Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior vs Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain 2022 4x4 ute comparison review

Our test vehicle, the 22MY X-Terrain 4x4 auto, is priced at $65,900 (MSRP - plus on-road costs).

It has a 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, a six-speed automatic transmission, and a part-time four-wheel drive system.

Standard features include a 9.0-inch multimedia display with sat-nav, Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay, an eight-speaker sound system, remote engine start, smart entry and start as well as roof rails, an under-rail tub liner, a hard roller cover on the tray, sports bar, front and rear underbody spoilers, and 18-inch dark grey metallic alloy wheels with 265/60R18 Bridgestone 684II HT tyres.

Most notable updates to the variant with the 22MY refresh include the 50kg GCM increase (increasing GCM from 5950kg to 6000kg); a factory-fitted tow bar receiver as standard; Lane Support switch on and off; and styling tweaks inside are leather-accented upholstery with red stitching and black interior touches; as well as auto-dimming mirror and heated front seats.

The standard range of paint finishes include Basalt Black mica, Cobalt Blue mica, Mercury Silver metallic, and Mineral White. Premium exterior paint colours include Marble White Pearl, as well as Magnetic Red Mica, Obsidian Grey mica and Volcanic Amber metallic. 

The Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior auto has a listed price of $69,990 (MSRP - plus on-road costs). 

It has a 2.3-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo-diesel engine and either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed automatic transmission. We tested the auto.

The Warrior is available only in dual-cab pick-up style.

Standard features include 8.0-inch multimedia touch-screen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and sat-nav, dual-zone climate control, AEB, lane-keeping assist, around-view monitor, and a rear diff-lock. 

There have been no mechanical or performance changes.

As part of the Premcar engineering upgrade the $9360 worth of extras in the Warrior over and above what’s in the Pro-4X, include a winch-compatible bull bar with built-in light bar, a Warrior tow bar, a larger 3mm steel bash-plate, Cooper Discoverer All Terrain AT3 275/70R17 tyres (and a full-sized alloy spare), a 100kg GVM upgrade (now 3250kg), 260mm ground clearance (up 40mm, with springs and tyres making up 15mm and 25mm respectively), 30mm-wider tracks (to 1600mm), revised suspension with new spring rates and dampers (aimed at improving ride and handling), and a larger and taller jounce bumper for less impact harshness at full suspension stretch.

The Pro-4X Warrior has a Nissan Genuine towbar as standard.

Standard paint is black star; premium paint choices are white diamond and stealth grey at a cost of $650.

The X-Terrain is about $4000 cheaper than the Warrior and it’s packed with features, including a comprehensive suite of driver-assist tech, but it lacks the Warrior’s extensive off-road-focussed engineering and accessories. However, despite those crucial factors, the X-Terrain just edges out the Warrior to win this round.

And if you prefer to get your information about standard equipment inclusions in table form, here you go:

Official fuel consumption for the X-Terrain is 8.0L/100km on a combined cycle.

On this test I recorded actual fuel consumption of 11.0L/100km. Remember: this test included a lot of low-range 4WDing.

The D-Max has a 76-litre fuel tank, so, going by those fuel-fuel-consumption figures, I’d expect an effective touring in range of about 690km on this sort of trip with a lot of low-range 4WDing, but remember that it’s a good idea to take about 30km-50km* off any calculated touring-range figure to give it a built-in safe-distance buffer. (*Opt for the higher or lower figure depending on how risk-averse you are.)

The Warrior’s fuel consumption is listed as 8.1L/100km on a combined cycle. 

Fuel consumption on this test was 11.2L/100km. As noted above, this test included a lot of hard low-range 4WDing.

The Warrior has an 80-litre fuel tank, so, going by those fuel-consumption figures, I’d expect an effective touring in range of about 715km on this kind of tough trip, but remember that figure includes a built-in 50km safe-distance buffer.

That's a fair travelling distance for a contemporary dual-cab ute, but keep in mind that your fuel-consumption will be higher than that because you'll be carrying a lot more gear than we had onboard during our test, which included vehicle-recovery equipment, a portable air compressor, tool bag, puncture-repair kit, tyre deflator, food and water.

The Warrior has the bigger fuel tank so expect to get more touring range out of it, according to these fuel-consumption figures, but I reckon it’s close enough in fuel-consumption terms to be a draw.
 

Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain

The X-Terrain has a nice way of simply trucking along (Image: Glen Sullivan).

Along the dirt tracks and gravel roads that weave their way to our 4WD proving and testing ground in southern NSW, the X-Terrain has a nice way of simply trucking along, with the engine and transmission working so well together that it has an almost lazy quality about it, making it a relaxing drive.

