Nissan launched an all-new Navara back in 2005 to capitalise
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on the surge in popularity of the lifestyle pickup. Five years on and that market sector has changed markedly, with sales falling off the chart overnight — the Navara included.
Strange then that the pickup market is one of the busiest in terms of new model launches and updates in the whole commercial vehicle sector — again. the Navara included.
For 2010, Nissan has given its pickup a mild style makeover and a couple of mechanical upgrades to ensure it garners the most attention from potential customers.
On the outside vou might notice a new bonnet, revised grille and front bumper assembly. which. Nissan says. "lends a more sporting touch to Navara". Quite. At the back, it's pretty much business as usual, save for the redesigned chronic bumper, while two new metallic colour options have been added — a curiously named 'Blue Grey' and the colour you see here. 'Electric Blue'.
Most of the interior changes are centred on quality upgrades to switchgear, materials and comfort. Starting with the switchgear, the Navara gets a new drive-mode selector, which lets the user dial between highor low-range gear ratio. Also new are illuminated controls on the steering wheel for the radio and Bluetooth, while redesigned door trims now have bigger binnacles and softer armrests. Then there's the Nissan Connect Premium combined communication, sat-nay and music system, which has a 40GB harddrive and Bluetooth audio streaming capabilities. As you'll see in the 'Cab Comfort' section, it's hi-tech piece of gadgetry: yours for £1,527
Unlike its rivals, the Navara range doesn't come in single-cab guise; customers only have the choice of the King Cab or double-cab bodystyles.Three trim levels are available, starting with the base Acenta and moving up to the Tekna, and finally the flagship Outlaw model. Each one has many levels of standard equipment, but if our Tekna test model is anything to go by. there's more kit than you'll ever need.
Then we come to the engines, which lay claim to being the most powerful units available in the class.The first is a revised 2.5-litre four-cylinder packing 18Shp and 450Nm (its predecessor had to 'make do' with 170hp and 403Nm), while the second is an uprated 3.0-litre V6 developing a colossal 228hp and 550Nrn from as low as 1,700rpm.
Service intervals are every 18,000 miles. and whole vehicle warranty lasts for three years or 60,000 miles Prices start at £16,640 for the King Cab Acenta rising to £28,240 for the 3.0 V6 double-cab Outlaw Productivity
Give or take a few millimetres, the Navards load area is broadly the same as principal rivals Toyota Efflux and Ford Ranger; that is 2.35m2. With a payload of 1,125kg, the Navara is capable of carrying slightly more than the Toyota (1,075kg) or Ford (1,072kg), and a low loading height --some 90mm lower than the I lilux — means packing or unpacking is an easy task. One major oversight concerning the load area is the absence of any protective lining, and even with a vehicle as new as this, we noticed the exposed bodywork in the back was already extremely scratched. Customers have-to pay extra for a protective covering, whereas rivals like the Isu7n Denver Rodeo and Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian have it as standard.
What does come standard is a very useful C-Channel ))) tie-down system, which is mounted on the top lip of the load area. The lashings allow you to secure any size load with rope or ratchet straps by moving the points back and forth on the guide rails to where they're needed.
If your need requires you to deliver goods off-road, then the Navara's ability is without question.A selectable four-wheel-drive dial located inside the cabin lets the driver change from normal rear-wheel-drive mode to four-wheeldrive high or low range when the road gets really slippery.
The usual downside to having such a big engine is large fuel bills, but not so here.After completing an unladen run in the Navara, it posted 374mpg, which — excluding the Isuzu Rodeo's 38.7mpg, which benefitted from an aerodynamic hard top — is the best figure achieved by any pickup we've tested. The laden run yielded a figure of 34mpg, matching the Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian tested in July.
Cab comfort Lifestyle pickups are known for their over-the-top interior trimmings, and it's more of the same here with the Navara, but we're certainly not complaining. In Tekna trim, such as you see here, there's a very long list of standard equipment from heated leather seats and electric sunroof to dual-zone climate control and multifunction steering wheel.
If that doesn't light your tire, then why not specify Nissan's £1.500 Connect Premium infotainment system. We had it on our test vehicle and it really is the best of the bunch in terms of usability and functionality It features a sat-nay system with a hard disk drive that lets you store your favourite music without even needing an iPod — and not forgetting that it also displays the image from the reverse-park camera.
The controls are chunky and a big scrolling dial on the centre console lets you navigate through all the menus, which can be daunting at first.
With all this kit, the Navara's cabin is a very cosy place to Sit while driving from A to B and, coupled with a quality finish, there's really very few complaints from the driver's seat, or the passenger seats, mind.
Finding a comfortable driving position is fairly easy using the electrically operated driver's and passenger's seats, but ultimate driving nirvana is hindered by the steering wheel, which only adjusts for rake and not reach.
On the road With gross vehicle weight of more than three tonnes, we expected the Navara to be a handful in town, but it turned out to be the opposite. The steering is light, and with the reverse camera, plus good all-round visibility, it's easy to park and drive in congested environments.
But for all its manoeuvrability, the low speed ride on the Navara is less than impressive, with the pickup shaking and shuddering over road scars and manhole covers.
On the motorway, the Nissan transforms into a comfy cruiser and feels far more comfortable at 70mph than it does at 30mph.The suspension does a good job of absorbing bumps and dips. and the fidgety ride is a lot less pronounced.
Dynamically, the Navara is pretty sorted for a vehicle weighing more than 3,200kg, and even with the load bed fully stocked, there's hardly any body roll in the corners, and it feels very SIN-like.
Then there's the engine, which is an impre.ssive unit with its 188hp and whopping 450Nm of torque (this is still only the second-most powerful engine in the whole pickup segment behind the 228hp, 550Nm 3.0-litre V6 Navara). With all this power on tap, the Nissan accelerates with brute force, but throughout our evaluation period, we found we seldom needed to unleash all that power at once.
The engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission. and you really have to man-handle the lever to move from gate-to-gate, but the macho gearbox seems to match the pickup's character. •