DRIVEN: NISSAN NAVARA II PAYLOAD TEST

Have the Series II revisions to the Navara’s coil-sprung rear end made it any better for carrying heavy loads?

NISSAN’S NP300 (D23) Navara arrived in 2015, but it was revamped just over a year later as the Series II. Along with a new model in the dual-cab 4x4 range and some spec changes, the rear suspension was revised for what Nissan says is “more refined ride and handling with improved lateral stability, especially when carrying a load in the cargo area or towing”. In what was unfortunate timing, the changes were announced just after we had conducted and published a seven-ute tow and load test (see ‘On the Job’), which saw the Navara disappoint. Nissan said it had made the changes off the back of customer feedback, among other things.

Given the changes we thought it only fair to retest the Navara, at least its ability to cope with the same payload we used in the original test – namely 800kg in the tray plus driver, passenger and other payload additions such as the towbar (so effectively a maximum payload).