Nissan Navara vs Hyundai Iload

What's the difference?

The Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior is a purpose-built adventure vehicle and it’s ready for action as is.

It drives nicely on-road – making those long necessary road-trip days on bitumen less of a chore – and is impressively capable off-road.

Buyers benefit when companies such as Premcar complete top-quality conversion work on vehicles with their design, development and testing undertaken in Australia and all of that work and the fitment of accessories are then covered by a comprehensive warranty.

There will always be 4WD enthusiasts who prefer to cherry-pick their own aftermarket accessories for their off-roader – because researching and hunting is a lot of fun. But there will also be just as much demand for the convenience of adventure-ready 4WDs that are capable of being driven straight out of a car dealership and into the Simpson Desert.

And the Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior is one of those vehicles.

The iLoad remains one of the most competent all-rounders in the business. This highlights the excellence of its original design, as it hasn't changed much since it launched here more than a decade ago.

However, it's starting to show its age a bit, particularly in terms of safety compared to HiAce and Transit Custom rivals which have aggressively raised the mid-size van benchmark to a five-star standard that rivals most sedans and SUVs.

We hope Hyundai will soon do the same with the iLoad, because apart from increasingly outdated safety it's pretty hard to fault. We're sure its army of loyal customers would agree.

This is the coolest and toughest Navara on the mainstream market.

The Warrior is 1895mm high, 1920mm wide, 5350mm long (with a 3150mm-long wheelbase) and has a listed kerb weight of 2298kg.

It is taller than a standard Navara, with 40mm more ground clearance than its Pro-4X stablemate and the wheel track has been extended by 30mm (from 1570mm to 1600mm) giving it an aggressive posture.

The bullbar, eye-catching red steel bash plates, wheel arch flares, chunky Cooper Discoverer All Terrain AT3s and black stainless-steel double tube sports bar with sail panel all add to that tough appearance.

The iLoad is 5150mm long, 1920mm wide and 1935mm high with a 3200mm wheelbase. That height means it can access underground and multi-storey carparks, in which it's also easy to manoeuvre with a relatively compact 11.22-metre turning circle.

No doubt a big factor in the rear-wheel drive iLoad's enduring appeal is its simplicity and ruggedness, combining MacPherson strut front suspension with rack and pinion steering, leaf-spring live rear axle and four-wheel disc brakes. A sliding door on each side of the cargo hold come standard. The large tailgate window, equipped with a wiper/washer and demister, provides the rear-view mirror with a relatively clear picture of what's behind even with the cargo barrier and clear plastic covering on it.

The cabin environment is bright and airy with a tasteful mix of light and dark grey surfaces. The light grey cloth seats with their colourful striped inserts look sharp but we reckon they would also show some grime pretty quickly in a working role.

Our only criticisms are that, like the new HiAce, there's no fold-down inboard armrest for the driver. We don't know why Australia's top two mid-size vans do not have this simple feature, because it's standard issue in numerous rivals and creates a more relaxed driving position.

Our other gripe is the centre passenger seat, which shares the outer passenger's base cushion but has a separate backrest which can be rotated forward through 90 degrees to reveal a handy storage tray and dual drink holder on the back of it.

However, passenger comfort and safety are compromised as the seat is too narrow for an adult, the backrest has no head restraint, there's very limited leg room and only a lap seat-belt. And to make matters worse, the belt's buckle digs firmly into your right butt cheek when it's clicked in. This ‘seat' should be for emergency use only and, if you must, only for short distances.

Inside the cabin, the new updated dash – with an easy-to-use 8.0-inch multimedia screen, which has wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – is the focal point.

The cabin is a well designed space, a neat combination of nice materials and good build quality. But even with leather accents, ‘Warrior’ branding and other nice touches, the cabin feels a bit old and a little smaller and squeezed for space inside than some rivals.

The driver's seat is eight-way power-adjustable, but the front passenger seat is four-way manually adjustable – and that’s disappointing in a circa-$71,000 vehicle.

There are plenty of storage spaces, cupholders, bottle holders and receptacles in which to place your everyday carry gear.

There’s a USB-A charge point in the console tray, and a USB-A and a USB-C in the centre console proper, as well as a 12V outlet in the console tray and one in the centre console.

The seats are quite comfortable and though some people might whinge about them being undersized I reckon they’re okay.

The rear seat, while comfortable enough, is really the realm of two adults only or three children. It’d be a bit squeezy for three adults.

There is a fold-down armrest with cupholders, as well as bottle holders in the doors, map pockets on the seat-backs, directional air vents but only one USB-A charging point on the back of the centre console.

Get ready for the teenage arguments over that!

The iLoad's 2062kg kerb weight and 3160kg GVM results in a genuine one tonne-plus payload rating of 1098kg and up to 125kg of that can be carried on roof racks. It's also rated to tow up to 1500kg of braked trailer and with a GCM rating of 4660kg (or how much you can legally carry and tow at the same time), that means you can do it at maximum GVM.

