The perfect PICK-ME-UP
After enduring the clueless cacophony of the Top Gear ‘haters’, Nissan’s handsomely rugged truck is...
So that was the week that was. That’s what it’s like to take over one of the most successful shows television has ever seen and finally get it on the air. Please allow me to assure you that, despite what may be touted elsewhere, as you read this column, the consolidated viewing figures for our first ‘new’ Top Gear will have reached over six million. This puts it way ahead of the last summer season of Top Gear, which was back in 2013 and happily up with Zippy, Bungle and George’s last series in the winter of 2015.
Obviously, the ‘haters’ had to carry on hating regardless. My favourite headline by far was: ‘Evans Insists Top Gear Is A Hit Despite Viewing Figures.’ Ha! What was that supposed to mean? The figures were brilliant. That’s precisely why we claimed a hit. Anyway, love it or loathe it, Top Gear is back on your screens tonight and it’s an absolute corker. Our ‘Six Go Mad In South Africa’ film, starring the Jaguar F-Pace from these pages last week, is one of the most enjoyable television capers I have ever been involved in.
Enter this week’s test car the Nissan Navara Tekna. Not quite a monster truck but not far off, especially when you’re trying to reverse the damned thing into a city-centre parking space. It feels massive. And not a little embarrassing.
The thing is, as far as pickups go, the Navara is actually very ‘pretty’. So pretty, in fact, its looks undermine just how seriously built for purpose it is. The knock-on effect is that most people will think whoever’s driving is posing more than anything else. To go further, it looks like a big electric kids’ ride-on toy. Obviously, I loved it.
And I loved being inside it, too. The cab of this ‘sports pick-up’, as I’m renaming it, is a rather joyous place to be. Some vehicles have it, some don’t. This one has, in spades. There’s deep luxury to be enjoyed, thanks to the lush leather trim. Up front, there’s space and comfort aplenty – much better than in the rear – visibility is fantastic, the driving position is great and I love the shape of the bonnet looking out from the windscreen.
Mine was well-equipped, with all the usual refinements expected these days, and a good level of that equipment came as standard rather than ever-accumulating options. If it wasn’t for the rear-view mirror, or the fact that God gave us necks, you would have a hard job to guess you were in a truck at all.
Storage, on the other hand... now that is a bit of an issue. Mmm, to tailgate or not to tailgate, not as in hanging on the bumper of the guy in front, but rather employing the tailgate section to stow the family’s treasured belongings. Sure, there’s a tonneau cover (€1,900 extra), but I’m not sure that will do it for most people. However, for artisan tradespersons, for his or her hardware and so forth, no problem.
And this epitomises the dilemma of the Navara. Is there really a substantial market for the commercial/ domestic utilitarian champion? Most skilled tradesmen now earn a fairly decent (and deserved) whack, as they are in such short supply. Surely they would prefer an outand-out pick-up – and a nice shiny weekend car waiting for them in the drive at home?
Talking of drives, you won’t be disappointed. The engine is a little whirry on start-up, quite washingmachine-like, but the moment you
slip her into gear (a bit of a long throw) and get under way, the whirr becomes more of a roar. I also thought she was quite responsive, but that’s probably because I liked the experience behind the wheel as opposed to any tangible performance stats.
That said, it produces a very healthy amount of torque exactly where you need it, between 1,500 and 2,500rpm, and maximum at 3,750rpm. Perfect for pulling away fully laden or towing a claimed potential of 3,500kg, on top of that maxed-up tonne of payload.
Nor will you be deafened by the amplified echo chamber that is an unladen load bed as the Navara crashes over speed bumps and potholes. The five-link rear suspension set-up, unique to this vehicle, improves the quality of ride without compromising its load-carrying capability. So, no hopping around equals less disco-dancing for your rear end. And with the new improved fully boxed high-tensile-strength steel ladder frame chassis, you can feel how taut this pick-up is in the corners. But. But. But. I would definitely go for the slideout loading tray that was fitted to ours. It may seem expensive at €1,218 on the options list, but it just makes life so much easier and could end up saving you a fortune on chiropractor bills.
When it comes to taking her offroad, you can select between 2WD and 4WD as well as a low-ratio 4WD option, which should cover every eventuality.
The range starts at just over €33k, which seems a shed-load of car and versatility for the money.