2024 Nissan Navara review: Full range detailed

The Nissan Navara is a mid-size ute that offers good performance and fuel efficiency and, with the most recent update, improved payload capacity and towing stability.

Launched in 2014, this NP300 generation Nissan ute replaced two generations of Navara that ended up running concurrently, the previous D40 model that lived on for a decade and the even older D22 workhorse.

The NP300 Navara received a facelift in early 2021, while Melbourne-based Premcar has fiddled with the range-topping Pro-4X (previously N-Trek), and now also the entry-level SL dual cab 4x4, to create the factory-backed Warrior range.

JUMP AHEAD

• Pricing
• What body styles are available for the Nissan Navara?
• What features are standard in every Nissan Navara?
• What key features do I get if I spend more?
• How safe is the Nissan Navara?
• How comfortable and practical is the Nissan Navara?
• How big is the tray/tub?
• I like driving – will I enjoy this car?
• Which Nissan Navara engine uses the least fuel?
• What is the Nissan Navara’s towing capacity?
• How long is the warranty and what are the Nissan Navara’s servicing costs?
• Which version of the Nissan Navara does Wheels recommend?
• What are the Nissan Navara’s key rivals?

Pricing

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What body styles are available for the Nissan Navara?

The Navara is classed as a light commercial vehicle and drives either its rear wheels only (4x2 models) or all four wheels as a dual-range, part-time (4x4) drivetrain.

The cab-chassis models allow buyers to fit the tray or rear body of their choice, including designs tailor-made for specific applications.

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Single-cab models arrive only in this form, but King cab and dual cab variants are offered as a cab chassis or with a ute pick-up body, depending on the model.

While single-cab models only have room for two passengers, King cab versions add two small extra rear ‘jump seats’ accessed through shorter, rear-hinged back doors and can seat a total of four occupants. Dual-cab models have larger, more conventional rear doors and can seat up to five people.

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What features are standard in every Nissan Navara?

The features listed below are standard in the entry-level SL dual cab model and will appear in higher-grade models, unless replaced by more premium equivalent features.

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What key features do I get if I spend more?

Even the most popular Navara body variant, the dual cab, has a complex array of equipment and spec levels available.

The entry-level dual cab is the SL pick-up 4x2 manual, with the 2.3L 120kW/403Nm four-cylinder single turbo-diesel engine and six-speed manual gearbox. The same specification in 4x4 brings increased power and torque from a twin-turbo 140kW/450Nm version of the 2.3L diesel engine.

ST specification offers only the 140kW and 450Nm 2.3L twin turbo-diesel engine with a six-speed auto only in 4x2 and with a six-speed manual (with six-speed auto option) in 4x4.

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There is a big specification and equipment level jump with the Nissan Navara ST dual cab over the base SL dual cab, as you’ll see in the equipment list below.

As well as the bigger-output twin-turbo 2.3L engine becoming standard, headline equipment upgrades include extra active safety technology and, in 4x4 models, you also get an off-road monitor in ST grade and above, as well as hill descent control for all 4x4 model grades.

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The ST also brings:

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Paying more again for a Navara ST-X gets you those features plus:

Next up on price is the locally fettled Navara SL Warrior, which builds on the SL dual cab 4x4 features plus:

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Picking up again from ST-X trim is the next highest-spec Navara, the Pro-4X, which builds on the ST-X trim level with:

Top of the line in the Navara range is the off-road-oriented Pro-4X Warrior, which builds on Pro-4X with:

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How safe is the Nissan Navara?

As part of ANCAP protocol revisions, the Navara’s five-star ANCAP rating from 2015 has expired, and therefore ANCAP considers the Navara from January 2023 as ‘unrated’.

The Navara is not without expected safety features, although unlike some competitors you don’t get the full safety suite from the base model. In the entry-level Navara SL, you get autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning (FCW), brake assist and driver attention alert, at the least.

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How comfortable and practical is the Nissan Navara?

The front seats are a bit soft at first but seem supportive enough for a road trip.

