ON THE ROAD
IN ITS pre-series II iteration the Navara didn’t feel all that good suspension-wise, even when unladen. The then-called NP300 didn’t ride any better at the rear than competitor leaf-sprung utes, nor was the front-to-rear suspension match particularly well sorted. Among other things the front-end felt noticeably underdamped and, on some undulating country roads, would pitch uncomfortably up and down as if the whole car was hinged around the rear axle. Owners of the D22 Navara that predated the D40 will know the feeling well.
The good news is that the changes to the Series II have addressed the unladen ride and handling. The front-to-rear suspension match is far better and the Navara is noticeably more composed and tidy than it was before. Being smaller and lighter than many competitors, notably the Ranger, Colorado, BT-50 and D-max, it feels quite sporty as far as dual-cab fourwheel drives go.
Loading 800kg into the tray shines a different light on the changes. When loaded, the rear end drops a noticeable 105mm, just as it did before the Series II changes. When originally tested (pre-series II) the rear end dropped 100mm, with the slight difference perhaps due to the fact we couldn’t move the load as far forward as we wanted due to interference with the sports bar – or the difference could be due to the respective age and previous use of the two test vehicles in question. Either way, this 105mm drop is in sharp contrast to the typical 60mm droop of most of the competitor utes (Ranger, Hilux, Colorado, BT-50 and D-max) in the original multi-ute test. It also indicates that if the rear springs are new, there’s no significant change to the spring rate.
On the road with the 800kg in the tray, the Navara still feels decidedly nose-up, which does nothing for steering feel or confidence. On larger bumps it also feels to bottom out, as it did before. However, the rear end doesn’t feel to squirm around as much as it did prior to the changes, but this is hard to verify without a side-by-side test. Either way, the Navara still feels well short of the stability and neutral attitude of most competitor utes when carrying 800kg in the tray.