Nissan Navara NP300 Any one own one

[goona]

Hi All just looking at getting some feedback on the new Nissan Navara NP 300. Test drove one today along with a few other brands and was pretty impressed with the Navara. Just want to see your thoughts if you have had one for a while. Thanks Goona

[Dan5]

Nagg bought one when they first came out.

[gofishin]

Seen this thread Goona?

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showpost.php?p=1585052

[NAGG]

Yep the ST-X (Auto diesel ) - So far so good ...... 23,000km (no rattles or things falling off)
I'm pretty impressed with the handling / fuel economy (Av 9lt/100 Sydney driving) - It has surprisingly good get up and go .....
It's comfortable enough & had no issues with doing a 5000km round trip towing my boat with a heap of camping gear (av 12lt / 100) - I's love it if it had a bigger fuel tank (90 or 100lt)
Reasonable room in the back - no complaints from my passengers .....

Probably during the course of the year- I'll change the tyres over to ATs & add a lift kit

My only concerns would be - If I was towing a heavier load - I reckon the rear end would need beefing up .

all up though I've got no complaints

Chris

[goona]

Thanks Nagg, Good to here all going well. The one I drove yesterday was the ST variant in auto. Went pretty well and definitely quicker than the Amarok. Didn't feel as quick or that low down grunt of the Ranger but according to 4x4 mags latest test the Navara is one of the quickest. They are quoting in the 6's for economy on the highway which also the best in the utes. We wont be doing any heavy off road nor towing any real heavy weights probably just the tinnie and the camper so I am thinking this might be the one.

[NAGG]

Thanks Nagg, Good to here all going well. The one I drove yesterday was the ST variant in auto. Went pretty well and definitely quicker than the Amarok. Didn't feel as quick or that low down grunt of the Ranger but according to 4x4 mags latest test the Navara is one of the quickest. They are quoting in the 6's for economy on the highway which also the best in the utes. We wont be doing any heavy off road nor towing any real heavy weights probably just the tinnie and the camper so I am thinking this might be the one.

No worries - I've done a few freeway trips & the best economy I could manage was in the high 7's - typically low 8's if you dont drive like Miss Daisy is realistic.
I did the whole 4x4 range thing..... before deciding on the Nissan ..... at the time it ticked more box's than any other (the new Hilux & Ranger) were still a few months away so I couldn't wait (big trip away) .
time will tell if it proves to be a winner ......

Chris

[goona]

That was the same as us Nagg. Initially I was going to buy the Colorado but then they got rid of the free 3 year servicing so started looking around and was going to buy the amarok core + as it felt more car like when I drove it so took wifey along and she wanted the up spec model as it will be her car in three years time so who am I to complain about that. Then we stopped at Ford and I really liked it and recon it would tow the boat no worries but the wife didn't rate it at all. So went to look at the Holden Colorado as she hasn't driven it but went to Nissan first an jumped in the Navara. Looked ok but when we drove it that's what has done it for us. Rides a heap better and we wont be carrying to heavy a load and most of the time we will just tow the tinnie and do the occasion trip to the dump or push bikes in the back. I will also be doing more trips back up to Gladstone this year towing the tinne so economy is a selling point. Also seemed a lot quicker than the Amarok.

[Almako]

Given it's now well over a year since the last post in this thread, how are you all going with your Navara's.
I am keen to trade in my D22 on a version 2 STX but am concerned that the ass end will drop significantly when towing my 6.5m fibreglass boat. Which I might add is the sole reason I own a car as I typically have company cars, unfortunately that are not tow vehicles.
Any feedback would be great re towing ability of the new Navara, particularly around that 2.5 to 2.7 tonne, or heavier.

[Andy56]

New ones have different springs( 2" lift?). Nissan had their engineers out and decided that the back end doesnt need to sit on the bumpstops when loaded. Make sure you get the very latest model though, 3 STX. My only gripes is the large turning circle. A hassle in town but unnoticeable on the road.

[Almako]

Mid January this year I picked up a new STX 2017 series 2 model with ARB Canopy, diff breathers and Summit bullbar, plus snorkel, tinted windows, winch, Redarc brake controller and both painted chassis and electronic rust proofing. The only things i want to do now is change the tyres to A/T and maybe wider rims, a set of drawers, spotlights and maybe ARB Bash plate as they look the part. These will have to come later. I've only done 2000k's so far and only towed the boat twice. First time i towed it was a practice run and i noticed straight away that the coil springs weren't as hard or anywhere as good/stiff as the leaf springs in the 2011 D22 (D22 was immaculate only had 60 thousand k's), though the D23 pulled it superbly through the auto gears. The next trip was last weekend and I had a mate in the car and wasn't critiquing every little move whilst driving along and surprisingly got to the ramp in less time and in absolute comfort, didn't even notice the boat on the back let alone notice the original bounce that i thought i felt first time out. I'd say we got there quicker as the D22 really struggled off all of the traffic lights. So give it some more time and we'll see if I pop some airbags in the coil's to stiffen it up. Mentally I'm thinking it's fine without them but would help the towing ride on those 1770 trips. Very happy so far.