The transmission is never found scrambling up and down for the sweet spot; it’s always right where it needs to be.

The issue of the suspension set-up on utes is always a bit of an elephant in the room because it's never going to be as well sorted as a wagon or a strictly road-going vehicle. Having said that, the D-Max’s suspension does a good job of keeping everything settled and controlled on-road and even when the road gets rougher. 

No mechanical or off-road driver-assist tech changes have been made to this updated D-Max, which is fine because, as is, it’s a rock-solid 4WD in stock-standard form. 

The X-Terrain has a claimed 240mm of ground clearance, a wading depth of 800mm and approach, departure and ramp-over angles of 30.5 degrees, 19.0 degrees, and 23.8 degrees, respectively. That's all pretty standard for an unmodified dual-cab ute of this kind.

The engine and transmission work really well on-road and are really good off-road when it’s time for low-speed, low-range 4WDing as well. 

There’s a lot to like about this engine: it never feels stressed, you can keep revs nice and low – and there’s never any need to rev the hell out of it because it ticks along nicely. 

There is plenty of torque accessible across a wide rev range, and that is crucial when you're 4WDing.

Low-range gearing (2.482:1) is sound, throttle response is sound – with a pedal that’s not too sensitive to bouncing and bumping when you’re rocking-and-rolling through 4WD territory – and traction control is effective. While I have praised the tweaked off-road traction control in recent reviews, I've since re-evaluated my opinion of it somewhat and, though it is effective, the Isuzu ute’s traction control doesn't quite feel as dialled-in as the systems in some of its rivals. It is good, it is effective, but it just lacks that tiny bit of quiet finesse that some of the other systems exhibit.

Adding to the D-Max’s off-road weapons systems, the rear diff lock can be engaged at speeds up to 8km/h and only when you're in four-wheel drive low-range (4L). It will disengage when you hit 30km/h or more. Note: when you engage the diff lock, off-road traction control is disengaged.

It’s a great addition and one that’ll help to keep you moving along off-road on traction-compromised terrain and ultimately give you more peace of mind on the tracks.

Hill descent control is impressive, holding our test vehicle to a controlled 3-4km/h while driving down some steep set-pieces. 

Hill descent control is impressive (Image: Glen Sullivan).

And while the X-Terrain is generally an impressive off-roader in stock-standard guise, there are a few trade offs – and one of those is something that I’ve noted before in a lot of contemporary utes and the same goes for the D-Max. As mentioned, it has a listed 240mm ground clearance, but it feels vulnerable to scrubbing dirt with its undercarriage and side steps. This is the way of most modern utes though. The new D-Max does have a longer wheelbase and shorter body than before and the fact it has pronounced side steps doesn’t help either, but this low-riding sensation can be negated with slower, more considered driving, but should be resolved with an aftermarket suspension / lift if you plan to use your D-Max as an off-road tourer for destinations beyond the beaten tracks.

The other trade-off is its showroom tyres. Vehicle manufacturers put road-biased rubber on their lifestyle vehicles because those tyres yield a quiet, comfortable ride on-road, but they’re not suited to 4WDing so, to make your X-Terrain even more effective off-road, buy a set of decent all-terrain tyres to replace the road rubber.

If you’re planning to use your X-Terrain as a platform for your off-road adventures, you’ll be interested in its load-carrying capacities, so here they are: payload is listed as 935kg, unbraked towing capacity is 750kg and braked towing capacity is 3500kg.

The X-Terrain has a roller-top cover over its tray (Image: Glen Sullivan).

The X-Terrain has a roller-top cover over its tray which affords whatever is stowed in the back some protection from the weather and sticky-fingered types, but we’ve experienced minor issues with its operation on previous tests. It looks stylish but on a recent long-term test, the roller top’s rails became gummed up with bush debris (leaves, dirt and grit) on several bush trips and opening/closing it became increasingly difficult.

The tray is 1570mm long (at floor height), 1530mm wide (1122mm wide between wheel arches) and the load-space is 490mm deep.

Some of the news of substance with this range refresh is the increase in the X-Terrain’s gross combined mass by 50 kilograms, from 5950kg to 6000kg. That may not seem like a huge amount of weight but every little bit helps when it comes to packing for off-road trips. In practical terms, that 50kg increase means you are given a little bit more leeway with how much you can take away with you, onboard and towing (GCM).
 

Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior

Premcar’s work on the Pro-4X Warrior has focussed on the wheels and tyres and the suspension (Image: Glen Sullivan).

Premcar’s work on the Pro-4X Warrior has focussed on the wheels and tyres and the suspension – new springs and shocks, adding a 40mm total suspension lift – is Warrior-specific and aimed at yielding a more controlled, more compliant ride and more comfortable ride. The benefit of that package is really only obvious when you hit dirt tracks or gravel roads that are minefields of deep ruts and severe muddy potholes. 

