Nissan Navara Pickup

Overview

Serving as the most successful pickup truck in Nissan’s global portfolio, the Nissan Navara, in its current generation, has moved up a few notches in terms of premium appeal as well as functionality. In UAE, the Nissan Navara is offered with both 2.5-litre petrol and 2.5-litre diesel engines with a choice of 4x2 and 4x4 variants in both engine options.

Interior & Features

Step into the Nissan Navara, and you will be surprised by how airy and premium the cabin feels. The three-spoke steering wheel is slightly different from what you have seen on other cars from Nissan, with meaty feeling brushed aluminium inserts, on which are placed the buttons for audio and Bluetooth along with cruise controls as well. The wide centre console though misses out on a touchscreen which is gradually becoming a norm even on other pickup trucks.

However, the 5-inch screen for the music system comes with a nice layout of buttons around it making it feel subtle and old school. Positioned below the music system are the controls for the manual AC, which provide optimum cooling ability along with the rear AC vents. Other features which do make the Navara a premium vehicle include leather upholstery, power adjustable driver’s seat, push-button start with keyless entry.

Exterior

Being a pickup truck, having an intimidating stance is a must-to-have trait, and the Nissan Navara successfully manages to break the code here with its bulky and boxy appearance.

The Navara shares its frontal design language with the other famed Nissan SUVs including the mighty Patrol, by having the three-partitioned ‘V-motion’ chrome grille. The big boxy headlamps come integrated with LED projector headlamps as well as daytime running LEDs to spruce in some premium appeal to the frontal view. The fog lamps too come with chrome surrounds, adding in some premium touch.

Moving on to the sides, the Nissan Navara has got the traditional pickup truck appeal, with no characteristic lines or creases on the side doors. However, the Navara tries to maintain its gigantic appeal on the sides as well, thanks to the large 18-inch alloy wheels. At the rear, the Navara has got a huge loading bay, which ends up in a smoothly designed rear tailgate. Unlike the front, the rear bumper has a thick faux aluminium garnish.

Ride & Handling

The Nissan Navara, like all the other pickup trucks, is not meant to provide you a super plush ride quality, but a rigid and rock solid stability in all driving conditions is a must, which it successfully possesses. With a suspension setup of independent dual wishbone with coil spring and stabilizer bar at the front and a multi-link with stabilizer bar at the rear, the Navara feels slightly stiff but stable on each and every driving condition.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

For the UAE market, the Nissan Navara is being offered in two engine options. Talking about the petrol engine first, the 2.5-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine produces 168PS of power and 244Nm of torque. On the other hand, the 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine is capable of pumping out a maximum power output of 161PS and a maximum torque output of humongous 403Nm. Both the engines are being offered with the options of 4x2 as well as 4x4 drivetrains. While the petrol engine is available with both 6-speed manual gearbox as well as 7-speed automatic gearbox, the diesel engine is being offered only with the latter.

Braking & Safety

The list of safety features for the Nissan Navara includes dual front airbags, ABS, EBD, vehicle dynamic control, hill start assist, hill descent control, and ISOFIX mounts. However, given the fact that how fast the competition is picking up the pace, we were expecting the Navara to come equipped with more active safety features.

Verdict

While the Nissan Navara impresses you with its bold exteriors with premium inserts, it is the inside cabin which though feels premium, lacks some of the modern and contemporary bits which are gradually becoming standard in the segment. However, the engine feels powerful and the typical indestructible feel and reliability as well as go-anywhere ability makes the Navara feel desirable after you crank up the engine.