SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.

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We take a look at the Nissan Navara LE diesel 4x4 double cab

More than just a double-cab

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday August 18, 2010

In 2005 Nissan took pickup style a step further. Its Hardbody workhorses were doing a fine job of moving goods and taking weekend adventurers out into the countryside, but the company felt that a market existed for yet more stylish equipment. Enter the Navara. Bigger, more luxurious and better-looking, but with the same on-dirt credentials as the Hardbody range, it offered something new for those who wanted even more. 

With a choice of King Cab and double cab designs, Nissan believes that it offers something special - a sport utility vehicle with a load bin. And not just any load bin, but one that can be configured to carry almost any size or shape that fits within it, but more on this later.

Nissan SA jumped the international queue recently to bring local fans the latest facelifted and improved versions.  Cosmetic changes include new bonnet, grille and front bumper, a generally more rounded and smoother appearance, a more luxurious interior with new switchgear, revised door trims, new seat fabric, added chrome highlights and reworked armrests and doorpads. Safety kit upgrades include new side and curtain airbags and a lockable tailgate to help keep loads secure.

Possibly the biggest change is an 11 percent increase in power and torque for the 2,5 litre common rail diesel in the six-speed manual LE double cab version we tested recently, now putting out 140 kW and 450 Nm. It follows that fuel economy and carbon emissions have improved as well. Lowlier models within the range have moved up a notch, engine-wise.

What stays the same is the pretty comprehensive list of safety and luxury kit that helps make top end Navaras into SUVs-with-loadbins, rather than regular pickups. This includes ABS with EBD and brake assist, front seatbelt pretensioners, ISOFIX child seat anchorages, cruise control, electric windows front and rear, steering wheel controls for cruise, Bluetooth and trip computer, dual zone automatic climate control, a six-speaker, six-disc radio/CD unit, rear window demister, driver's seat with height adjustment and variable lumbar support, power folding mirrors, door side steps, roof rails and fog lamps front and rear.

Getting back to the load bin, possibly its most innovative feature is its Utili-track cargo load system. Five channels (two in the floor and one each along the top inside edges and cab-end of the loadbox) accept a variety of accessories including racks, dividers and trays, enabling almost any shape of load to be transported securely.

Inside, the cab is spacious with big doors front and rear that permit easy entrance and exit. Controls are easy to find and operate and there is plenty of storage space including two cubbies in the dash, a central box for smaller items and pockets in the doors. The matt black dash is all hard plastic, but fit, finish and overall quality is good.

The squabs of the 60/40-split back seats fold upwards to allow more inside cargo space and there are two removable under-seat knick-knack trays with net covers. Head- and knee space back there is quite good, helped by the fact that there is actually some room for feet under the front seats. It's still a bit of a knees up situation, common to all body-on-chassis designs, but not as bad as some.

Night-time use revealed some forethought and a possibly entertaining scenario. Pushing the "unlock" button on the key fob not only unlocks the doors, but switches on the interior lights and handy downlights under the outside mirrors as well. This is great for helping everyone climb aboard without getting confused in the dark, but could make discreet departure from wherever you might didna-oughtna be, in the dead of night, a mission impossible. 

I didn't have access to any entertaining off-road areas during my time with the Navara, but its history (winners of SA ORR championships for many years) speaks well of its ability. What I did though, was take it out on my favourite washboard and potholed dirt road for a quick trial.

Where pickups generally, and SUVs built on chassis, are all pretty much the same, is their suspensions. Navara has a double wishbone system in front with a solid axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs in the rear. It therefore cannot be expected to offer quite the same magic carpet ride that one expects of an all-independent setup, and it showed. While directional stability was very good and the suspension worked well, unibody SUVs need have no fear of being overtaken in the comfort department, just yet.

Not everybody wants a softroader and few can afford the more exotic monocoque SUVs, but if you want most of the toys, most of the comfort, excellent bragging rights and the ability to actually load up all your outdoor gear as well, you would do well to put Navara LE on your viewing list.

The numbers

Price: R404 150

Engine: 2 488 cc turbocharged common rail diesel

Power: 140 kW at 4 000 rpm

Torque: 450 Nm at 2 000 rpm

Combined fuel consumption (claimed): 8,5 l/100 km

500 ppm fuel: Permitted

Tank: 80 litres

Ground clearance: 230 mm

Approach/departure angles: 30/24 degrees

Rampover angle: about 18 degrees

Max. wading depth: 450 mm

Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km

Service plan: 3 years/100 000 km

Service intervals: 15 000 km

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

 

Comments?

Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously. Contact me here

 

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