NISSAN NAVARA ST AUTO

$ 45,490 DRIVE- AWAY 1 8 POINTS

VALUE

The Navara outsold the BT-50 by almost 40 per cent last year. Now it is undercutting the Mazda on price — and it doesn’t need a bullbar to look good. Beyond the visual impact, the ST has keyless entry and rear door pockets. The Nissan has an average three-year/100,000km warranty but only needs servicing every 12 months/20,000km and the first three services will be about $1832.

DESIGN

It looks tough but is probably the most car-like to travel in courtesy of a five-link rear suspension. The set-up means it can’t match the leaf-spring layout of its rivals and sags under any decent load. The actual payload is 982kg for the auto model. Most buyers are chasing the look not the cargo capacity, which puts the Nissan right in the picture.

ENGINE

The 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel (140kW/450Nm) cedes displacement to its opposition but doesn’t lose much in performance due to the light weight and seven-speed transmission. The Navara is the leaner runner of this duo at a claimed 7.0L/100km. Expect about 10.0L in the real world — still better than most in this class.

SAFETY

Seven airbags and a five-star rating give the Nissan solid safety credentials. A 2015 ANCAP assessment gave it 35.01/37. The ST comes with a reversing camera and cruise control but misses hill start assist and hill descent control.

DRIVING

The Series II updates to the NP300 resulted in stiffer suspension that now controls body roll through the turns and gives the Nissan better balance when loaded. It shares the Mazda’s tendency to bounce over small bumps but, again, it’s far from a deal-breaker. The steering is noticeably slower than the BT-50 — not so great in carparks but better off-road.