In other words, it can legally carry more than a tonne while towing 1.5 tonnes. Those numbers make the iLoad a very practical and versatile workhorse, well suited to a variety of trades and other working roles beyond the usual delivery chores.

The cargo hold, with its 2375mm length, 1620mm width and 1340mm height, offers a total load volume exceeding 4.4 cubic metres and is accessed through sliding doors on each side or via the single-lift tailgate. The load floor with its protective vinyl mat has a total of 10 load anchorage points.

There's no full-length roof lining like the new HiAce but the cargo hold walls and doors are lined to hip height and there's one internal light at the rear. The load floor length and 1272mm between the rear wheel housings means the iLoad can theoretically take two 1165mm-square Aussie pallets (without the cargo barrier installed).

However, loading these could be an issue if fitted with the single-lift tailgate, as it blocks forklift access when opened. And the 870mm side door opening (even less with the cargo barrier fitted) is not wide enough to allow a pallet to pass through it, so do your homework on the iLoad's suitability for your loading requirements.

The cabin has storage bins and bottle holders in each door, plus a shallow tray in the centre dash-pad, two different-sized gloveboxes, a cubby near the gearshift for small items like chewy etc and a pop-out dual cup/bottle holder in the centre console. The centre seat backrest also folds forward to reveal a large open storage tray and two small bottle/cup holders.

Our iLoad test vehicle, with single-lift tailgate, 2.5 litre turbo-diesel engine and optional five-speed automatic transmission has a list price of $41,790, which compares favourably with Toyota HiAce ($44,140) and Ford Transit Custom ($43,790) equivalents.

The recent upgrades brought not only the new grille design but also automatic dusk-sensing headlights, tilt-and-reach adjustable steering wheel and a new design instrument cluster with trip computer. There's also an updated infotainment system (first featured in Kona) featuring a 7.0-inch touchscreen and multiple connectivity including Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Other useful features are a rear-view camera (tailgate models only), power windows with one-touch auto down, height adjustable driver's seat and cruise control (auto variants only). The iLoad rolls on 16-inch steel wheels with 215/70R16C tyres and a full-size spare.

It's also available with a six-speed manual transmission, plus there's a choice of three-seat single cab or six-seat crew cab. Both cabin variants offer a choice of single-lift tailgate or forklift-friendly twin barn-doors with 180-degree opening, plus there's numerous genuine accessories available including the steel-mesh cargo barrier fitted to our test vehicle.

The Pro-4X has the Navara line-up’s 2.3-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo-diesel engine, which produces 140kW at 3750rpm and 450Nm at 1500-2500rpm.

That's okay because that engine and auto work really well together, yielding more of a subdued, quietly effective partnership than an exciting one.

This ute has a part-time four-wheel drive system with high- and low-range 4WD, and a rear diff lock.

The iLoad's 2.5 litre four-cylinder DOHC 16-valve turbo-diesel is a refined and proven performer with Euro 5-emissions compliance (so no AdBlue needed), common rail direct injection (CRDi) and variable vane turbocharging with impressive flexibility. It produces a class competitive 125kW at 3600rpm and peak torque of 441Nm between 2000-2250rpm, but there's ample throttle response and pulling power on tap either side of those figures.

The five-speed torque converter automatic is an equally robust and proven transmission, although most rivals have updated to closer ratio six-speed units. Even so, the iLoad delivers crisp and smooth shifts in auto mode, with the option of sequential manual shifting if required. The transmission's gearing and 2.92:1 final drive ratio provide a good compromise between stop-start city delivery work and economical highway driving.

Fuel consumption is listed as 8.1L/100km on a combined cycle. 

Fuel consumption on this test was 9.9L/100km. That’s fine considering we included a lot of high- and low-range 4WDing during this test’s hours-long off-road section.

The Warrior has an 80-litre fuel tank, so, going by those fuel-consumption figures I’d expect an effective touring range of about 778km, but remember that figure includes a built-in 30km 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.

That included vehicle-recovery equipment, a portable air compressor, tool bag, puncture-repair kit, a tyre deflator as well as food and water.

Hyundai's official combined figure of 8.8L/100km seemed realistic at the beginning of our road test which included a variety of roads and payloads, from near empty to three-quarters of a tonne. So we were impressed to see near-identical numbers after crunching trip meter and fuel bowser readings. Needless to say, that's great economy for a one-tonne van and no doubt another reason for its enduring popularity. Based on our figures, you could expect a realistic driving range of around 870km from its 75-litre tank.

Only a four-star ANCAP rating achieved back in 2011, plus no AEB, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist etc which are the new benchmarks in this category. There's front and side (thorax) airbags for the driver and outer passenger seats, but none for the centre seat with its lousy lap-belt. The iLoad's safety menu is overdue for an upgrade.

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 km factor is in its favour.

Service intervals are set for 12 months or 20,000km. Capped price servicing is available for up to six years, with prices ranging from $574 for the first service through to $916 for the sixth service. The annual average is $703.50. Not particularly cheap.

Five years/160,000km warranty. Scheduled servicing every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first. Lifetime Service Plan includes capped-price servicing for first five scheduled services ranging from $356 to $506.