Nissan Navara NP300 King Cab Pickup 2015 review

Six months after launching its much-anticipated coil-sprung versions of the new NP300 Navara, Nissan is now offering its leaf-sprung single-, king- and dual-cab versions of its latest light commercial workhorse.

We were among the first to get behind the wheel of the king-cab in Albury, on a drive program that included road, dirt and a 4WD track.

King cabs traditionally straddle – sometimes awkwardly – the divide between the work-centric nature of the single cab and the versatility of the dual-cab but new versions are worlds ahead of their predecessors in terms of fit and finish, and ride quality.

Features

The NP300 Navara king cab is available in RX, ST and ST-X spec. King cab RX is available as a cab-chassis or pick-up; ST and ST-X are available only as a pick-up. All King cab variants have leaf-spring rear suspension.

Features over three model grades include seven SRS airbags, including driver knee airbag, satnav with 3D mapping and touchscreen (ST-X), NissanConnectTM smartphone integration (ST, ST-X), leather-accented upholstery (ST-X), eight-way-adjustable driver's seat with power slide/recline/height adjustment and power lumbar support (ST-X), aircon with dual-zone climate control (ST-X), remote keyless entry (ST-X), reversing camera (ST, ST-X), LED projector headlights (ST, ST-X), 12-volt socket in cargo area (RX pick-up, ST, ST-X), rear air vents in centre console (for rear-seat passengers), 16-inch steel wheels (RX), 16-inch alloy wheels (ST), 18-inch alloy wheels (ST-X), and full-size spare.

Towing capacity is 3500kg (braked).

Design

The NP300's new solid, muscular look works through the range.

In 4x4 cab chassis RX guise, it is 5120mm long, 1790mm wide, 1770mm high, 3150mm wheelbase, with 217mm of ground clearance.

Seats were firm, with plenty of support for driver and front-seat passenger. They are cloth, except in ST-X, which gets leather accented. Rear bench-type seats offered a little more support than some of those in rival makes, but would still only realistically be an option if the journey was a brief one and the passengers were either children or adults who were on the wrong side of tall.

Engines / Transmission

The 4x2 and 4x4 RX king-cab cab chassis and the RX king-cab ute all get the a 2.3-litre single-turbo four-cylinder diesel (120kW/403Nm); the 4x4 ST and ST-X king-cab ute get the 2.3-litre twin turbo-diesel (140kW/450Nm).

The box is either a six-speed manual or seven-speed-auto.

Transfer case is dual-range 4x4 with electronic 4WD selection.

Driving

We took an unladen king-cab RX (six-speed manual, single turbo-diesel) on dirt roads and bitumen.

The hearty diesel engine moved this king-cab (1944kg) along with just as much ease as it had the single-cab 4x4 RX (1632kg) we'd driven earlier.

But while the engine was a real goer, the clean-throwing manual was a joy, steering in this king-cab felt better weighted than it had in the single cabs, something was still amiss.

From early on in the drive there was low-level wind-noise in the cabin; "low-level" but enough to be annoying. We thought a door was open a crack, even though there was no indication one was, and we stopped to check. We couldn't find the source of the noise. We'd earlier seen another pair of journos stop to check that all of their doors were closed – in that same vehicle. A mystery.

Later, we drove a king-cab pick-up ST-X auto, armed with a genuine Nissan bullbar, on a 4WD track at the Wodonga TAFE Logic Campus. It was a barrel of fun.

The Navara retains its twist-and-turn dial to engage 4WD Low, 4WD High or to switch back into 2WD. Hill Descent Control is a button.

There were steep-sided tight turns, gravel hill-climbs, a 40m-long water-crossing over a rocky base, a twisty, drive-through sand pit and more. We were given two go-throughs on the course, led by former Australia and Asia-Pacific rally champ Cody Crocker. This was where we were able to give the Navara's much-vaunted 4WD capabilities a decent, albeit too brief, workout  – and put its 32.4-degree approach, 26.7-degree departure and 23.9-degree ramp-over angles to the test.

Nothing to worry about.

Safety

All NP300 Navaras have a 5-star ANCAP safety rating. Dual frontal, side chest and head-protecting airbags (curtains), driver knee airbag, as well as EBD, ESC and EBA are standard. Advanced seat belt reminders are fitted to all seats.