Nissan Navara NP300: the new pickup standard

The Navara feels rock-solid even after hours of abuse through the sand dunes of La Paz.

MANILA, Philippines–At the launch of the all-new Nissan Navara NP300 model a few weeks back, Nissan Pilipinas Inc. president Antonio “Toti” Zara was famously quoted as saying, “Let the truck wars begin.”

Indeed, pundits and critics, as well as competitors, will lead us to believe that these words were mere publicity banter for a new model.

Having hyped up the Nissan Navara for almost a year since select media were invited to a preproduction unit drive in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and visiting Nissan’s all-new facility dedicated to the Navara (and a future SUV based on the same Navara platform) in Thailand, there hasn’t really been much to talk about. Thankfully, the hype was well-justified.

In a landmark motoring event, Nissan Philippines invited close to 70 media personalities to sample the all-new Navara in standard production form in the northern region of Ilocos for a series of on- and offroad driving activities.

Flying into Laoag, we immediately drove from the airport to our hotel, a modest 12.7-kilometer drive. Immediately the Navara made us feel its dominance on the road: bright HID and LED-infused lighting which cleared a bright path on the dark, winding roads, a stable, composed and confident ride thanks to its multilink (five-link) coil-sprung rear-end, and oodles of power thanks to its 2.5-liter CRDi and VGT-equipped engine that delivers an impressive 190 horsepower and 450 Newton-meters of torque, channeled through a class-leading, seven-speed automatic transmission with shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive.

The following day, patience was high on the order list as the caravan of 20 Navara pickups were given a fuel economy challenge that would see the group drive further up north to the windmills of Bangui Bay, 62 km away, then back down south to the historic Paoay Church, close to 80 km away.

Despite the tough and torturous terrain, the Navara never faltered.

Our test unit, a top-model VL seven-speed automatic with 4×4 and loaded with four adults, achieved an impressive fuel efficiency of 17 kilometers per liter, cruising between a real-world average of 70-90 km per hour, with audio and climate control on.

From Paoay Church, we headed to the sand dunes of La Paz where the Navara NP300 demonstrated its amazing and frankly eye-watering offroad prowess. The La Paz sand dunes is a favorite among the 4×4 enthusiast crowd. Driving up to the venue, we saw dozens upon dozens of heavily modified 4×4 vehicles itching to get their vehicles in the fine sand.

Fortunately for us, Nissan—with the help of the local and provincial government—reserved most of the sand dunes, creating a composite track from the three common trails that line the La Paz sand dunes. What followed was offroad mayhem of the most enjoyable order.

Despite running moderately treaded Toyo Open Country all-terrain tires, instructors simply aired down the tires to just over 20 psi and instructed us to keep the transfer case to four-wheel high, and follow the instructions rising with us on board.

The start of the composite course is a steep descent which immediately tests the effectivity of the Hill Descent Control. Keeping speeds below 5 kph, we descended down the steep hill and powered our way forward.

The next test was an axle-twister which literally had the Navara’s rear end in a variety of twisting activities, followed by an axle-hopping terrain which saw the Navara’s front and rear suspensions scrabble for grip at speeds approaching 80 kph. Despite the tough and torturous terrain, the Navara exhibited impressive chassis rigidity and powered its way through to more similar activities.

The next challenge was an uphill assault through very fine sand which would test one’s driving technique and the Navara’s torque. Despite almost bogging down and the all-terrain tires almost unable to climb out of the soft sand, the Traction and Vehicle Dynamics Control Systems, together with the Active-Brake Limited Slip System  perfectly apportioned rear-end torque to clear us out of danger and the Navara made its way up through the steep hill, followed by another equally steep descent.

Coming down was followed by more axle-twisting, chassis-bending and axle-hopping terrain until we hit a steep embankment that highlighted the Hill-Start Assist System to allow the Navara to climb up on relatively firm footing. All this time, the transmission was kept in D, without need for shifting manually.

On the road, when shifting manually, the seven-speed automatic shifts positively and responsively but it’s a smart unit as it won’t allow unnecessary upshifts which might bog the engine, or downshifts which can over-rev and damage the engine.

The Navara is the new standard for pickups in the segment. It represents a massive quantum leap from its current competitors, who will all be catching up. The design is sleek but has decent 0.37 cd of drag, is very roomy inside with very comfortable rear seats, has a large pickup bed which is rated for over 1,000 kilograms of payload, and with a towing capacity of 3,000 kg.

Inside, you’ll find the latest modern in-car electronics such as a multimedia system with mobile device integration via Bluetooth, USB and Aux-in jack; an advanced vehicle trip computer that displays range, average and instant fuel consumption; Nissan’s highly acclaimed zero-gravity seats which were codeveloped with the Nasa; and the instrument cluster with fine vision lighting which allows drivers to easily view information without being affected by glare and regardless of lighting conditions.

Steering wheel angle is excellent; the handsome three-spoke steering wheel aligns perfectly with your shoulders, making very long drives comfortable. It has auxiliary controls for the vehicle trip computer, audio system and cruise control.

Build quality is equally impressive: The Navara feels rock-solid even after hours upon hours of abuse through the sand dunes of La Paz and through high speeds on broken tarmac driving up and down Ilocos.

But most telling of all is its very comfortable ride, thanks to the multilink rear. Payload capacity has not been compromised yet the unladen bed moves gracefully on high-speed onroad driving.

Comfort is significantly much better especially for rear passengers, making the Navara the most comfortable-riding workhorse pickup you will ever find in the market today.

Collectively, these attributes make the Navara the benchmark, the leader, the standard bearer for the pickup segment.

It has the most impressive technical features, arguably the most impressive build quality and by far the most comfortable ride in the pickup segment, making it an ideal family car, lifestyle vehicle and workhorse all rolled into one. Their 4,000 unit sales projection is an easily attainable figure.

There are a total of seven variants to chose from, starting from P898,000 for the basic 4×2 model six-speed MT to the range topping VL seven-speed a/t with 4WD that is priced at P1.49 million, so buyers from different segments and with specific requirements will find a Navara variant for them.

In a one-on-one chat with him after the driving event, Toti had this to say: Nissan is definitely back!