Road Test: Nissan Navara 2.3D double cab 4x4 LE auto

By Justus Visagie

When the all-new Navara arrived in SA with great fanfare, Nissan proclaimed its unconventional rear suspension a big deal. But is it? And how does the rest of this bakkie shape up against its ruthless competitors?

As the age of the estate, middle-class sedan and MPV (remember the Renault Scenic?) finally ended, the double-cab and SUV had already stepped in to fill the void. For many, the double-cab bakkie was the ultimate vehicle. It offered many car-like features, but retained a tough, utilitarian character — something many driver’s also longed to project about their own personalities.

The outgoing Navara proved popular with South Africans, especially as a leisure bakkie. It’s easy and pleasant to drive, its 2.5-litre-turbo diesel engine is powerful yet frugal and it looks like it can kick your rear in a cage fight or a Boksburg bar brawl. It has many other virtues, but let’s get out of the old and into the new.

What’s inside?

The interior has a premium feel, for a bakkie, but it doesn’t quite match the latest Ford Ranger’s cabin. It’s well appointed, though, and sat-nav is included in the infotainment system at no cost. Unfortunately it was a disappointment, especially when measured against the sat-nav and infotainment screen in premium versions of the old Navara, like the 3.0 dCi a.k.a. the V9X.

Leather upholstery is a R14 000 option in the new Navara, but almost everything else is standard. This includes seven airbags, rear air-con vents, park-distance control, reverse camera, keyless entry, cruise control, Bluetooth, CD player, folding electric mirrors, day-time running lights and LED headlights.

The Navara’s seats are comfortable and supportive, but taller drivers could struggle to find the optimal seating position. This is because the steering wheel can only adjust for height — and not by much either. The new Navara offers more legroom than the bakkie it replaces and it’s certainly on the spacious side of the norm.

Powertrain

The Navara’s new 2.3-litre diesel four-cylinder, with twin turbos, makes 140 kW at 3 750 rpm and 450 Nm at 1500-2500 Nm. These figures match those of the 2.5 dCi engine in the outgoing model. Importantly, the newcomer is over 150 kg lighter than the old Navara. Fuel consumption is significantly lower and it wasn’t hard to keep it sipping at less than 9 litres/100km, with a light load. Another improvement is an increase in load capacity from 843 kg to 1 002 kg. Maximum towing capacity is rated at 3.5t (braked).

The Navara’s new, smooth-shifting 7-speed box does its job so well you become unaware of it. The refinement of the engine isn’t as impressive and can’t match the Triton’s nor the Hilux’s 2.4-litre engines in this regard.

On road and off road

In city driving the Navara felt more compact and nimble than the old bakkie and the auto-box made it easy to live with. However, the ride quality is more like a bakkie’s and less than an SUV’s, in spite of the hype around the Nissan’s 5-link coil-spring suspension.

On the open road the engine’s ample torque made short work of overtaking other vehicles and the interior seemed well insulated against road and wind noise.

When we finally ventured off road, it quickly became clear that the new Navara can’t match a Land Rover Discovery IV or a Suzuki Vitara just yet. In fact, its ride quality isn’t superior to that of the latest and very underrated Isuzu KB. It seems that in their quest to tune the coil-suspension setup (most bakkies use leaf suspension) to carry heavy loads, Nissan also made the ride a little too harsh.

Though the suspension didn’t live up to expectation with regards to comfort, the bakkie felt stable and composed on fast gravel stretches. But again, so does the new KB.

Over really challenging terrain the increased vertical range of the coil-sprung wheels helped the Navara to maintain traction. The improved approach-, departure- and break-over angles made possible by the new body shape and suspension make the new Navara considerably more capable off road than the old one. Besides the standard fitment of a traditional rear diff-lock, the Navara also has an electronic limited-slip diff function on all four wheels to aid traction. Hill-descent control and hill-start assist are also among its standard equipment.

In summary

The new Navara is a well-priced and welcome addition to the enormous buffet of leisure vehicles in South Africa. Its innovative suspension doesn’t live up to the ride-comfort hype, but does seem to give it an edge over other double-cabs in some off-road situations. It’s still early days for this kind of suspension on a bakkie, but it’s unlikely that Nissan won’t be able to improve it.

Pricing

R587 900. The Navara has a warranty of six years or 150 000 km and a comprehensive service plan of three years or 90 000 km.