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What's the difference?
Nissan Australia and Melbourne-based vehicle engineering company, Premcar, have very successfully combined forces to create finessed versions of the Navara and Patrol as part of their on-going Warrior program.
Premcar has proven it can be entrusted with crucial conversion work, engineering upgrades and the fitment of adventure-ready accessories to add real value to Nissan’s 4WDs.
That’s all well and good but we had a burning question: How will a Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior perform if the weather turns bad, the roads are flooded, tracks are washed out… and your two teenaged kids are in the back seat ready to punch the living daylights out of each other?
Well, with that in mind we embarked on a 3500km trip from Sydney to South-East Queensland and back to put this ute through a series of difficult challenges, some planned, some not.
We dodged around the wild edge of Tropical Cyclone Jasper, we fought our way through extreme electrical storms, and we drove in knee-deep river sand to avoid rapidly rising floodwaters.
So, how did this adventure-ready ute go?
Read on.
The VW Transporter has been in production for more than 70 years, as its bloodline can be traced back to the original rear-engine split-window ‘Kombi’ launched in 1950. So, during those seven decades, the German manufacturer has no doubt learned a thing or ten about building light commercial vans.
The current T-series of Transporters was launched in 1990, which was the first of six generations culminating in the current T6 range, that comprises not only work-focused vans but also people-mover, campervan and cab-chassis variants.
VW recently released a 6.1 version of vans and people-movers. That decimal point brings significant upgrades of standard safety equipment, headlined by City Emergency Brake (CEB), plus new variants. We recently put a Transporter 6.1 to work for a week and discovered a very capable mid-sized (2.5 to 3.5-tonne GVM) van with few flaws.
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 Transporter boasts a level of mechanical refinement, engine performance, ride quality, heavy load-carrying ability and general driver comfort that sets a high benchmark in this category. If not for its lack of an ANCAP rating and unacceptably high internal noise levels at highway speeds, it would be hard to fault.
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.
Our test vehicle’s 3400mm wheelbase is 400mm longer than the standard model, resulting in a corresponding increase in overall vehicle length to 5304mm and a 300mm increase in turning circle to 13.2 metres.
Its 1904mm width is an easy fit in most loading zones and the standard roof’s 1990mm height means it can access most underground and multi-storey carparks which typically cap vehicle heights under 2.2 metres. It comes standard with a kerbside cargo bay sliding door and single-lift tailgate.
The well-developed front wheel-drive chassis is simple and robust with MacPherson strut front suspension and semi-trailing arm coil-spring rear suspension, the latter equipped with stout rubber cones inside the spring coils to provide a second stage of support under heavy loads. Optional heavy-duty and rough road suspension packages are also available. Brakes are four-wheel discs.
You can always pick a van designed for hard work by the amount of black plastic in body areas prone to high wear and/or scrapes, chips and dents and the Transporter has most of those covered, including the front and rear bumpers, lower rear pillars, hubcaps, door handles and mirrors.
The cabin has a back-to-basics look and feel as highlighted by numerous plastic caps blanking dashboard slots where switches are fitted to higher-equipped models. However, it has most of what you need and none of what you don’t for this working role. Even so, the lack of fold-down inboard armrests and a driver’s left footrest are notable omissions and both would be welcome for long stints behind the wheel.
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!
With its 1865kg tare weight and 3000kg GVM, our test vehicle has a genuine one-tonne-plus payload rating of 1135kg and up to150kg of that can be carried on the roof. It’s also rated to tow up to 2500kg of braked trailer but that would require a sizeable 583kg reduction in payload to avoid exceeding the 4917kg GCM or Gross Combination Mass, which is how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time. Or you could keep the full payload and reduce the towing limit instead, from 2500kg to 1917kg, which may be a more useful compromise depending on work requirements.
The cargo bay, which offers 5.0 cubic metres of load volume, is 2975mm long, 1700mm wide and 1410mm high with 1244mm between the rear wheel housings. That means it can carry two 1165mm-square standard Aussie pallets, or up to three 1200 x 800mm Euro pallets, secured by a choice of eight load-anchorage points. However, the single-lift tailgate could make rear forklift access tricky, depending on forklift design and reach. The sliding door has a generous 1017mm opening for kerbside loading.
Although the load floor is bare and there’s no standard cargo protection for driver and passenger (optional rubber load floor mats and cargo barriers are available), the cargo bay walls and doors are lined to mid-height and the roof is also lined, with two roof lights providing ample illumination.
Cabin storage includes a large-bottle holder and huge storage bin in each front door, with a narrower second-tier storage shelf above which is ideal for holding smaller items like wallets, keys etc.
The dash provides another small-items cubby to the right of the steering wheel and the top dash-pad has small-bottle/cup holders at each end plus a steeply-angled open tray on the driver’s side which is ideal for storing clipboards, paperwork etc.
There’s no overhead sun-glasses holder but the passenger side of the dash offers two tiers of open storage and a large glovebox, plus another small-bottle/cup holder to the left of the gearshift console. An overhead storage shelf would be handy, given that there’s no centre console.
The Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior, based on the SL Navara, only comes in dual-cab guise with either a six-speed manual gearbox ($68,265, excluding on-road costs) or a seven-speed automatic transmission ($70,765, excluding on-road costs).
For your reference, the Pro-4X automatic is $61,405 (excluding on-road costs) and Pro-4X manual is $58,905 (excluding on-road costs).
