Melbourne - Nissan Australia has pulled the covers off the latest member of its Warrior family of hardcore off-road Navaras, developed in conjunction with Premcar.
The Navara SL Warrior is a more affordable alternative to the high-spec Pro4X Warrior that was revealed last year.
It is rumoured that Nissan South Africa is interested in bringing a Warrior derivative to local shores, although nothing is confirmed at this point.
So what sets the Navara Warrior apart?
The Navara SL Warrior is purpose-built for hardcore off-roading. For starters it has raised suspension, which increases the ground clearance from 220mm to 260mm, while comprehensive chassis upgrades come in the form of new springs, dampers and jounce bumpers.
The Warrior rolls on Cooper Discoverer All Terrain AT3 tyres with increased tread depth, and an off-road focused tread pattern.
The adventure-ready bakkie (or Ute as they like to call them call it Down Under) also comes with a winch-compatible hooped bull bar with integrated LED light bar, Navara branded under body bash plate, fender flares and a bed liner.
Power comes from the familiar 2.3-litre twin-turbodiesel engine, which is no longer offered in South Africa. It produces 140kW and 450Nm, and can be paired with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearbox.
Developed in partnership with Australian engineering firm Premcar in its state-of-the-art facility in Victoria, the Navara SL Warrior has benefitted from an exhaustive testing, tuning and localisation program.
“A hallmark of the Warrior program is to broaden the Navara’s capability, rather than simply shift it to off-road applications. Which is why every change or addition made to the SL Warrior has been tuned and tested in all driving scenarios to ensure capability doesn’t come at the expense of on-road comfort,” Nissan said.
“The Nissan Navara SL Warrior by Premcar is built for the tough stuff, and its owners will be afforded complete peace of mind thanks to a comprehensive five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty covering all Nissan and Premcar parts.”
Let’s hope we see a Warrior in South Africa soon.