ON THE ROAD
IN ITS pre-Series II iteration the Navara didn’t feel all that
good suspension-wise, even when unladen. The then-called
NP300 didn’t ride any better at the rear than competitor
leaf-sprung utes, nor was the front-to-rear suspension match
particularly well sorted. Among other things the front-end felt
noticeably underdamped and, on some undulating country
roads, would pitch uncomfortably up and down as if the whole
car was hinged around the rear axle. Owners of the D22
Navara that predated the D40 will know the feeling well.
The good news is that the changes to the Series II have
addressed the unladen ride and handling. The front-to-rear
suspension match is far better and the Navara is noticeably
more composed and tidy than it was before. Being smaller and
lighter than many competitors, notably the Ranger, Colorado,
BT-50 and D-Max, it feels quite sporty as far as dual-cab four-
wheel drives go.
Loading 800kg into the tray shines a different light on
the changes. When loaded, the rear end drops a noticeable
105mm, just as it did before the Series II changes. When
originally tested (pre-Series II) the rear end dropped 100mm,
with the slight difference perhaps due to the fact we couldn’t
move the load as far forward as we wanted due to interference
with the sports bar – or the difference could be due to the
respective age and previous use of the two test vehicles in
question. Either way, this 105mm drop is in sharp contrast
to the typical 60mm droop of most of the competitor utes
(Ranger, Hilux, Colorado, BT-50 and D-Max) in the original
multi-ute test. It also indicates that if the rear springs are new,
there’s no significant change to the spring rate.
On the road with the 800kg in the tray, the Navara still
feels decidedly nose-up, which does nothing for steering feel
or confidence. On larger bumps it also feels to bottom out,
as it did before. However, the rear end doesn’t feel to squirm
around as much as it did prior to the changes, but this is hard
to verify without a side-by-side test. Either way, the Navara
still feels well short of the stability and neutral attitude of
most competitor utes when carrying 800kg in the tray.
WEIGHTY ISSUE
IF YOU want a ute to carry anything near
maximum payload, you can do better than the
Navara. While we didn’t test the Series II with a 3500kg
trailer-load, we don’t expect it to perform notably better
than before, given the strong correlation between the way all
of the utes performed at either maximum payload or maximum
tow capacity.
Away from hauling or towing heavy loads the Navara offers spritely
performance thanks to its punchy 2.3-litre bi-turbo, as well as being
slightly smaller and lighter than most competitors. Its seven-speed
auto helps, too, given six speeds is the default in this class, as does
the short final-drive gearing. The only powertrain negative is
that the Renault-sourced engine is on the noisy side when
worked hard.
The Navara’s unladen ride and handling is well-sorted and
would no doubt cope with moderate loads and tow
weights without much fuss. Sharp pricing is
also a Navara positive.Unladen, the changes to
the Navara suspension
were positive ... but not
so with a load in the tub.388 http://www.4X4australia.com.auPAYLOAD TEST MY17 NISSAN NAVARA II