However, the steering wheel seems too small and feels like it’s out of a hatchback. All the switchgear is pretty old but perfectly functional and the cabin is well-made and well laid-out.

The centre armrest has a usefully sized bin housing USB-A and USB-C connectors. You also get two cup holders in the front and bottle holders in the doors.

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Rear accommodation is hardly palatial and entry is tricky with the narrow doors, but it’s a dual-cab ute so that's to be expected.

Leg and knee room is adequate for up to six-footers and there’s a bonus of very dark tinting (from ST and up) plus that trademark electrically operated opening section in the rear window.

You even get rear air vents – way too many proper passenger cars still don’t get those. There is also a single USB charger.

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How big is the tray/tub?

In the tray area, there’s a drop-in tub liner and sliding upper tie-down points from ST-X (King cab) or Pro-4X (dual cab) grade up and four looped tie-down points.

Dual-cab pick-ups have a very usable tray with 1509mm floor length, 1560mm floor width 1134mm of space between the wheel arches and 470mm tray height.

Meanwhile, the King cab measures the same in the tray except for its 1851mm floor length. Pick-up bodies also feature a torsion-bar-style tailgate assist that makes opening or closing the tailgate a one-handed affair.

The single cab chassis has multiple tray options, so Nissan doesn’t list tray dimensions there.

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I like driving – will I enjoy this car?

Up to a point, yes. The Nissan Navara is about middle of the ute field for dynamics, performance, and refinement.

The Nissan Navara is chiefly let down by boomy interior refinement and a lacklustre steering calibration that manages to be too heavy and sluggish at slower speeds and too vague and light at highway speeds.

However, the Navara is redeemed by a strong engine that will spin all the way to 5500rpm without any noticeable tapering of power at the top end. This imbues the dual cab with a muscular feel and nature that is matched by the Nissan's roadholding capabilities on loose surfaces.

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Which Nissan Navara engine uses the least fuel?

The 2.3-litre single turbo-diesel engine with manual transmission in the 4x2 dual cab uses the least fuel, at 7.2 litres/100km on the official combined-cycle test (city and country combined).

Although the single-turbo model is the efficiency leader, it is only available in one model grade (SL) in two body types (single cab-chassis and dual-cab pick-up) in one drivetrain – 4x2 with manual transmission.

Most buyers are choosing the more powerful twin-turbo 2.3-litre diesel, which has a still-decent official combined-cycle figure of 7.5L/100km (manual 4x4) or 8.1L/100km (automatic 4x4).

All Navara dual cabs have an 80-litre fuel tank.

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What is the Nissan Navara’s towing capacity?

The Nissan Navara has a maximum braked towing capacity of 3500kg (350kg maximum tow ball mass) across all models.

Payload capacity ranges from 1004kg on the Pro-4X automatic to 1146kg on the SL dual cab 4x2.

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How long is the warranty and what are the Nissan Navara’s servicing costs?

All Nissan Navaras receive a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, with complimentary roadside assist for the same five-year period.

Servicing intervals are set at 12 months or 20,000km – whichever comes first. Prices for automatic variants start at a fraction over $500 for the first service and max out at $782 on the sixth. Servicing costs for manual models are marginally higher.

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Which version of the Nissan Navara does Wheels recommend?

The sweet spot in the Nissan Navara range is the ST trim level, ideally in dual cab 4x4 automatic form.

At this trim level, it is as good as it gets for safety and infotainment features, as none of the higher-spec models get much if anything better in these terms.

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There is a certain appeal in the SL Warrior grade, as it blends standard off-road gear for a not-too-excessive price, while for about $70K (plus on-road costs), a top-shelf Pro-4X Warrior auto is getting steep.

It ticks most of the right boxes for off-road gear but draws into stark relief the lack of active safety and infotainment sophistication in this price bracket. The all-new 2025 model can’t come soon enough.

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What are the Nissan Navara’s key rivals?

• Ford Ranger
• GWM Ute Cannon X
• Isuzu D-Max
• LDV T60
• Mazda BT-50
• Mitsubishi Triton
• SsangYong Musso
• Toyota HiLux
• Volkswagen Amarok

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