SPRUNG!

THE Navara’s rear suspension employs a live axle, as per the ute norm, but has coil rather than leaf springs, a feature that distinguishes it from its immediate competition. Without leafs to locate the axle (i.e. stop it moving foreand-aft or side-to-side), the Navara uses four trailing arms for longitudinal location and a Panhard rod for lateral location. The two trailing arms on either side of the axle sit above one another in a parallel arrangement rather than the top pair being angled in to assist the Panhard rod in laterally locating the axle. The lower longitudinal arms are made from pressed and welded steel, while the upper arms are 25mm-diameter steel rods. What appears to be singlerate coils are located inboard of the bump rubbers, while a beefylooking swaybar is mounted behind the axle.