2021 Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior revealed
A big payload increase and new winch compatibility headline changes to Nissan's flagship 4x4 ute.
Nissan has officially revealed its range-topping 2021 Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior, which is due to land in Australian showrooms within a few months.
Changes for the new Navara Warrior are headlined by a GVM upgrade and new winch-compatible bullbar, but many other tweaks and adjustments have been made by Premcar and Nissan under the skin.
Pricing for the 2021 Navara Pro-4X Warrior has yet to be revealed, although CarAdvice expects it to be close to the $66,290 (before on-road costs) of the previous N-Trek Warrior.
Although the basic recipe of modifications and upgrades is the same as the previous N-Trek Warrior, only the towbar, wheels and tyres are direct carryover parts.
Other elements like springs, shock absorbers and bump stops have been retuned and validated by Australian engineering firm Premcar, to suit the new Warrior’s higher payload.
And like the previous generation Warrior, the Pro-4X Warrior will come to life on Premcar's production line in Epping, Victoria.
It starts with a Thai-built Navara Pro-4X at one end of the production line, and finishes as a Pro-4X Warrior at the other end.
Most notably from the outside, the Pro-4X Warrior gains Nissan’s new-design hoopless bullbar, which helps accommodate advanced safety technology like autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning and driver attention assist.
Other improvements like a 360-degree camera, selectable driving modes and interior upgrades carry over from the new 2021 Navara Pro-4X grade.
The Navara's new design bullbar also incorporates a new 3mm steel underbody protection system, which is painted red and emblazoned with the model name around steering components.
The bullbar includes a light bar, and has also been finished in a specially-formulated powder-coated finish to improve durability against chipping.
For the first time, the Warrior variant of the Navara will be compatible with a winch. Keen four-wheel drivers will be able to order a Navara from the showroom floor with an electric winch fitted.
Payload – another important element for a four-wheel-drive ute – has been improved for the new Warrior. On top of the increased payload capacity for the broader Navara range, the Warrior gets an additional 100 kilograms of gross vehicle mass (GVM), to 3250kg.
Even though the bullbar, wheels, tyres and underbody protection increase the kerb weight of the Warrior, Nissan and Premcar have managed to keep a healthy payload of 952 kilograms for the seven-speed automatic model, or 961kg with the six-speed manual gearbox.
This compares to a payload of 1004kg for an automatic Navara Pro-4X.
It marks a big improvement over the previous N-Trek Warrior (724kg), and a key advantage over the likes of the Ford Ranger Raptor (748kg payload) – though the Navara Warrior will compare and compete more closely with the likes of Ford’s Ranger FX4 Max and its 981kg payload.
It's worth pointing out that the Ranger FX4 Max doesn't have a payload-sapping bullbar fitted.
Alloy wheels (17-inch) and 32.2-inch Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres carry over from the previous generation Warrior, as does the corresponding 30mm increase in track width.
The wheels sit underneath a new-design fender flare that is unique to the Warrior grade, and integrates with the bullbar with special components joining.
A matching spare wheel (with the same alloy wheel design and Cooper tyre) sits in the same underslung position as the regular Navara, accommodated by a redesigned towbar and new mounting guide.
Springs and dampers have been retuned to suit the payload of the Pro-4X Warrior, and are now painted red. The bump stops have also been redesigned to further improve off-road handling and control.
The 2021 Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior has a standard wading depth of 600mm, though wading ability can be improved by installing a snorkel through either Nissan dealerships or the aftermarket.
The Navara Pro-4X Warrior was developed by a staff of 35 Premcar engineers in conjunction with Nissan Australia over a period of 12 months.
Nissan also indicated that another Warrior project – likely the Patrol Warrior – will arrive in the coming months.
Nissan and Premcar are planning to build 1500 Navara Warriors per year, with the ability to ramp up production according to demand.
Compared to the previous generation Navara Warrior, Australian content has grown from around 60 per cent to approximately 80 per cent for Warrior-specific components.
Nissan Australia told CarAdvice it has logged 400 registrations of interest via its website and social media, and a waiting list for the new Navara Warrior is a possibility.
MORE: Navara news and reviews
MORE: Everything Nissan
0
