Nissan Navara ST-X 550 2011 Review

Introduced in late-2010, Nissan’s new range-topping ST-X 550 Navara ute immediately grabbed the headlines for two prime reasons: its $60K-plus starting price, which made it the most expensive dual cab, 4x4 pick-up available in Australia; and the output from its Nissan/Renault-designed, turbodiesel V6: 115kW and 550Nm!

As well as outpricing its rivals, the ST-X 550 is almost $8000 dearer than the previous range-topping, ST-X Navara 4x4, which makes do with a 140kW/450Nm 2.5-litre turbodiesel four and five-speed auto. Thus while sharing most of the ST-X’s spec, the ‘550’ goes up a notch in the cosmetic stakes with the addition of a tub liner, satin black sports bar with LED high level brake light, hard tonneau cover with remote central locking, tinted bonnet protector, front fog lights, headlamp washers, privacy glass, side mouldings and V6 badges.

The sporty black theme even extends to the door handles, but we reckon Nissan missed an opportunity to go the full ‘boyz in the hood’ look with black painted wheels instead of the ‘standard’ 17 inch silver alloys… But then that might have pushed the price higher still.

Not everyone will be a fan of the hard tonneau cover, either. While it looks the part, and works well over its gas strut-assisted range, the narrow opening gap means you’ll struggle to squeeze in those big, bulky, ute-type items for the tip or from Bunnings -- unless the lid is removed.

The black plastic liner has that tough, wash ‘n wear look, and the Navara’s multi-adjustable tie-down system with its heavy-duty cleats that affix to C-channels in the walls and floor, ensure most items can be simply secured in the tray.

Step up on the narrow side steps and into the big Navara’s plush interior and you could be forgiven you’re in an upmarket mid-sized SUV. The ST-X in this trim is a serious rival for the new Amarok, the current ute benchmark for interior design, ergonomics and comfort. While the hard dash plastics remain, such niceties as wall-to-wall carpet, the titanium-look gearshift surround and leather everything – including seats, steering wheel, gearshift, and side door trim – serve to camouflage the vehicle’s workhorse origins.

Other highlights include the comfy, well-shaped front seats (multi-adjustable including lumbar support), and passenger car conveniences like fold-in electric mirrors and auto-up driver’s window. The only thing really missing was auto headlights.

Unfortunately, some of the luxury items fitted to our test vehicle were part of a  $4000 ‘option pack’ which includes leather trim, sat nav, reversing camera, seven inch touchscreen display, BOSE seven speaker audio system with 9.3GB music box hard drive and iPod connectivity, and electric, heated front seats.

While all these are desirable or practical, especially the multi-function touchscreen with sat nav and super-sharp reversing camera display, it does raise the price to an eye-watering (for a ute) $64,990.

Not quite as spacious as the dual-cab Triton’s, the Navara’s rear seats provide decent head and shoulder room for three adults, although legroom is limited depending on the position of the front seats.

Safety is up to scratch with stability control and eight airbags, including curtain airbags throughout, and there’s a full complement of three-point seat belts and child seat restraints in the rear. We also view the Navara’s relatively low window line as a safety feature, as it allows for a less obstructed view outside, particularly from the driver’s seat when changing lanes.

The ST-X 550 looks the part but the biggest reason to shell out this amount of money for a tarted-up work ute is the muscular 170kW/550Nm engine and its smooth, seven-speed auto transmission.

With peak torque of 550Nm available from as low as 1700rpm, the 3.0-litre V6 always seems to have plenty in reserve, and the intuitive auto makes good use of the additional cogs. There’s also a sequential shifting manual mode, which comes in handy for holding a gear on inclines or off-road.

While there’s some turbo lag off the line, and occasional hesitation when kicking down a gear on half throttle, it’s an impressively swift, quiet and refined combination for a diesel truck. In gear acceleration borders on exhilarating with effortless performance delivered in all gears. On the rare occasions it has to be revved beyond 2500rpm, the Euro 5-compliant V6 emits a pleasantly sporty exhaust note.

At freeway speeds the Navara cruises sedately at 1600rpm, with just a hint of diesel hum, tyre and wind noise to disturb the interior ambience.

The V6 turbodiesel’s unstressed performance also bodes well for towing, and it should make light work of anything up to its 3000kg towing capacity. It also won’t have to work as hard (or use as much fuel) as less capable four-cylinder turbodiesels.

The ST-X 550 achieved just over 10L/100km during a week of city/freeway and some country driving -- not much higher than the official figure. This also compares favorably with smaller capacity turbodiesel utes we’ve driven, including the highly-efficient 2.0-litre, twin turbo Amarok.

The leaf-sprung 550 Navara is also one of the smoothest utes we’ve driven on the road, gliding over most undulations in an unfussed SUV-like manner, despite being unladen for much of the time. Nissan’s engineers are to be commended for the ride/handling compromise they have achieved.

You have to push hard through corners to elicit any serious lean or squeal from the Bridgestone Dueler tyres. The strong, responsive brakes are also a good match to the performance on offer. Indeed, overall the only minor letdown was the wooly steering, which offered little feel on-centre, and a poor turning circle which made negotiating busy, public carparks a chore.

The Navara’s 4WD system is as easy to use as the rest of the vehicle’s operations, with a large, clearly-marked dial low down on the centre fascia for selecting 4x4 high or low range. While we didn’t hit any gnarly off-road trails, we did do enough to come away suitably impressed by how settled and composed this ute remains over a variety of terrain.

Almost $65,000 (as tested) is a lot to pay for any ute but few are as enticing as the ST-X 550 -- nor do many dualcabs manage to combine so well the sensibilities of an SUV with the practicalities of a pick-up.

It will be interesting to see if the likes of Toyota, Mitsubishi et al respond with their own premium-priced, super utes, or if Navara retains this niche to itself…