Trade-A-Boat 496 2017

L

et’s get the controversial

stuffoutoftheway:

Nissan’s move to coil

springsundertherearof

the 12th generation Navara

is unsettling – ha, ha! Whether you

call them cart or leaf springs, good

oldhigh-tensilespringsteelrunning

parallel to the chassis were what we

knew and trusted in ‘proper’ load-

capable utes. Nissan bucked the trend

withitsmovetomoreride-friendlycoil

springs for the NP300 ST-X, though

justtobeclearIshouldnote,notall

new Navaras use coils – if you often

carry heavy loads, cart springs are

available in some models.

However, load capacity with coil

springs remains respectable, at 930kg

for automatics and 933kg for manual

double-cab 4X4 models; that’s on par

with the competition.

THE DRIVE

Our NP300 ST-X runs a new-to-

market 2.3L common-rail diesel

engine pumping out 140kW and

450Nm. The new design’s staged twin-

turbocharging improves power at low

revs with one turbo, before a larger

secondary turbo kicks in at higher

engine speeds, keeping the grunt

coming in the top end.

This concept was seen in high-

performance sports cars years ago

but it’s finding favour again thanks to

the more refined control of fuel and

air delivery available with modern

computers. It improves performance

without the sudden surge in power

that traditional single-turbo systems

dumped in the mid-range. Instead, you

STORY TIM VAN DUYL

PHOTOS ELLEN DEWAR;

NATHAN JACOBS

64 tradeaboat.com.au

tow test

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BOATS

Navara NP-300 ST-X