NAVARA MADE RIGHT
THANKS TO SOME LOCAL BUT FACTORYCERTIFIED ENGINEERING THE N-TREK WARRIOR IS THE NAVARA WE HAVE ALWAYS WANTED.
NISSAN’S D23 Navara has never quite been what the doctor ordered sales-wise compared to the front-running Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. In fact in the 4x4 ute sales race it has also trailed behind Mitsubishi’s Triton, Holden’s Colorado and, more recently, the Isuzu D-max. By contrast, the D23’s predecessor, the D40 Navara, was second only in sales to the then all-conquering Hilux.
To help address this, and hopefully get more customers in to its showrooms, Nissan Australia has joined up with Premcar, the current embodiment of Prodrive and Ford Performance Vehicles. The brief was to make the D23 more off-road ready than the standard factory offering ... and to also look the part as a more serious 4x4 ute. The resulting N-trek Warrior is still sold as a factory model with full factory backing and warranty.
Premcar’s work brings a bigger wheel/tyre package, specially tuned springs and dampers, a bespoke steel bullbar, underbody protection, an LED light bar, a redesigned towbar and various styling enhancements. The powertrain remains standard.
POWERTRAIN AND PERFORMANCE
THE RENAULT-SOURCED 2.3-litre bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel in the Warrior was originally designed for commercial use, in vans and the like, and is a little gruff and noisy under full load, but no more so than the 2.8-litre VM Motori-sourced diesel in the Sportscat.
Given the Warrior is some 200kg heavier than a standard Navara and the taller tyres raise the overall gearing a little over seven per cent, the performance is dulled a little from a stock Navara, but is still responsive enough. The Navara’s overall gearing is relatively short so the taller tyres don’t really hurt too much as they would on something that’s already tall geared like a Hilux or D-max.
In typical bi-turbo style the Warrior combines good off-idle response with its maximum torque (450Nm) on tap at just 1500rpm with a keenness to rev as the peak power (140kw) doesn’t arrive until 3750rpm. It’s still not quite as flexible at low revs as the 500Nm strong engine in the Sportscat but once in its stride it comfortably holds its own, and even starts to peg back the Sportscat at higher speeds, perhaps helped by the fact that the Warrior’s smaller body has less frontal area than the noticeably larger Sportscat.
The seven-speed automatic shifts smoothly enough but doesn’t time its shifts as well as the gearbox in the Sportscat, tending to hang onto the taller gears longer under throttle load, and not back shifting – for stronger engine braking – on descents as readily.
ON ROAD RIDE AND HANDLING
THE NAVARA is unusual among the popular utes in as much as it has coil springs, in its case dual-rate coils, rather than leaf springs at the rear. With the Warrior, Premcar has still used dualrate coils but they are softer in the initial spring (34 vs 37N/mm) and firmer in the second spring (85 vs 77N/mm). Up front, lighter 74N/mm springs replace the stock 79N/mm springs but there’s an extra long, progressive bump stop, which firms up the spring rate
towards full compression. Robust Tenneco-brand dampers – tuned by Premcar’s engineers – replace the stock dampers although the standard swaybars are retained. Premcar’s main aim with the Warrior was to improve the stock Navara’s offroad performance, but the retuned suspension also works wonders on road. And like any good suspension tune, the more demanding the conditions and the faster you drive, the better it feels. A 30mm wider track, achieved via wheel offset, also helps to provide a more stable package by countering the extra ride height.
The Warrior’s ride is firm at lower speeds, most likely due to stronger compression damping and despite the lighter initial springs, but softens up at highway speeds to provide a level of control and compliance that a standard Navara can’t match.
OFF ROAD
THE WARRIOR’S taller and wider 275/70R17 wheel and tyre package, that replaces the standard 255/60R18s, brings 25mm more ride height while the new springs add another 15mm of lift. This extra 40mm of lift may not sound like much but given the stock Navara is one of the lowest slung of the mainstream utes, the extra lift is most welcome.
The Cooper Discoverer AT3 tyres are a more robust ‘Light Truck’ tyre than the standard offerings and come with a more aggressive tread pattern, both also advantageous off road.
The Warrior has a conventional part-time 4x4 system and offers a notably deep low-range reduction. Along with the short first gear the Warrior’s crawl ratio is better than that of the Sportscat but the gearbox itself doesn’t work as well in low range as the far more cooperative auto in the Sportscat.
The Warrior can’t match the wheel travel of the Sportscat, nor the Sportscat’s well-sorted electronic traction control. Still, it has a driver-switched rear locker which, when engaged, keeps the electronic traction control active on the front axle. With the locker, the Warrior doesn’t give anything away to the Sportscat on washed-out climbs and the like, but fording depth is not as good due to the location of its air intake under the bonnet lip.
CABIN, ACCOMMODATION AND SAFETY
THE WARRIOR is based on the top-spec ST-X Navara, which means plenty of kit (see ‘What You Get’) including smart-key entry and push-button start, features missing on the Sportscat. The Warrior also gets its own themed interior, over and above the ST-X, with its bespoke part-leather seat trim and carpets.
The Warrior’s cabin is smaller than the Sportscat and while this doesn’t make much of a difference up front, three people will feel the difference in the rear. As with the Sportscat, there’s tilt-only adjustment for the steering wheel but the driving position is still comfortable enough, although taller drivers might prefer the Sportscat given the extra room.
The Warrior hasn’t been ANCAP tested as such but a standard Navara achieved a five-star rating when last tested but doesn’t come with any notably high-end safety features.
PRACTICALITIES
HEAVY-DUTY towing has never been a Navara D23 forte and while Nissan’s two attempts to improve the Navara in that regard have been in-part successful, and the Warrior feels like it may do a better job again, chassis-wise, than a standard Navara at towing the claimed maximum of 3500kg. Certainly for towing heavy loads, if that’s what you want, the Sportscat would seem like the better prospect given the respectable heavy-duty tow performance of a standard Colorado. Likewise, the Warrior has a smaller tub than the Sportscat and notably less claimed payload.