Standard features on our test vehicle – a Pro-4X Warrior with a seven-speed auto – include an 8.0-inch multimedia touch-screen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as sat nav, dual-zone climate control, AEB, lane-keeping assist, around-view monitor and a rear diff-lock.
Standard paint is 'Black Star'. Premium paint choices are 'White Diamond' and 'Stealth Grey' (on our test vehicle) at a cost of $650. As always, check with your dealer on up-to-date pricing.
As part of the Premcar engineering upgrade more than $9000 worth of extras in the Warrior (over the standard Pro-4X) include a winch-compatible bull bar with integrated light bar, a Nissan Genuine Warrior-specific tow bar, a larger 3.0mm 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 travel.
But, beyond the engineering upgrades, what’s also interesting about the Pro-4X Warrior is what has had to happen behind the scenes, under Premcar’s direction, to get the vehicle to this stage.
Australia has some of the harshest driving conditions and road/track surfaces in the world. Chopped-up bitumen back roads, soft spirit-sapping beach and desert sand through to spine-rattling corrugations.
And those surfaces and conditions put immense stress and strain on vehicles, drivetrains and components.
Premcar designs, manufactures and validates its vehicle work here in Australia in the harshest of conditions those 4WDs may face day in, day out for the term of their vehicular ‘life’. It’s not testing, it’s punishment.
Australia’s aftermarket sector is great – thriving and always innovating – but unfortunately, as in any industry, there are ‘cowboys’ out there and some of the modifications done to vehicles may be, shall we say, less than ideal and even illegal or non-compliant in terms of engineering approval. The work done to your 4WD may even void your vehicle’s warranty.
But, with Premcar’s Nissan collab, any engineering work or accessory fitment on the Pro-4X Warrior is all covered by a Premcar warranty that matches Nissan’s five-year/unlimited km cover.
Our test vehicle is the long wheelbase variant with standard roof height, TDI340 turbo-diesel engine and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission for RRP $47,990. This compares to higher-selling mid-sized turbo-diesel rivals like the Ford Transit Custom LWB 340L with six-speed auto ($47,590), Hyundai iLoad with six-speed auto ($42,710) and segment-leading Toyota HiAce LWB with six-speed auto ($45,240).
It's basic and work-focused as you’d expect, from its 16-inch steel wheels and 205/65R 16C tyres with full-size spare to its cloth seats and tough rubber floor covering in the cabin. However, that doesn’t mean you miss out on some useful and welcome creature comforts, like a leather-covered steering wheel with height/reach adjustment and infotainment controls, driver’s seat adjustable lumbar support, halogen daytime running lights (DRL), rain-sensing wipers, heated tailgate window with washer/wiper, multi-function driver’s display, four-speaker infotainment system with 6.5-inch touchscreen and multiple connectivity including Apple CarPlay/Android Auto plus lots of standard safety tech.
There’s also heaps of factory options available to help tailor a Transporter to suit an owner’s specific requirements including different cargo bay door and window configurations (including twin rear barn-doors), front passenger bench seat with under-seat storage, higher-spec infotainment systems and lots more.
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.
This engine and transmission combination is the jewel in the Transporter crown with its energetic, flexible and efficient performance. The 2.0 litre, four-cylinder, direct-injection TDI340 turbo-diesel meets Euro 6 emissions using AdBlue and produces 110kW between 3250-3750rpm and 340Nm of torque across a 1500rpm-wide torque band between 1500-3000rpm.
The closely-spaced ratios in the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic are tailored to get the most out of this willing engine, with crisp and virtually seamless shifting. It also offers the choice of manual sequential-shifting, when hauling heavy loads in hilly terrain or simply for those wanting a more ‘sporting’ driving experience, but the seven-speeder usually does its best work when left to its own devices.
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.
We covered 283km (with auto start/stop disabled) which included about one third of that distance with a maximum payload. The dash display was claiming an average combined consumption of 8.1L/100km when we stopped to top-up the 80-litre tank. Our own figure calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings came in even lower at 7.7 and both undercut VW’s official combined figure of 8.3L/100km. Needless to say, that’s outstanding real-world economy, which based on our figures should deliver a huge driving range of 900-1000km from its sizeable 80-litre tank. Possibly even further with auto start/stop enabled.
The Navara line-up had the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in 2015, but that rating has now expired.
Safety gear includes seven airbags (dual front, front-side, curtain and driver’s knee SRS items), AEB, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, intelligent lane intervention, blind-spot warning, a surround-view monitor (with moving object detection), rear cross traffic alert and more.
The rear seat has three child-seat anchorage points and one ISOFIX point each on the left and right seats.
Off-road driver-assist tech includes off-road monitor, tyre pressure monitoring system, hill start assist, trailer sway control, hill descent control and an electronic locking rear differential.
This top-spec variant is missing adaptive cruise control and is not quite as comprehensively equipped with driver-assist tech as some of its rivals.
There's no ANCAP rating but the Transporter 6.1 adds to an already extensive list of active and passive safety with the following features now standard: front assist with city emergency braking (aka low-speed AEB), crosswind assist, side-assist including blind-spot monitoring/rear cross-traffic alert and multi-collision brake. There’s also driver and passenger front and side curtain airbags plus lots more.
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/unlimited km warranty with 12 months complimentary roadside assist. Scheduled servicing every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first. Capped-price servicing for first five scheduled services up to five years/75,000km of $3082.