Selwyn Times: October 14, 2020

Wednesday October 14 2020 Selwyn Times 41
Navara that stands out in a crowd
NISSAN NAVARA N-TREK WARRIOR: Built for a serious
off-road challenge.
SALES OF THE traditional fourwheel-drive
double cab ute in
New Zealand are showing no sign
of slowing.
There are a multitude of
pick-ups in today’s market, and
competition between the major
manufacturers is fierce.
Most manufacturers offer dressup
kits and accessories that will
give your ute a point of difference.
There are also many choices in
terms of limited edition models
that complement the mainstream
range.
One of those is Nissan’s Navara
N-Trek Warrior, it’s full of kit and
adornments that make it stand
out in the crowd; it is bold, brash
and downright aggressive and it
also looks as if it is here to stay
such is the detail that has gone
into the model.
Alongside the elements which
make the N-Trek Warrior stand
out, it is also plush with a heap of
kit that also takes it up a level in
terms of refinement. Major features
include satellite navigation,
orange-stitched and two-tone
leather and cloth trim with heated
front seats, keyless entry and
ignition, rear and overhead view
camera system, touch screen display,
Apple CarPlay and Android
Auto, cruise control and all the
safety gear to earn it a five-star
Australasian New Car Assessment
Program safety rating.
Cabin comfort is high and
space is plentiful. The deck area
doesn’t compromise greatly the
rear seating area, and the rake
on those uprights is sufficient so
that travel in the rear over long
distances isn’t compromised.
It’s one thing to dress up a
model, but if those accessories are
going to hinder the working role
or its ability off-the-seal then I
can’t really see the point.
However, Nissan have gone one
step further with the N-Trek Warrior,
it’s four-wheel-drive ability is
enhanced through massive tyres,
the high profile Cooper rubber
(215/70 x 17in) affords substantial
off-road ability. Such are the size
of the tyres (32in in diameter)
that ground clearance has been
raised substantially up to 268mm.
Nissan had to do a lot of development
work to make these tyres
work on the vehicle, it required a
suspension lift and some alterations
so that the rubber wouldn’t
grab any of the mechanicals when
suspension travel was at its greatest.
The shock absorbers are also a
special specification for the Warrior,
providing that compliance
needed for comfort.
The result is a formidable offroad
ute in terms of looks and
four-wheel-drive ability. Now,
I’m not saying I evaluated the N-
Trek Warrior to an extreme level
off-road, I learnt many years ago
not to venture off the seal seriously
when alone, so I just poked
around a dry riverbed selecting
low ratio only to conquer a couple
of low shingle banks.
I can report, though, there
was little chance of challenging
the ride height or approach and
departure angles, the N-Trek
Warrior has substantial off-road
ability.
The engine is pretty much the
same unit which has been around
for a year or so now. It is a twinturbocharged,
twin-camshaft
four-cylinder unit which displaces
2298cc and has healthy power
outputs of 140kW and 450Nm.
Nissan also claims a seven-litre
per 100km combined cycle rating.
The trip computer was reading
around 10l/100km when I took
the test car back to the dealership.
There’s been little doubt that
utes are becoming more car-like,
not so much in their in-cabin
features but in the way they drive.
The N-Trek Warrior can be
pushed into a corner with little
fear. What Nissan’s engineers have
done with the coil spring-located
rear axle is genius. It is load bearing
to cater for that heavy item,
yet as a vehicle it has control and
• Price – Nissan Navara
N-Trek Warrior, $76,990
• Dimensions – Length,
5385mm; width, 1920mm;
height, 1895mm
• Configuration – Fourcylinder,
four-wheel-drive,
2298cc, 140kW, 450Nm,
seven-speed automatic.
• Performance – 0-100km/h,
9sec
• Fuel usage – 7l/100km
balance not generally experienced
before in a vehicle of this type.
The Navara N-Trek Warrior
lands here at $76,990, it tops out
the 10-model range that, incidentally,
starts at $31,990.
I had the evaluation ute for a
week and quickly came to enjoy
its stature. Sure, at almost 5.4m
it is a big vehicle and that needs
to be taken into account in close
confines, those standard metered
car parks in our city are a bit of a
challenge. It’s also a bit of stepup
into the cabin proper, old age
making that just a little bit harder
than it needed to be.
Nevertheless, there are many
advantages in owning a ute, I
used the Warrior to shift some
of my daughter’s belongings as
she transferred from one flat to
another.
With all of its enhancements
the N-Trek Warrior will most
certainly interest recreational
enthusiasts and those buyers who
want a ute for commercial use.