As far as tough looking utes go, the new Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior is certainly up there with the best.
It’s not often you find yourself in a ute that turns heads, but this Navara certainly did a lot of that during our week-long test in Brisbane.
You just need to take one look at the front of this ‘Warrior’ and it’s pretty obvious what the target market is. It looks aggressive as hell, thanks largely to the steel front bumper, light bar, and the very red Navara-engraved underbody 3mm thick bash plate.
The idea of the PRO-4X Warrior is pretty simple: why let aftermarket accessory brands steal the limelight?
What’s the point of selling a brand new Nissan Navara that goes straight from the dealer to the local off-road shop to get thousands of dollars of accessories fitted when Nissan – with the help of Australian engineering firm Premcar – can do it, and actually back it with a warranty?
The PRO-4X Warrior is the successor to the Navara N-Trek Warrior and, while it costs a little more, it also comes with a variety of improvements and looks more modern and angrier. Given this market is flooded with other options – the Toyota HiLux Rugged X, Ford Ranger FX4 Max, Mazda BT-50 Thunder and the Volkswagen Amarok W580S just to name a few – the Nissan will need to do more than look tough to stack up.
We have already reviewed this ute as an off-roader, which you can find here. For this review we will focus on what it’s like to live with as a daily on-road.
How much does the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior cost?
The Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior starts at $67,490 before on-road costs, making it a hefty $9360 more expensive than the Navara PRO-4X on which it’s based, and $3700 more expensive than its predecessor, the N-Trek Warrior.
It’s pretty much priced to compete with the likes of the Toyota HiLux Rugged X at $70,750 before on-roads, the Ford Ranger FX4 Max at $66,190 before on-roads, the Mazda BT-50 Thunder at $68,990 before on-roads, and to a lesser extent the more powerful Volkswagen Amarok W580S at $79,990 before on-roads. It’s a tough crowd.
2022 Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior pricing:
- 2022 Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior manual: $67,490
- 2022 Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior auto: $69,990
All prices exclude on-road costs.
What do you get?
You get the sort of car that makes people move over when it shows up in their mirrors. There’s just something about that front design that makes it look a lot like a monster truck, ready to drive over anything that gets in its way.
You can see what you get in the new Warrior over the whole range at our Nissan Navara pricing and specs article, but over its direct cheaper variant, the PRO-4X, the following features help justify its nearly $10,000 extra sticker price:
- A winch-compatible Nissan Genuine steel hoop-less bullbar
- Warrior-specific towbar
- Front horizontal light bar
- Front branded red bash plate, 3mm under-body plating
- 275/70 R17 Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres, full-sized spare
- Side flares
- New springs (40mm lift) and dampers
- Headrest embroidery and exterior decals
Other features are carried over from the PRO-4X and include:
Outside
- LED headlights and tail lights
- Auto high-beam
- LED daytime running lights
- Rear parking sensors
- Electric sliding rear window
- Black side steps and roof rails
- Auto-folding side mirrors with heating
- Proximity key access
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Darkened rear privacy glass
Inside
- Leather-accented seats
- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
- Dual-zone climate control with rear vents
- Push-button start
- 8.0-inch touchscreen
- Satellite-navigation
- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (wired)
- Six speaker audio
- Digital radio
- 360-degree camera system
- 3 x USB-A points and 1 x USB-C point
- 7.0-inch driver display with digital speedo
Is the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior safe?
The current Nissan Navara has a five-star safety rating based on ANCAP testing conducted in 2015.
That rating was based on a frontal offset score of 14.01 out of 16, a side impact score of 16 out of 16, and pedestrian and whiplash protection scores of Marginal and Good, respectively. All models come standard with seven airbags.
The Nissan Navara received a safety boost as part of its 2021 facelift. Standard on the Navara PRO-4X and carried over to the Warrior are the following:
- Seven airbags
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Lane departure warning
- Lane-keep assist (via braking)
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Surround-view camera
- Off-road monitor camera
What is the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior like on the inside?
If you were paying more than $70,000 for a normal passenger car you would expect a lot more from its interior than you get from the PRO-4X Warrior. You can find yourself in a very nice European car for similar coin and experience a very different world… but that’s not really the point of the Warrior.
There’s no doubt the majority of the additional cost associated with the Warrior goes towards the exterior and mechanical components that give it a huge edge for off-roading compared to the regular model.
The interior is where Nissan has done its best to keep the costs down. The Warrior looks like someone has spent a lot of money on the outside, but it looks pretty ordinary on the inside.
We really like the red Nissan badging, but found ourselves hoping for a more modern interior. With that said, it’s still a very functional interior with decent technology backed by Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Then again the 8.0-inch screen feels too small inside the cabin, and is surrounded by buttons that really don’t need to be there.
Our pet peeve with the Navara, like pretty much all Nissans, is the reversing camera resolution. You have a pretty decent screen that’s bright and shows fantastic clarity, but put the car in reverse and the display goes back to a 320p YouTube stream from 2005. What the?
This has been the case with Nissan vehicles for some time. The reversing camera is very functional and does the job, but can we please spend that extra 50 cents for a better camera unit? If the $17,000 MG 3 can do it, so can the Navara.
If you don’t want to use Apple CarPlay, the built-in navigation system is good enough to get you there. The Bluetooth audio quality is pretty reasonable for both the speakers and the microphone for the other person.
You also get three USB-A points and a single USB-C (future proofing the car immensely), in addition to 12V outlets in the fascia and the centre console.
