First drive: Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior

Make no mistake: the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior wasn’t created to compete with the dune-jumping $76K Ford Ranger Raptor.

Instead, it’s aimed directly at top-end twin-cab 4x4 utes like the Toyota HiLux Rugged X and Holden Colorado SportsCat by HSV, both of which happen to cost precisely $62,490 plus on-road costs, so expect that sort of price tag.

Like them, the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior brings a tough new look, extra off-road ability and improved on-road ride and handling, without compromising safety, reliability or towing capacity.

In short, the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior adds pretty much everything any self-respecting ute buyer wants – bolder road presence and outback-ready capability – while maintaining a factory warranty and OEM-spec stability control system.

Apart from a snorkel and winch, which can be added by hard-core off-road enthusiasts if they wish but aren’t part of the package to keep costs down, it brings the most common ute upgrades already applied by plenty of tradies and weekend warriors.

The headline acts here are a near two-inch suspension lift and bigger all-terrain tyres (giving it a taller and broader stance), plus solid under-body protection, a beefy bullbar and a stealthy black-ops look, but there’s a host of other factory-spec cosmetic upgrades here – many of which weren’t fitted to the prototype vehicles you see here.

Unlike an aftermarket mod-job, the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior was designed, developed, modified, tested and validated in Australia to meet government design rules, road regulations in all states and OEM-standard safety and durability requirements.

Like its chief rivals, it’s based on the premium mainstream variant of its donor model and there’s no engine upgrade. In this case that means the Navara’s trusty 140kW/450Nm 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel four-cylinder, matched to either both six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic transmissions.

It also means there’s all of the extras from the $56,450 Nissan Navara N-TREK released in August, including a black grille, LED headlight bezels, foglight bezels, roof rails, alloy sports bar, rear bumper, fender flares, door-handles and wheels, and orange accents for the black lower fascia, side mirrors and side steps.

Inside, the black/orange cosmetic theme continues with N-TREK additions like black leather seat trim with orange fabric inserts, heated front seats and orange stitching on the centre console, front armrests and steering wheel.

And because the N-TREK is based on the $52,750 ST-X 4x4 dual-cab, it brings the new 8.0-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, introduced as part of the MY19 Navara Series 4 upgrade in July.

All the good gear
To this the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior (a name previously used for the full-size Titan pick-up in the USA) brings a range of mechanical and visual upgrades designed to improve its appearance, off-road capability and on-road agility, stability and ride quality.

Externally, the Warrior is distinguished by a redesigned front-end with hoopless body-colour steel bullbar from EGR, integrated 470mm LED light bar from Hella and orange-accented foglight bezels with integrated ‘bark busters’.

To guarantee you won’t go unnoticed, there’s also some bold 3M decals – ‘Navara’ on the tailgate and ‘N-TREK Warrior’ on the body sides (orange for black vehicles and black for all other colours).

Inside, the changes are limited to N-TREK Warrior-embroidered front head restraints and orange-accented carpet floor mats.

But it’s underneath where the important upgrades lurk, including a 3mm stainless steel front bashplate from Frontline, which also supplies a unique towbar cross member to accommodate the larger full-size spare wheel.

The Warrior rides on unique 17-inch black alloy Rosta wheels, which are smaller than the N-TREK’s 18s to accommodate larger 32.2-inch 275/70 Cooper AT3 LT all-terrain tyres within the Navara’s wheel housings.

These increase the ride height by 25mm and, combined with a 15mm front-end lift via new springs and dampers, ground clearance is up by a total of 40mm, giving the vehicle a taller, wider and tougher stance.

Strong pedigree
All this is the handiwork of Premcar, the Melbourne-based vehicle engineering company that evolved from Prodrive, which previously produced performance models for Ford’s FPV and Toyota’s TRD sports sub-brands.

Following a tender process involving several bodybuilders with second-stage manufacturer certification, Premcar was chosen by Nissan Australia to develop, source, engineer, validate, ADR-comply and manufacture the Warrior to OEM standards.

The new Navara hero model will be produced at Premcar’s dedicated new 6300 square-metre production facility at Epping in Melbourne’s north, where it could one day also convert the Titan right-hand drive for Nissan.

In line with its target demographic of “mad grey nomads”, Premcar says its upgraded suspension set-up improves the Navara’s off-road ability while also enhancing on-road ride quality, handling, steering response, cornering stability and body control – both laden and unladen -- without impacting safety or its 3500kg towing capacity.

Procar settled on a softer primary spring rate to improve ride comfort and off-road articulation, and a higher but more progressive secondary rate to maintain composure and performance during cornering, heavy-duty off-roading, when laden and when towing.

The Navara’s standard dampers were replaced by Monroe shock absorbers with a larger outer tube diameter containing greater oil volume for better cooling and rough-road capability, a thicker piston rod for increased strength and a Premcar-specified internal valve code to match the springs and tyres, including more compression damping for quicker response.

