Cut-price Nissan Navara Warrior SL coming soon – UPDATE: Teased again

UPDATE, 14 July 2022: Nissan Australia has teased the 2023 Nissan Navara SL Warrior again, ahead of a full reveal – and first showroom arrivals – expected within the coming weeks.

As first reported by Drive in May, the new Navara Warrior variant is based on the entry-level SL grade, rather than Nissan's flagship Pro-4X – and as such swaps LED headlights for halogens, among other feature changes (detailed at the bottom of this story).

A hooped bull bar extends from the Warrior-specific lower front bumper, the front bash plate is black rather than red, and there's a unique graphic on the side of the tray.

Further details of the 2023 Nissan Navara SL Warrior are due in the coming weeks. In the meantime, read our earlier story published in May below.

10 May 2022: EXCLUSIVE

A cut-price Nissan Navara Warrior ute is just around the corner.

A Nissan Navara Warrior SL was unveiled to Nissan dealers during a gala event in Melbourne tonight (9 May 2022).

While pricing is yet to be confirmed, the Nissan Navara Warrior SL is expected to start from about $50,000 to $55,000 – which would make it about $20,000 cheaper than the flagship Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior.

UPDATE: In a media statement issued on 10 May 2022, the boss of Nissan Australia, Adam Paterson, said: "I’m thrilled to announce the expansion of the Warrior program, developed in collaboration with Premcar, which has proven immensely popular in Australia.

"With the Navara SL Warrior by Premcar, a new and more accessible entry point will join the Warrior family, ensuring even more customers can experience the world’s toughest Navara for themselves."

The Nissan Navara Warrior SL is based on the workhorse in the line-up and comes with a heavy-duty vinyl floor and cloth seats, rather than a carpet floor and leather upholstery.

Nissan dealers have been told the Nissan Warrior SL gains the same suspension, wheel, tyre, and fender flare upgrades and the Pro-4X Warrior.

It also gets the same redesigned tow bar as the Pro-4X Warrior, to accomodate a full-size alloy spare and off-road tyre.

The Nissan Navara Warrior SL comes with a hooped bull bar and an LED light strip – rather than a hoopless design on the Pro-4X Warrior. It comes with the same bash plate, but it's painted black rather than red.

And the bull bar on the Nissan Navara Warrior SL is black, rather than colour-matched to the vehicle as it is on the Pro-4X Warrior.

The Nissan Navara Warrior SL also comes with a drop-in tray liner, however it misses out on side steps, the heavy-duty sports bar, and the sliding tie-down rails in the ute tub.

Based on a Nissan Navara SL workhorse model, the headlights are halogen rather than bi-LED, and the windows are not factory tinted (the Pro-4X Warrior has factory tinted rear windows and a sliding rear window).

It is powered by the same twin-turbo 2.3-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, paired to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed auto.

Nissan dealers have been told the Navara Warrior SL was created to sidestep production delays caused by the global shortage of semiconductors.

It means Nissan dealers will soon be able to secure a greater number of Navara Warrior editions once the SL is added to the mix from July or August 2022 onwards, pending any delays.

Nissan dealers say the Warrior SL will appeal to budget-conscious buyers who want to do serious off-roading and make their own upgrades.

Drive will update this story as more information becomes available.

Nissan Navara Warrior SL highlights:

Key features missing compared to Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior: