In recent times the humble dual cab ute has gone from dominating the construction site car park to dominating the school run pick up line, as more Australians opt for one as their family car. Having a 4WD ute, like the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior, additionally opens up the opportunity for adventurous weekends away for you and the children.
The Nissan Navara PRO-4X becomes a Warrior thanks to modifications made by Premcar, a leading automotive re-engineering company who designed, manufactured and tested the Navara Warrior locally in facilities throughout Victoria, to ensure it can handle the unique demands of Australia’s harshest conditions. To obtain Warrior status the structural changes made to the Navara PRO-4X include a suspension lift, increased track width and higher ground clearance off-roading. Underbody Protection is provided by Navara branded red bash plate and second stage underbody protection made from 3mm mild steel.
What does this mean for the off-road performance of the Warrior? The Track front/rear is 1,600mm wide +30mm vs. PRO-4X & SL and unladen ground clearance is 260mm +40mm vs. PRO-4X & SL. The approach angle is up +4 degrees over the PRO-4X & SL to 36.0 degrees and while the departure angle remains 19.0 degrees the ramp breakover angle is 26.2 degrees, +3.3 degrees greater than the PRO-4X & SL. In addition, Hill Descent Control and Hill Start Assist adjusts your speed on steep grades, while the Off-Road Monitor gives a clear view of each wheel when navigating difficult terrain. The Navara combines the full suite of Nissan Intelligent Mobility (NIM) technology standard to the Navara PRO-4X with off-road innovation to create a 360° safety shield that detects, warns and intervenes against potential risks.
The Navara PRO-4X Warrior has an athletic look thanks to the fender flares, a body coloured hoopless bullbar with integrated LED light bar and unique Warrior decals. The new 17″ cast aluminium black alloy Warrior wheels are designed to fit its wider and larger Cooper Discoverer All Terrain Tyres – 275/70/R17 and a full-size spare alloy wheel is provided. The Warrior may look the part, but it still drives like a truck, with an unrefined jiggly ride that you experience in most utes. The only good thing I could take from the ride was that the Warrior did bounce through the many Sydney pot holes with ease and I was not concerned about getting a puncture with those chunky tyres.
For everyday driving the active safety features fitted on the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior include Intelligent Forward Collision Warning, Intelligent Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Intelligent Lane Intervention, Blind Spot Warning, Intelligent Blind Spot Intervention, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. The Warrior only comes with standard cruise control and the driver’s dash has an analogue speedo and taco with a digital display in the centre.
All current Navara variants have a 5-star ANCAP (2015) safety rating with seven airbags including dual frontal, side chest and head-protecting airbags (curtains) and driver knee airbag. For convenience the Warrior comes with 360o camera with moving object detection and rear parking sensors, plus auto wipers and auto lights with high beam assist.
Under the bonnet the Warrior has a 2.3 litre intercooled twin turbo-diesel engine, which produces 140kW of power @ 3,750rpm and 450Nm of torque @ 1,500-2,500. My warrior had the 7-speed automatic with manual mode, which allows you to easily switch between four driving modes including Sport, Off-road, Towing and Normal. The official combined fuel economy is 8.1L/100km and for my week I used 11.5L/100km.
The Warrior comes with the technology you would expect for a modern family car with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connected through the 8.0″ colour touchscreen. Other media sources include AM/FM radio, DAB+, USB and Bluetooth. Voice control is activated by pressing the button on the steering wheel with the masculine looking silhouette on it and can be used to change the audio selection and I also found that it worked well for making phone calls. But it did not work well for me when I was trying to enter a destination on the sat nav.
There are plenty of storage nooks in the Warrior with a large but shallow storage cubby in the front doors and a small storage cubby under the arm rest with one USB-C port, one USB port and one 12V outlet. There are two rigid drink holders in the centre console and at the front of the centre console a hard plastic storage cubby for your phone with another USB port, one AUX port and another 12V outlet.
The leather-accented PRO-4X seat trim includes PRO-4X Warrior logo headrest embroidery and both front seats have manual adjustment for recline and forward/back, with the driver’s seat getting manual height adjustment as well. On the door trims and dash there is a lot of hard plastic used, which may be good for cleaning, but is not all that pleasant to touch. The other interior feature I didn’t like was the dual zone climate control because it was hard to balance the temperature and centre air vents could not be closed off, which can be annoying sometimes.
The rear seats have ample head room for adults, but taller individuals will find that the leg room is a bit tight and I felt that my knees were sitting up high. The central seat folds down as an arm rest with two rigid cup holders in it and for drink bottles there are good-sized hard plastic storage cubbies in each of the rear doors. Rear passengers get two central air vents with manual direction control and on/off and below the vents there is one USB port for the children to argue over.
For your younger passengers there are two ISOFIX/three rear tether child seat restraint points, but the securing mounts are not metal, like in a most other vehicles. There is also no mat over the low transmission tunnel, so this carpet may be worn over time by childing climbing over it.
The tub of the Warrior is fitted with a hard plastic tub liner and has a black stainless steel double tube sports bar with sail panel. The tub is only 950mm wide at its narrowest point between the wheel arches and the bed length is 1,470mm, so it is not large enough to fit a standard 1,200mm pallet. The payload for the automatic transmission Warrior variant is 952kg and slightly more for the manual version, at 961kg. For securing your load there are two moveable tie down points on tracks located on each side of the bed and four fixed tie down points in the bed floor. One important omission though is the lack hard cover over the tub, which I think is a must for everyday family usability of a ute because it enables items, like the shopping or school bags, to be stored securely and out of the rain.
The Warrior has the same towing capacity of a standard Navara and comes with a Towbar fitted (towbar cross member, tongue, harness only), with the Tow ball, Safety Chain and D Shackle being an additional customer cost. The Navara can tow a trailer without brakes carrying 750kg, while a braked trailer can carry 3,500kg with the maximum towball download being 350kg.
Nissan Australia offers a 5 Year Warranty on the base vehicle and Premcar matches Nissan’s 5 Year Warranty on conversion. This also includes 5 years 24-Hour Roadside Assistance Program and you get Capped Price Servicing with 12 month/20,000km intervals that applies for up to 6 years/120,000kms (whichever comes first).
The Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior by Premcar takes your adventuring capabilities to the next level and you will feel like the Queen of the Road in this distinctive ute. Prices start at $73,510 driveaway, visit your preferred Nissan dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| Off-roading modifications | Hard to balance the temperature on climate control |
| The active safety features | No tub cover |
| The distinctive look | Voice control did not work for entering a destination in the sat nav |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.