2026 Ford ranger Wildtrak vs Nissan Navara Pro-4x Review

The latest Nissan Navara lands in a market that is now more varied than ever before. Are its shared bones good enough to mix it with the segment’s best seller? 

There was a time when Nissan’s Navara ruled the ute roost. We’re going back a couple of decades and generations, but the D40 was a good ute in its day. The competition wasn’t nearly as good, or varied, back then. It is now, with a heap of new options, even fangled electric ones, and lots of cheap metal from China. It’s a tough market, and one where collabs certainly help stay viable. So Alliance partners Mitsubishi and Nissan have twinned their utes, the Navara now a re-badged Triton albeit with a subtly different look and unique suspension tune.

A slimmed down line up sees four Navara variants offered, all 4×4 double cab autos, as that’s the clear market preference now. It kicks at $54,690 for the SL (steelies, urethane wheel, vinyl floor), with the ST getting a more civil fit out for $57,690. The higher grade models are the ST-X at $62,690 and the Pro-4X is $67,690.

Read more – Ford Ranger 2.0 – first drive of 125kW 2.0-litre Ranger 

They are mechanically the same as the Triton with a 2.4-litre bi-turbo kicking out 150kW and 470Nm, running via a six-speed auto. It’s a trad ute with a ladder chassis, a solid rear end and switchable four wheel drive. The ST-X and Pro-4X grades are a little different in that they can run in a 4×4 on-demand setting, with low range and a reardiff lock standard. Navara has a 3500kg tow rating and all models have payload of over 1000kg. 

On price, Navara is not competing with Chinese utes like the Cannon and the JAC T9. And it’s more expensive than its Mitsi cousin, which in 4×4 double cab variants, runs from $52k to $60k. Navara’s also more expensive than the new Hilux, which we are yet to even drive. The fact Nissan dealers have unregistered stock advertised at $3-$5k under list is telling. So how does the Navara measure up against the best selling (in the ute class) Ranger? We had a Pro-4X on test, and had wanted to get an XLT to measure it against, the bi-turbo asking similar money. But with Ford soon moving to the MY2026 Ranger with the new, less powerful 2.0, we couldn’t get one. The best we could do was Wildtrak, with a V6. While it’s not a like for like comparison, it gives you an idea of how the Navara stacks up. 

Sized the same

Navara measures up to the Ranger, being 5.3m long, almost 1.9m wide with 228mm of ground clearance. The working end of them is similar too. The Navara’s deck is around 1500mm long, though is quite narrow between the wheel arches at 1135mm. The Ranger is a smidge shorter overall but 100mm wider at the arches.

The Pro-4X lacks a helper spring or damped action to the tailgate, it’s missing a tray step and there is no power outlet either, not even a 12v socket. There is no tray protector either, and there are only four fixed tie down points. A towbar, sports bar, tubliner and tailgate assist are optional accessories. Rangers comes with a tub liner and power outlet, the handy bumper step, and a tow hitch standard. And the Wildtrak gets a retractable cover and relocatable tie down points. That tonneau cover design robs tray space however, and isn’t quite as water tight as promised.

There’s not much between them inside when it comes to hauling humans. The Ranger has a reasonable seat squab and a few degrees of recline to the seat back. You get a three pin plug, USB sockets, Isofix points and air vents. You can pull the seat base up as well for in-cabin storage. In the Navara, the seat back is more upright but the squab is comfy. There’s a smidge more cabin width and a poofteenth more leg room too, the trans hump not so invasive. Here you also get USB ports and rear ventilation controls with air vents in the roof.

Nice upfront? 

The Nissan Navara seats are better shaped with more comfort and support. And leather clad, heated and powered adjusted in the Pro-4X. The Nissan has a conventional layout you might label old fashioned. It’s not retro cool, but strangely familiar. Not in the sense it’s a Triton, but rather it keeps things simple, like they did back in the day. The analogue dials flank a small yet informative driver display and the nine-inch screen on the dash still gives you a useful image from the surround view camera, though the sat nav map is small. There’s no voice control, but there’s a charge pad, wireless connectivity for phone apps (Android Auto requires you to plug in) and a swag of buttons to help get things done in one stab. A mechanical handbrake is a relic but we’re sure it has a fan club on the web somewhere. While there’s nothing wrong with the construction, the cabin has a cost sensitive aura with its abundant plastics and thread bear carpets. The warranty coverage is impressive at five years/unlimited km, or ten years 300,000km if you keep servicing it with Nissan. And fixed price service plans are available for up to five years. 

The Ranger difference is the full configurable digital driver display and its big touchscreen. The system is a quick and efficient operator, logically laid out. It allows for a generous view of the map and surround view camera image. There are even a few buttons for the A/C. Despite it being more than a few years old, the cabin design is still holding up, with practicality sorted via useful storage and cup holders and a well sited charge pad. In Wildtrak spec, the cabin gets treated to some leather and a few more soft touch surfaces, trying to raise the refinement levels, but there’s still plenty of plastic about.

There are enough active safety features in Navara to see it awarded a five star rating, the spec sheet stating it was tested in 2024, so before it launched. It is of course the Triton rating, carried over. Most are well tuned, apart from the driver monitor which goes off too much (especially if you wear sunglasses) while the lane keeping is tolerable, the active cruise useful. Ranger has a better lane centring aspect to its cruise system, though it also keeps issuing alerts about keeping your hands on the wheel, even though they are.  

Drive okay? 

In a ride and handling sense, the Nissan Navara goes well. It rides decently, with not too much bumping and rocking from the rear; it’s fairly settled for a one tonne ute over most roads and speeds. 

It steers positively too, holding its line nicely without much in the way of bump steer from the rear to upset the flow, so you’re not having to make steering adjustments mid-corner. It’s well planted on the road, and we were impressed with the grip from the all-terrain rubber. The steering has a decent vibe about it, not overly light but it requires a few turns when parking.

The engine is a solid toiler. It makes good torque right off idle, and there’s very little lag when you boot it. It revs okay too, the spread of pull impressive while power peaks around 3500rpm. It’s also not too rowdy or rattly. The six-speed auto gets a pass mark as well. It’s good at keeping the engine around the 1500-2000rpm mark, where the in-gear pull is solid, while it doesn’t dawdle when a downshift is required. Six gears are enough; you’ll only find the odd gap when you’re pressing on. There are drive modes, but they are ute drive modes for when you’re in the gravel and snow. Along with the 2H and 4L settings, there’s 4H being a torque-on-demand setting and also a 4HL, locking the centre diff for a proper 50-50 locked up torque split. As for fuel use, it’s stated at 7.7, while an average of 10L/100km is more likely. 

As to the Ranger, while the steering isn’t buzzing with feel, it does turn with more confidence while the rear is a titch more compliant over varied surfaces. But there’s not a huge gap, we were surprised how close they were in most dynamic senses. On gravel, both maintain their positive progress, especially over the nasty corrugations. Ford’s 3.0-litre V6 and ten-speed make for a powerful and effortless combo. But also a more expensive one, the Wildtrak V6 being nearly $20k more than the Pro-4X. It’s not really worth it, unless you’re doing real towing. However, the revised Ranger line up sees the V6 offered in many more variants (all except XT) the cheapest being the XLT at $71,990. While the interior lacks for a few niceties, we could see people being lured away from the top Navara by the pull of 600 newton metres. For Ranger is the better ute in most aspects. Nissan will likely have to tweak Navara’s pricing to get better market traction.  

This review first appeared in the June 2026 issue of NZ Autocar magazine