Nissan Navara Warrior undercuts tough-truck rivals

The 2020 Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior goes on sale nationally today, priced at $62,990 drive-away for manual models and $65,490 drive-away for automatic versions.

Pricing for the new Nissan Navara flagship narrowly undercuts other premium dual-cab 4x4 ‘lifestyle’ utes such as the Ford Ranger Wildtrak, Toyota HiLux Rugged X and HSV Colorado SportsCat.

Although direct comparisons with the Warrior’s permanent national drive-away starting price of under $63K are difficult, list prices for the Wildrak, Rugged X and SportsCat are $61,490, $62,490 and $62,490 respectively (manual, plus on-road costs). Auto versions of the Wildtrak and Rugged X are currently being offered for a respective $64,990 and $63,990 drive-away.

Based on the recently released Nissan Navara N-TREK, which in turn is based on the Nissan Navara ST-X, the Warrior features an array of predominantly off-road enhancements, including upgraded suspension, wheels, tyres and cosmetics to underline its range-topping status.

The Navara N-TREK Warrior is locally developed, with Navara N-TREK donor units receiving the Warrior upgrade courtesy of engineering firm Premcar on its dedicated production line in Epping in Melbourne's northern suburbs. Premcar is the current iteration of Prodrive, which previously produced FPV models for Ford and TRD models for Toyota.

Premcar says it has added a team of 40 extra staff to handle Navara N-TREK Warrior production, with a capability of modifying up to 10 vehicles per day.

In creating the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior, which conceptually has much in common with the Nissan Navara AT32 available in Europe, Premcar has teamed with a number of local OEM-grade component suppliers like Monroe, Tenneco, EGR, Frontline, Hella, Rosta and others to deliver a ute honed for Australian off-road conditions.

A stringent validation process was undertaken in Victoria's rugged Mallee region, with further testing and evaluation carried out at the Australian Automotive Research Centre at Anglesea (Vic) and Melbourne University's Advanced Centre for Automotive Research and Testing.

The Navara N-TREK Warrior remains backed by Nissan Australia's five-year/unlimited-km factory warranty.

While the Navara's driveline line carries over, the 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel mated to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission, the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior receives a beefed-up suspension package with Tenneco springs and Monroe dampers, paired with 17-inch Rosta alloys shod with 32.2-inch Cooper AT3 all-terrain tyres.

The upgrade delivers an extra 40mm of ride height for a total ground clearance of 268mm, while the vehicle's track has increased by 30mm to 1600mm. The lift comes with a corresponding improvement in approach angle – now 35 degrees – while Nissan says the package not only improves off-road ability but also delivers improved ride and more responsive steering on sealed roads.

The model retains the same part-time four-wheel drive driveline, offering a choice of rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive via a switch-actuated dual-range transfer case. The Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior also comes with an electronic rear differential lock.

A 3mm-thick stainless steel bashplate from Frontline provides extra protection up front while a unique towbar from the same firm delivers the extra room required by the larger full-size spare wheel.

The Navara N-TREK Warrior’s braked towing limit remains at 3500kg while its maximum payload is 724kg – down from the Navara N-TREK’s ratings of 923kg (manual) and 917kg (auto).

Externally, the Navara N-TREK Warrior receives a redesigned front-end with ERG-sourced hoopless and colour-matched steel bullbar complete with 470mm Hella LED light bar.

Also setting the Warrior apart from the standard Navara N-TREK are orange-accented foglight bezels and distinctive 3M decals – 'Navara' on the tailgate and 'N-TREK Warrior' on the body sides, the latter in orange for black models and in black for other colours.

Inside – on top of the new 8.0-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that arrived with the D23 Series 3 facelift earlier this year – are N-TREK Warrior-embroidered head restraints and orange-accented floor mats front and rear.

That's in addition to a swathe of N-TREK enhancements spanning heated front seats, black leather seat trim with orange fabric inserts and orange stitching on the centre console, front armrests and leather-wrap steering wheel.

However, unlike the HiLux and Ranger – Australia’s two most popular vehicles, bar none – the Navara remains unavailable with advanced driver aids like autonomous emergency braking and lane-keeping.

Nissan Australia will be counting on the new Navara N-TREK Warrior to help reinvigorate its currently flagging Navara sales.

To the end of November a total of 9803 new Navara 4x4s had been registered in Australia (VFACTS data) – 16.5 per cent less than the same period in 2018, in a segment that has contracted by a more modest 2.9 per cent.

The Navara sits in sixth place in the 4x4 ute sales pecking order, behind Ford's Ranger (33,905 units), Toyota's HiLux (33,061), Mitsubishi's Triton (20,535), Holden's Colorado (14,398) and Isuzu's D-MAX (10,382).

Nissan Australia's managing director, Stephen Lester, said the new Navara flagship holds a distinct appeal for Australian buyers.

“The Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior has been designed, re-engineered and tested in Australia for Australian conditions and Australian drivers,” he said.

“Nissan has partnered with experienced OEM product development and engineering consultancy, Premcar, to develop a fully integrated package of local re-engineering and upgrades that deliver enhanced capability and functionality that is fully covered by Nissan's five-year factory warranty.

“We wanted to produce an Australian-market specific, adventure-oriented vehicle that can cope with our terrain, our climate and our driving expectations, for the booming premium dual-cab 4x4 ute market.

“This new top-end segment seeks higher specification, higher capability and higher visibility and is expected to show significant growth in 2020 and beyond.

"This is the most stylish and capable Navara ever, and is destined to be one of the most popular.”

The 2020 Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior is on sale now and available in three colours: Cosmic Black, White Diamond or Slate Grey.

Check back later this week for our first full review and video of the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior.

How much does the 2020 Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior cost?
Manual – $62,990 drive-away
Automatic – $65,490 drive-away