Nissan Navara 2020 review: ST off-road test

The ST is the mid-spec D23 Navara and in auto 4x4 guise has a Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $51,250 – that’s a price increase of $1300 over the previous ST version.

Our test vehicle has premium paint (polar white) which adds $650 to the price, so total MSRP for this vehicle is $51,900. For its new Navara ST, Nissan is offering a Black Styling Package, featuring the company’s V-Motion grille in black, black front fog light surrounds, a black alloy sport bar, black mirror caps, and black-on-silver 18-inch alloys. Our test vehicle is obviously not one of those, as it has none of those things and it rides on 16-inch alloys.

The standard ST rides on 16-inch alloy wheels.

As standard the ST comes equipped with LED Headlights with daytime running lights, fog lights, an upgraded 8.0-inch colour touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (although I couldn’t get AA working with my smartphone), Bluetooth streaming, audio and cruise controls on the steering wheel, a digital speedo, USB and 12V sockets, reversing camera, cloth seats, side steps and an electronic rear differential lock.

The 8.0-inch colour touchscreen comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Navara ST has a 2.3-litre intercooled twin-turbo-diesel engine – producing 140kW at 3750rpm and 450Nm at 1500 – 2500rpm. It’s mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission with a manual-shift mode.

The Navara has a selectable part-time 4WD system, with high- and low-range.

The 2.3-litre twin-turbo-diesel engine produces 140kW/450Nm.

It’s a refined and responsive combination, mostly on target, and certainly an improvement on Navara pairings of the past.

(Full disclosure: I own a 2008 D22 Navara (an ST-R with 2.5-litre common-rail diesel engine) and the engine in this new Navara is much better than that ol’ wheezy unit … but that’s not really saying much because the gutless engine in my Nav really is on the wrong side of impressive. However, my ute more than does its job – hauling family, mountain-bikes and kayaks – so mind your own business.)

Pretty solid.

The 4WD system is easy to operate with a simple dial-operated selection of 2H, 4H (high-range 4WD) or 4L (low-range 4WD). The Navara has a rear diff-lock if you need it.

In terms of off-road angles, the Navara ST has approach, ramp break-over and departure angles of 33.1, 24.5 and 28.1 respectively. 

The Navara performed fine off-road, but we did have to drive with care.

Ground clearance is listed as 226mm and, though wading depth is not officially listed, a guesstimate of about 700mm, going by past variants, should be close to right. 

Those are all meaningless figures though if you don’t know how they apply to the vehicle’s efficacy off-road in the real world so, in a nutshell, let me tell you: the Navara feels low and long and, at times, vulnerable to hitting the ground. Put it this way: it has to be driven with more care and consideration off-road than a lot of other utes.

But the Navara’s turbo-diesel engine is tractable and quickly finds its sweet spot during low-speed, low-range four-wheel driving, offering up actionable torque at the lower end of the rev range, making it easy to maintain controlled momentum at all times.

There’s not a lot of wheel travel on offer though, but when you do get a tyre to the dirt, at least the Toyo A25 Open Country (255/70R16 111H) rubber does a solid job of sorting out the traction action.

The Navara feels low and long and, at times, vulnerable to hitting the ground.

And, despite what Nissan says about its work to improve NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels, that twin-turbo four-cylinder engine does become rather raucous at low speeds – and low-range 4WDing is done at low speeds, and with the engine under a fair bit of pressure.

We spent the lion’s share of our 4WDing time on dirt and sand and, with tyre pressures down to 20 psi (pounds per square inch), it performed fine but we did have to drive with care to avoid grounding the undercarriage on the taller sections between deeper wheel tracks.

Anyway, in terms of usability for touring, the tray is 1503mm long (at the floor), 1560mm wide (at the floor), 1130mm wide (between the wheel arches), and 474mm high. The tailgate opening is 1360mm wide.

The tray is 1503mm long, 1560mm wide, 1130mm wide, and 474mm high.

It has four tie-down points and a 12V socket.

Payload is listed as 968kg, unbraked towing capacity is 750kg, and braked towing capacity is 3500kg. GVM is listed as 2910kg, GCM as 5910kg, 

The Navara has a full-size steel spare wheel, mounted under the tray.

The Navara has a five-star ANCAP safety rating which dates back to 2015. It has seven airbags (front, side, curtain and a driver’s knee airbag), reversing camera (with directional guidelines), an electronic rear differential lock, three second-row child anchorage points, and two ISOFIX points in the second row, one each on the outer seats.

The ST features a reversing camera with directional guidelines.

It does not have autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure alert, blind-spot monitoring, or cross-traffic alert.