Extensive local development and validation programs were undertaken to ensure the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior meets the needs of its target market and Nissan’s warranty requirements.

To maintain the vehicle’s five-year, unlimited-km factory warranty, Premcar says all ball-joint, tie-rod and driveshaft angles were tested to ensure they don’t exceed their design limits and that no additional loads are passed into the vehicle’s chassis.

Durability and validation testing at both vehicle and component level included thermal performance validation at Melbourne University’s Advanced Centre for Automotive Research and Testing (ACART) facility.

Development testing – including noise vibration and harshness assessment, towing capability, un/laden performance and ESC and ABS performance -- took place on varied road surfaces at the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC).

Much of it also happened on the sandy tracks, gravel roads and rough Mallee terrain between Ouyen in Victoria and Pinnaroo on the South Australian border, where we took part in a late-stage development drive after final suspension calibration was decided.

The segment-first coil-spring five-link rear suspension fitted to dual-cab versions of the current D23-generation Navara, which has been around since mid-2015, has come in for plenty of criticism for its sloppy ride and handling performance – especially with a load on board or towing. But to its credit, Nissan listened and responded to that by fitting new rear dampers for a Series 2 upgrade in 2016 and then dual-rate rear springs for the Series 3 upgrade in 2018, which was accompanied by a faster gear ratio for the rack and pinion steering.

With no changes to the double-wishbone front-end (or the leaf-sprung rear-end in single- and king-cab versions), the rear of the latest Navara twin-cab rides 25mm higher than before unladen and 40mm higher laden, giving it a more wedgy look and improving rear suspension refinement and performance.

In what constitutes the third suspension upgrade for the D23’s suspension, Premcar’s Warrior set-up balances the vehicle’s ride height front to rear and brings a new level of chassis performance both on-road and off, and of course a tough new look.

On the trail
Effectively Australia’s version of Europe’s Navara AT32 developed by Icelandic off-road specialist Arctic Trucks, there’s no doubt Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior is a good looking ute.

The D23 is already one of the more stylish utes in its class and while the N-TREK’s blackout treatment steps up the attitude, the Warrior’s chunky bullbar and wheelarch-filling wheel/tyre package makes it a head-turner.

Behind the wheel, the most noticeable difference is the extra ride height, which requires a bigger step up into the cabin and brings a handy increase in ground clearance. The Warrior easily cleared deeply rutted trails over steep sand dunes on which the standard Navara ST-X and even a Y62 Patrol dragged their bellies and failed to proceed.

Elsewhere on rough, rocky bush tracks it was far more composed, inducing less head shake from occupants and allowing significantly faster progress with less body movement as the longer-travel suspension soaked up lumpy terrain more readily.

There’s no decoupling rear anti-roll bar as in HSV’s more expensive Colorado SportsCat SV variant, but combined with the Navara’s standard rear diff lock and selectable 4x4 system with low-range, the Warrior will climb much further than a standard Navara.

And despite greater suspension compliance on initial impact (which improved ride comfort both on road and off), superior high-speed damping not only made steering response sharper, requiring less correction while cornering, but substantially reduced interference from corrugations and mid-turn potholes.

There’s also improved stability and ride quality at speed on gravel roads, making the Warrior more sure-footed on loose surfaces, and more confident inspiring during hard cornering on the bitumen at highway speeds.

All this makes the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior a more capable vehicle on all kinds of terrain. It is now far better suited to hitting the Oodnadatta Track with a caravan or even the Simpson with an extra spare and jerries, even if it’s still no rock-hopping, desert-taming monster truck.

And there’s no getting away from the Navara’s inherent niggles, like the old-school seating position that places you high in the cab with the steering wheel in your lap, or the complete dearth of any advanced driver aids like autonomous emergency braking, which is now standard in the three most popular utes.

In fairness, the Navara isn’t alone in lacking steering wheel reach adjustment in a mostly plastic-lined interior, or a light and hard tonneau cover for the rear tub – although it does come with clever anchor points that slide on built-in tray-side rails.

It looks as good inside as it does out with a modern dash design that’s now punctuated by a big, intuitive and well presented colour infotainment touch-screen with all the expected connectivity and handy control knobs.

There’s also a neat colour driver’s display with big digital speedo, compass and a full trip computer, pop-out cup-holders at each end of the dash, three 12V outlets and a USB port up front and four decent-size door pockets.

And the rear bench seat is among the most commodious in its class for head and leg room, and is made more practical by rear air-vents, B-pillar grab-rails and a unique electric rear window opening.

Yes, more engine performance would have been a nice match for the Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior’s chassis and design upgrades, but it’s not alone in that department and its clattery turbo-diesel remains among the most efficient in its class and far the bottom when it comes to power and torque.

Which ever way you look at it, the Warrior is the toughest and most capable factory-backed Navara ever and it deserves to bring more customers to the Nissan ute clan.

How much does the 2019 Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior cost?
Price: $62,990 (estimated)
Engine: 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel four-cylinder
Output: 140kW/450Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 186g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2015)