Words: Andrew Sluys
Published 25 March 2026
Late last year, we flew to Adelaide for the international unveiling of the all-new Nissan Navara. During that event, we were able to sample the new ute in an off-road park. As this took place ahead of the big reveal, secrecy was a top priority and no on-road driving was permitted.
More recently, we attended the launch of this new Navara in Canberra. And considering the freshed-faced utes have landed in dealerships across New Zealand, the cat’s out of the bag, and we were able to give it a go on public roads.
Since that first event, New Zealand pricing has also been released for the local range, with the entry-level Navara SL starting at $54,690. The ST can be had from $57,690, and the ST-X starts at $62,690. The Navara PRO-4X represents the flagship model, and starts at $67,690. A new Navara PRO-4X Warrior is set to be released within the year, which will likely replace the standard PRO-4X as the most expensive model in the range.
Simple Choices
For this new Navara, Nissan decided to keep things simple for its customers. Gone are the days of being able to order a combination of a manual single cab flatdeck, instead the options are far more lifestyle-friendly.
All variants of the Navara are offered as a double-cab with a wellside tray. The same goes for the 2.4-litre turbo diesel engine which is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. All variants also benefit from a four-wheel drive system.
The diesel engine produces 147kW and 470Nm, which is more than enough grunt for a work-friendly ute.
The only real option on the table for buyers is the Premcar-tuned suspension on the entry-level Navara SL. This model is offered with the Alliance suspension system as standard, and the fancy Australian-tuned system is extra.
The All-Important Ride
As you’ve probably heard, this Navara shares a lot with the Mitsubishi Triton. Nissan won’t tell you that, instead they’ll talk about how it is based on the ‘Alliance Platform’. Star Wars fans will be disappointed to hear this is not a reference to the rebellion — they’re talking about the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
So with a majority of shared parts with its Mitubishi-badged cousin, Nissan had to look elsewhere for a unique selling point. This is where Nissan Australia’s long-time collaborator Premcar comes into the picture.
Working with the brand previously on the Navara Warrior, Premcar has stepped into the spotlight this time around, creating three suspension tunes for the standard Navara. According to Premcar’s Managing Director Bernie Quinn, over 18,000km was covered over Australia’s toughest terrain for the final sign-off road trip. Quinn also mentioned the utes were sent to New Zealand for further testing and tuning for local conditions.
As it’s a locally developed system, these Navara utes don’t arrive in the country fitted with this componentry. Instead, it is fitted through Nissan’s dealer network, with the separate parts shipped alongside the vehicles. This is an interesting way to do it, considering how the previous Navara Warriors were modified within Premcar’s Victorian-based facility.
How does this translate to the real-world ride? It’s certainly not the silver bullet for all ute-based ride quality woes.
As we only tested it off-road during our last Navara outing, I was pleasantly surprised with how it soaked up the rough surfaces and corrugations. I have come to the conclusion this suspension system feels more at home on road than off road since driving it on asphalt.
This isn’t to say the ride quality offered on the road is bad, but it has retained a fussy feeling at speed over mild-to-questionable asphalt surfaces. I say “at speed”, as I think this is where the biggest difference lies with the off-road stuff. It will soak up rough corrugations on a gravel road at 80km/h, and won’t feel like it’s shaking bolts loose. But in the same vein, averagely re-surfaced roads in Canberra’s metropolitan seemed to upset it.
The bottom line here is I think it is better than a lot of utes in the cheaper segment of the market, but don’t go thinking it’s some sort of Ranger Raptor rival as the Australian headlines would lead you to believe. It is enough to set it apart from the Triton, and with the current $3,000 discount offered on the ST-X and PRO-4X models, it’s a great deal.
Work-Friendly Assistance
Aside from the suspension tune, the only real other information we could glean from the Navara on this trip was around the ADAS. As you’d hope, Nissan Australia has prioritised a distraction-free driving experience over non-stop bing bongs.
There is a driver attention monitor, but it’s one of the most relaxed of its kind I have come across. There’s also a lane-keep assistance system that will vibrate the steering wheel instead of blasting you with an annoying tone. The adaptive cruise control works well, and the speed detection system was a great help while navigating the Canberra CBD.
These advanced safety systems have become a deal maker or breaker for a lot of new vehicles, and it is nice to see Nissan listening to its customer base, and creating something that doesn’t punish normal driving.
While we were able to spend a bit of time with this new Navara on Australian roads, keep an eye out for our full New Zealand review on the Navara, which will be arriving soon.
