the barely updated ‘new-generation’ Toyota HiLux and the premium position of the Ford Ranger gives Nissan room to move.

One thing we do know is Nissan is cutting back the variants it will offer at launch; only 4x4 dual-cab pick-ups will be available, and they’ll all be autos at that.

For now, only the ST-X and Pro-4X have been announced and shown, but Warrior concept has also been revealed. Working class models – currently badged SL and ST – will definitely make a return.

We won’t reprise all the specification and equipment details. You can read this article or go to the Mitsubishi website and download a Triton brochure for that.

But in essence, compared to the outbound D23, the powertrain is all-new, has more power and torque (150kW/470Nm vs 140kW/450Nm), claims to use slightly less fuel (7.7L/100km vs 8.1L/100km), attaches to a six-speed automatic transmission (down from seven) and drives in these upper-spec models via a permanent 4x4 system.

And yes, going with the Triton’s mechanicals means the D23’s troublesome – retuned on multiple occasions – coil spring multi-link rear end has been binned.

In terms of equipment, the big step forward comes in safety. The new Navara adds adaptive cruise control, upgraded lane keep assist, front cross traffic alert, traffic sign recognition and driver monitoring.

The close proximity with the Triton means the D27 is expected to inherit its donor’s five-star ANCAP rating based on 2024 protocols.

The new Navara will be covered by a 10-year/300,000km warranty when serviced by Nissan, come with up to five years of ‘flat’ price servicing and up to 10-Year/300,000km roadside assistance.

The big deal with the 2026 Nissan Navara – as far as Nissan is concerned – is the retuning of the suspension by local engineering partner Premcar.

There are three suspension tunes across the 17- and 18-inch wheel sizes for the four- and three-leaf spring, rigid axle rear end, all paired with a double wishbone coil-sprung front – the ST-X rolls on 18s and has the comfort three-leaf layout.

The fundamental ladder-frame and spring-count is the same as the Triton, but the big change is the swapping out of the Mitsubishi’s shocks for locally made Monroe-Tenneco twin-tube units.

Basically, the feeling was the Triton’s tune – also claimed to be unique to Australia – was too soft.

As all our driving was off-road at a 4x4 park in the Adelaide hills – below 30km/h – there was only a limited amount that could be gleaned, but the Navara felt stable and cohesive enough walking over the rough stuff.

It would be ridiculous to make definitive statements about guaranteed improvements over the Triton or D23 Navara based on such a limited exposure.

But even so, some other aspects of the new model seemed better than the old one; low-speed throttle response was cleaner and stronger, and the swap from hydraulic to electric-assist steering improved wheel twirling at low speed and therefore manoeuvrability

The driver’s seating position is improved – the D23 seat was always too high and the steering wheel always too low for me – with more seat adjustability and a wheel that adjusts for reach as well as height. It’s now possible to get properly comfortable.

In the back there is significantly more legroom and a tiny bit more shoulder room than the cramped D23. The tub is also claimed to be that bit bigger than before. Payloads remain around one-tonne and braked towing is 3500kg.

At best, based on the kerb weight and gross combined mass, it appears upper-spec D27 Navaras can still haul more than 700kg when towing at max capacity, or at worst about 600kg – solid numbers.

We are used to product sharing when it comes to new utes. Isuzu D-MAX and BT-50, Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok, Nissan Navara D23 and Mercedes-Benz X-Class (yes, it really did happen)...

But the level of commonality between the 2026 Nissan Navara and current MV Mitsubishi Triton is surely more than any of them.

Exterior design differentiation is limited to grilles, headlights, wheels and badges. Nissan designer Ken Lee, who was shipped out to Australia from Japan for the media preview, had to devise multiple different ways of not admitting all the sheetmetal is identical.

Inside, the controls, the screens, the instrumentation carries across from Triton to Navara. At least Nissan has made sure the infotainment interface is its design. There are also Nissan badges, of course.

One feature lost in the move to a shared design is the power-opening rear window. Is that important? Unsure, but we’ve already had a query from a Navara fan asking whether the new model retains it or not... Sorry, it doesn’t.

And while the tub is bigger than before, it’s still not wide enough between the wheelarches to fit an Aussie pallet.

Another qualm, the turning circle has grown from a substantial 12.5 metres to an even bigger 12.7 – never a good thing.

And if you don’t appreciate monitoring fluids, then you’re probably not going to like the adoption of AdBlue to clean up the exhaust.

Also, having adopted the Triton running gear, that means the new Navara doesn’t swap to rear disc brakes like many other utes, instead sticking with drums. That’s an argument that can go both ways of course. Rear drums still have their proponents.

First things first. After such a brief and narrowly focussed drive and without knowing the pricing of the new Navara, we’re not prepared to issue a score for this vehicle.

We’ll wait until we get a better drive across more varied conditions and more info on the line-up.

You can look at the D27 Navara in two very different ways; a totally new vehicle compared to the old D23, or a very thin makeover of the Mitsubishi Triton that’s relying very heavily on Premcar’s suspension tuning for differentiation.

Bottomline is the new Navara appears to have every chance of being better car than the old one. But how much better is the question that is yet to be answered.

2026 Nissan Navara ST-X at a glance:
Price: $60,000 plus on-road costs (guesstimate)
Available: March 2026
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 150kW/470Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 203g/km (ADR Combined or WLTP if overseas model)
Safety rating: Not tested

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au