The Warrior’s suspension package really does take the edge off a lot of harsher lumps and bumps. It’s not in the realm of something like a Ford Ranger Raptor, but it’s doing okay.

The Warrior has a nice, settled feel to it on the dirt. In fact, it rides very smoothly – for a ute – through pretty ordinary terrain.

The Warrior is wider and taller than the Pro-4X, so as well as having more ground clearance and better, more off-road-friendly angles – approach (36 degrees), departure (19 degrees), and ramp-over (26.2 degrees) – the vehicle has a more natural, planted stance on tracks, giving a little bit more control through trickier routes. 

Steering retains a nice lightness to it, so for a reasonably big ute, it gets around quite nicely. Put it this way, it never feels too cumbersome to steer along bush tracks. 

Low-range gearing (2.717:1) is good and there's plenty of torque across a nice spread of revs, so you can tap into that pretty much whenever you need to when you're low-speed, low-range, four-wheel driving.

Don’t forget the rear diff lock, always a crucial part of any 4WD’s track-tackling toolkit.

As well, hill descent control is effective, holding you to a sustained low speed when you are going down a hill. 

Hill descent control is effective, holding you to a sustained low speed when you are going down a hill (Image: Glen Sullivan).

Beyond any of its other mechanical or driver-assist tech attributes, what really sets the Warrior apart is its pure physicality that makes it suited to four-wheel driving: raised suspension, better ground clearance (260mm), and a wider wheel track, among other things, give it a stability, give it the ability to get up and over hard-core rocks steps and anything else you could likely point it at.

It has a listed wading depth of 600mm and, while we didn’t go through any creek crossings, we did go through several mud holes which would have been tickling that measure in terms of depth.

Showroom-standard 4WDs often leave the car yard with road-friendly rubber, to give customers a comfortable and reasonably quiet ride, but those are far from ideal if you’re planning to use your vehicle as an off-road tourer.

The Warrior is shod with Cooper Discoverer AT3s, a light truck tyre, very decent all-terrain rubber and pretty well matched to any situation you can drive yourself into. These tyres offer plenty of bite, aren’t too noisy on the blacktop and don't seem to affect ride and handling in any pronounced negative way. 

Niggles? The steering is not reach-adjustable, which means I couldn’t quite dial-in my driving position; and the 2.3-litre engine becomes a bit noisy when pushed hard.

In terms of packability for touring, it’s okay.

Payload is listed as 952kg. The tub itself is a decent enough load space. It measures 1509mm long, 1560mm wide, 1134mm (between the wheel arches), and 519mm deep.

It has a durable tub-liner, the Utili-track load-restraint system (basically a rail mounted to each tub side wall with two moveable tie-down points in each rail), plus four fixed tie-down points lower down on the tub’s inside wall.

As with the D-Max, towing capacity is 750kg (unbraked) and 3500kg (braked). This Navara has a 100kg gross vehicle mass (GVM) upgrade to 3250kg and a GCM (gross combined mass) of 5910kg.

The X-Terrain hasn’t lost a step off-road and continues to impress, but it’s hampered in the rough stuff by its underbody vulnerability and tyres – but those are easily addressed issues. The Warrior, however, is built for this stuff as is and eats it up.
 

The D-Max has a six-year/150,000km warranty and seven years of roadside assistance. That warranty is okay in terms of years, but unlimited kms would be a welcome sweetener.

The D-Max has a six-year/150,000km warranty and seven years of roadside assistance (Image: Glen Sullivan).

Service intervals are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs soonest. 

Capped Price Servicing covers the first seven scheduled services. The cost per service is $409 at 15,000km, $429 at 30,000km, $629 at 45,000km, $529 at 60,000km, $319 at 75,000km, $769 at 90,000km, and $429 at 105,000km – for a total cost of $3513, according to Isuzu.

Servicing costs are getting steep and, in an increasingly competitive dual-cab ute market, potential buyers scrutinise those. 

The Navara range is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, and capped price servicing. That’s adequate in terms of years, not the best, but the unlimited kms factor is in its favour.

The Navara range is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, and capped price servicing (Image: Glen Sullivan).

The bonus here though is that Nissan’s five-year warranty covers all of the Premcar conversion work and the accessories.

Service intervals are set for 12 months or 20,000km. Capped price servicing is available for up to six years. Prices range from $502 to $783 per service.

Rivals, such as the Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton, offer servicing costs at a fraction of the Nissan’s, which comparatively seems a bit pricey in the dual-cab ute ownership stakes.