RIG.jpg

[NAGG]

Mine is still going strong at 94,500km -

The only issue was a couple weeks back I replaced the front disc rotors & pads ...... they distorted after doing over the past 6 months 10 runs towing my boat down the Clyde Mountain (20 km down hill & quite steep) ..... 2nd /3rd gear for a good part of it. So there was a bit of a vibration when the brakes were hot.

Last June I fitted Pedders Trakryder coil springs / airbags with high pressure sleeves. These made a phenomenal difference .

At this stage ..... no complaints

Chris

[TheRealAndy]

Seen this thread Goona?

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showpost.php?p=1585052

I posted in that one. Still got the V9X (v6 diesel). I hated the former D40 I had which from memory was a 2.4l diesel that was shit for towing. Engine aside, it was a shit car. The one I have now seems to have fixed all the shitty little things I hated about it.

Had the current one for 4 years now, not missed a beat.

The reason I initially bought a Navara was because it drove like a family sedan, and it was just as comfortable. After the first D40 (I bought one of the first models) I vowed I would never buy one again... then they bought out the V6 3.0L diesel which at the time was the only 3L diesel on the market and is why I bought it. Towing a couple of ton of boat separates the small capacity engines from the large, both in fuel consumption and how hard they work.

If you want a 4wd that drives like a car, Nissan do that pretty good. If you want to tow a decent load (further than the local ramp), then forget all the current dual cabs as the engines are too small. The current V6 Amarok might be ok, and I think later this year Mercedes is bringing out a V6 3L diesel..If they are anything like the Renault V6 diesel in the Navara I have, they will be better than the little 4 cylinders, but they still have nothing on a decent large capacity straight 4 or 6 for towing.

The modern crop of of 4wd utes in Australia are a compromise between a sedan and something you can take offroad and tow a load for a short distance. The don't perform exceptionally in any of those areas, but they are a good compromise. You just need to figure out which areas are more important.

[TheRealAndy]

Oh, and as Alamko hinted at, the suspension is crap in all the modern 4wd utes, Expect to have to replace it within 50000km if you are lucky.

[NAGG]

Oh, and as Alamko hinted at, the suspension is crap in all the modern 4wd utes, Expect to have to replace it within 50000km if you are lucky.

The $1000 upgrade was a necessity in my NP300 without a doubt ...... & that was only towing around 1500kgs

Chris

[NAGG]

I posted in that one. Still got the V9X (v6 diesel). I hated the former D40 I had which from memory was a 2.4l diesel that was shit for towing. Engine aside, it was a shit car. The one I have now seems to have fixed all the shitty little things I hated about it.

Had the current one for 4 years now, not missed a beat.

The reason I initially bought a Navara was because it drove like a family sedan, and it was just as comfortable. After the first D40 (I bought one of the first models) I vowed I would never buy one again... then they bought out the V6 3.0L diesel which at the time was the only 3L diesel on the market and is why I bought it. Towing a couple of ton of boat separates the small capacity engines from the large, both in fuel consumption and how hard they work.

If you want a 4wd that drives like a car, Nissan do that pretty good. If you want to to a decent load (further than the local ramp), then forget all the current dual cabs as the engines are too small. The current V6 Amarok might be ok, and I think later this year Mercedes is bringing out a V6 3L diesel..If they are anything like the Renault V6 diesel in the Navara I have, they will be better than the little 4 cylinders, but they still have nothing on a decent large capacity straight 4 or 6 for towing.

The modern crop of of 4wd utes in Australia are a compromise between a sedan and something you can take offload and tow a load for a short distance. The don't perform exceptionally in any of those areas, but they are a good compromise. You just need to figure out which areas are more important.

Without a doubt there is a compromise when buying the current crop of duel cabs ........ & most certainly the V6 Amorok would be the pick of the crop for towing a bigger rig .
That said I'm surprised at what a good job the NP300 does ...... Sure typically my tow weight is less than 1.5 tonne but I do 600km round trips on a monthly basis which involve a tow up & down the Clyde mountain ( think of it as doing a 20km version of the road up Mt Cootha) ...... now unless I'm caught behind someone - it's quite spritely in getting up that run.
I think that if your tow weight was under 2 tonne ....... these current generation duel cab utes are plenty capable in addition to being a good daily drive . would I want to be dragging 2.5 -3 tonne around behind one .... with the exception of the Amorok .... No

Chris

Chris