We found the centre console to be pretty reasonable. Although it’s very similar to the rest of the range (and the models that came before it) it’s a solid build with nothing feeling flimsy or like it won’t last the test of time.
It’s worth noting though, the door cards where you rest your hand as you drive are super hard plastics (as is the dash), and we would love to have seen Premcar put some sort of leather on top – or anything – to make it feel like a $70,000 car.
Gone from the pre-facelift Navara are cup holders in front of the air vents and storage atop the dashboard (we’re not sure why they removed these handy features). You also don’t get electric seat adjustment – despite this being a top-specification model and it being available on the lower and cheaper ST-X variant.
The Navara could also do with more storage. Making do with just the one glovebox and a shallow open area below the ventilation controls that’s weirdly smaller than most modern iPhones is a little annoying. However, you can definitely get away with putting your things in the door bins and the console.
The front seats are ideal for short trips but in need of additional lower back support for long trips. Maybe this author needs to spend less time at McDonalds and more time at the gym, but they felt a little firm.
The rear seats are roomy and comfortable enough for two average adults (even with the front occupied) with decent head- and legroom, but expect to feel a little squished if you measure north of 190cm.
You can also flip the rear seats up to reveal two small storage cubbies below that are ideal for hiding valuables.
As for the tray, the plastic lining feels really durable and properly stuck to the car. Add in the four D-rings and Utili-Track movable tie-down anchors plus the sliding back window, and it’s a pretty neat setup.
What’s under the bonnet?
We were a little disappointed to find out the Warrior still makes do with the same powertrain as the regular Navara. It would be great to have some additional power and torque – even for bragging rights over your mate’s cheaper Navara – but Nissan has stuck with its twin-turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder diesel engine.
It’s a pretty solid engine – outputs are 140kW at 3750rpm and 450Nm between 1500 and 2500rpm – and the two turbochargers operate at different engine speeds, meaning torque is always at hand. Transmissions to choose from are a six-speed manual or seven-speed auto.
The driveline is part-time 4×4 with low-range and a locking rear differential. The braked-trailer towing capacity remains 3500kg.
Nissan says the Navara uses a claimed 8.1 litres per 100km on the combined cycle test and has an 80L tank, giving it 987km of range in the best-case scenario.
How does the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior drive?
Would you be mad enough to daily a ute that looks like it’s made to escape a zombie apocalypse? Probably yes.
Despite 40mm more clearance thanks to new springs and shocks on top of its large all-terrain tyres, reduced front spring rates, and larger dampers with modified rebound and compression settings, the Navara is made to go through the drive through with ease.
The driving position is really nice with great outward visibility (but keep in mind the steering wheel offers no reach adjustment), and the Warrior itself is easy to manoeuvre and get around in. The steering weight is ideal and it never feels disconnected from the road despite its giant tyres.
Does it lean into corners thanks to its off-road focused suspension? Absolutely. Does it take away from the on-road driving experience? Not really.
While it may look like a monster truck and climb four-wheel drive tracks with ease, we took it for a 300km round trip from Brisbane to Warwick and it felt at home on the highway and on suburban and country roads. It’s an excellent all-rounder. Coles one day, the middle of nowhere the next.
It’s exceptionally quiet inside, almost eerily so. Although the diesel engine occasionally makes its presence felt, the noise, vibration, and harshness suppression are close to best-in-class with almost no noise being heard inside the cabin. You can barely hear a car go past.
The ride can be jittery if you’re coming out of a normal passenger car, but is very much as you’d expect from most modern utes.
The powertrain itself really begs for more torque. It can definitely do the job but an extra 50Nm or so would really transform how it feels when it comes to overtaking or merging on to the highway.
Our review vehicle was equipped with the seven-speed automatic transmission and it felt very well tuned to the diesel engine (which may explain why Nissan left it alone for the Warrior, rather than try and give it more oomph at a cost of unsettling the powertrain as a whole).
We did find the cruise control a little annoying. Unlike most cruise control systems whereby you can go from 60-100km/h by just holding the up arrow to get the car to shift speed settings, the Navara Warrior seems to want to do it with the car’s speed.
So if you keep going from 60, 80 and 100km/h and back again, you will need to get the car to that speed yourself then set the cruise control. Otherwise you will be using the cruise control buttons pretty much like the accelerator pedal, holding it and holding it as the Navara catches up to your desired speed before it will set. It was also disappointing to see a lack of radar cruise control.
Overall, we were pretty happy to drive the PRO-4X Warrior around town and would not hesitate to recommend it for a daily if you can get some bolstering for the seats.
How much does the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior cost to run?
The Navara PRO-4X Warrior has a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty like the wider Nissan range.
Maintenance is required every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first.
- 20,000 km/12 months: $502
- 40,000 km/24 months: $539
- 60,000 km/36 months: $703
- 80,000 km/48 months: $560
- 100,000 km/60 months: $543
- 120,000 km/72 months: $776
CarExpert’s Take on the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior
The Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior is a great looking car that will definitely get plenty of attention wherever it goes.
Is it better than its competitors? Hard to say without a back-to-back test but it certainly stacks up in terms of style, off-road and on-road capability and features.
Where it can be improved is the reversing camera system, front seats, and perhaps a little more power from the engine wouldn’t go astray, plus the features it misses from lower Navara models.
If you have always wanted a Navara and you absolutely just want the best of the best, it’s hard to look past what is without doubt one of the most desirable choices on the market right now.
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