Nissan prices Navara Warrior at $67,490 + ORC

NISSAN has announced a $67,490 plus on-road costs starting price for the macho Navara Pro4-X Warrior flagship dual-cab ute, $9360 more than the regular Pro-4X on which it is based, ahead of a September 1 showroom arrival.

The automatic Warrior carries a $2500 premium, to price-match the auto-only and conceptually similar Toyota HiLux Rugged X.

The extra spend over a regular top-spec Navara has increased by $2820 compared with the previous N-Trek Warrior flagship, which started at $62,990 before on-road costs.

But the off-road oriented Warrior still looks like a relative bargain next to the Ford Ranger Raptor ($77,690, auto-only).

Like its predecessor, the Pro4-X Warrior’s modifications were engineered and tested in Australia by Premcar, with local terrain and conditions in mind.

As a factory-sanctioned build, the Pro4-X Warrior remains covered by Nissan’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with Premcar matching this coverage for the upgrades it has applied.

The Warrior again rides 40mm higher than a standard Navara due to a 15mm suspension lift and 25mm of clearance added by the chunkier 275/70/R17 Cooper Discoverer AT3 tyres – with full-size alloy spare – that contribute to the front and rear tracks being 30mm wider than the donor Pro-4X.

Housing the big tyres and adding to the aggressive off-road look are black wheel arch extensions that add 45mm to the ute’s overall width.

Ground clearance is 260mm, 8mm less than the old Warrior. However, the new winch-compatible bullbar with integrated light bar improves the approach angle from 32 degrees to 36 – one degree more than the previous Navara Warrior.

In case that is not quite enough, a red Navara-branded bash plate and 3mm steel ‘second-stage protection plate’ protects most of the Warrior’s undercarriage while a Warrior-specific towbar mounting slightly reduces departure angle, from 19.8 degrees to 19.

The Warrior inherits the standard Navara’s 600mm wading depth, 100mm less than a HiLux and 200mm inferior to a Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max or Mazda BT-50.

Beefier dampers have been fitted all round, with a 17 per cent increase in tube diameter front and rear, and a 44 per cent increase in rod diameter up front and 26 per cent at the rear.

Spring rates and damper settings have also been comprehensively overhauled compared to standard for improved ride comfort and road manners while better handling off-road impacts and a more settled drive when laden or towing.

Front bump stops have also been upgraded to improve wheel control at the limits of articulation. The whole setup is also designed to maintain stability, given the raised centre of gravity, and helps arrest body-roll.

A 100kg gross vehicle mass upgrade has helped offset the payload decrease caused by the weight of the Warrior’s modifications. As a result, the manual can still haul 961kg and the automatic 952 kg, both 52kg down on the regular Pro-4X.

Finishing off the transformation are Warrior decals and headrest embroidery

Modifications aside, the Warrior inherits the donor car’s standard equipment list, including a 7.0-inch digital instrument panel and 8.0-inch touchscreen media system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, leather-accented seats with driver’s side power adjustment, red interior stitching and LED headlights.

Driver aids and active safety tech comprise forward-collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, driver-attention monitor, lane-departure warning with lane-keep intervention, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and surround-view cameras with off-road view.

Premcar engineering director Bernie Quinn described the new Navara flagship as “a true Warrior 2.0”.

“We set out to create the most capable Navara ever, and this new Warrior is exactly that.  It’s been engineered from the ground up to tackle the toughest terrain Australia can deliver, all without sacrificing comfort,” he said.

“Any new model should be a true evolution, and that’s exactly what we’ve achieved with this Warrior. It benefits from all of our learnings, our customer feedback, and from the improvements made to the Navara Pro-4X, creating a new dual-cab ute that is tailor-made for Australian conditions.”