Nissan’s tough Navara Warrior goes back to basics

Want a go-anywhere off-roading thrills but can’t afford a Ford Ranger Raptor? This machine has you covered, but it comes with a catch.

Nissan has unveiled a back-to-basics Navara SL Warrior.

Nissan has stripped back its range-topping Navara Warrior, discounting the tough truck for folks who want off-road thrills without luxury frills.

The Warrior is the result of a collaboration between Nissan and Australian engineering outfit Premcar, which transforms the regular Navara into a Ford Ranger Raptor rival at its Melbourne factory.

Nissan Navara SL Warrior

Beefed up suspension, wider bodywork, all-terrain tyres and underbody armour are part of the deal. The result is a Navara that not only looks tough, but backs up its appearance with genuine ability away from tarred roads.

Nissan Navara SL Warrior

Based on Nissan’s Navara Pro-4X – a high-grade version roughly equivalent to Ford’s Ranger Wildtrak – the Warrior is loaded with features such as heated leather seats.

A new model delivers the Warrior’s must-have upgrades while eliminating nice-to-have luxuries, as well as some safety gear.

The Nissan Navara SL Warrior misses out on modern luxuries.

Based on the lower-spec Navara SL, the new Navara SL Warrior makes do with cloth seats, plain halogen headlights and driver controls finished in moulded plastic as opposed to leather.

Tech such as sat nav, a digital radio and 360-degree camera is missing in action compared with the Pro-4X Warrior, as is safety gear such as blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and lane departure warning systems.

Halogen headlamps look dated alongside LED driving lights.

It has a reversing camera, but misses out on rear parking sensors.

The upshot is that it undercuts the range-topping Warrior by $10,000.

Priced from $58,000 plus on-road costs with a six-speed manual transmission or $60,500 with a seven-speed automatic, the Navara SL Warrior represents an affordable – if less comfortable – way to go off-roading with Nissan.