Nissan will once again partner with Australian engineering firm Premcar to create a Warrior flagship for the 2021 Navara, as the tougher Patrol Warrior four-wheel drive inches closer to reality.
The 2021 Nissan Navara Warrior will be based on the new Navara Pro-4X – and work on the locally-developed flagship is “already underway” at Nissan and Premcar.
Work on the tougher Nissan Patrol Warrior four-wheel drive is also “getting further and further down the track”.
“It’s very positive. I don’t want to put timing on anything, but I think we’ll have more news soon,” Stephen Lester, Nissan Australia managing director, told CarExpert.
Navara Pro-4X 
Navara N-Trek Warrior
Launch timing for the 2021 Navara Pro-4X Warrior hasn’t been confirmed. But the second-generation collaboration between Premcar and Nissan Australia could push the envelope even further than the current Warrior, which was revealed last year.
Stephen Lester told CarExpert the first-generation Warrior gave “confirmation” of demand for a tougher, more off-road capable Navara.
With a tougher design for 2021, he said the second-generation Warrior can build on the foundation laid by its predecessor.
“The impulses of the [Pro-4X] design already are going to give the Warrior that much better, I think, of a presence in the market,” he said.
“When we couple those with the things we’ve already gotten done, there are certainly some new opportunities there.”
Launch timing for the Warrior hasn’t been confirmed, but the wider Navara range will touch down in Australia early in 2021.
The current Navara Warrior is based on the N-Trek model, and features bigger wheels and wider wheel arches, a unique front bumper, new bash plates, and a unique off-road focused suspension setup with new springs and dampers.
Ground clearance on the Warrior is up 40mm on the standard car to 268mm, and an improved approach angle thanks to the redesigned front end.
Power in the outgoing Warrior came from an unmodified version of the 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel four-cylinder engine offered in the N-Trek, making 140kW of power and 450Nm of torque.
The 2021 Navara Pro-4X 
The 2021 Navara Pro-4X
The 2021 Nissan Navara will feature forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, trailer-sway control, rear cross-traffic alert, and blind-spot monitoring when it arrives in Australia early next year.
Even base models get AEB and forward collision warning, along with driver-attention monitoring. The full suite is reserved for higher-spec models.
The technology upgrade brings the Navara into line with the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50, and Mitsubishi Triton in offering a suite of active safety features.
Under the skin, the 2021 Navara features a strengthened rear axle, minor rear suspension tweaks, and a new steering rack compared to its predecessor.
The tub on pickup-bodied models has been made taller, and there’s a new counterweighted tailgate that can be lifted with a single finger.
