2021 Nissan Navara vs 2020

What's the difference?

We’re pleased to say this is the best Navara we’ve tested, since the NP300’s launch in 2015. Although it’s taken a few years, Nissan has finally delivered what this Navara should have been from the start. It’s worthy of serious consideration by sub-$50K dual cab ute buyers looking for a competent 4x4 workhorse that offers the right combination of refinement, safety, performance, fuel economy and load-carrying ability.

The Navara ST is not the best dual-cab around, but it’s certainly the best of the current Navara line-up, although you might want more driver-assist bang for your buck than is on offer in this variant.

However, it is refined and comfortable, and more than able to tackle daily duties and weekend camping trips with restrained, if unspectacular, efficiency.

The Navara’s latest design language is inspired by Nissan’s Titan full-size US pick-up, particularly the bold new grille design which can’t be appreciated on our test vehicle due to the substantial bull-bar.

However, the frontal styling changes are extensive including grille, headlights, lower fascia, bonnet and front wheel arches; the latter enlarged to provide extra clearance for the 17-inch wheels and tyres. The load tub is also deeper plus there’s new taillights, a stepped rear bumper and new tailgate styling with ‘Navara’ stamped into the lower panel.

The brakes and coil-spring live rear axle have been upgraded in line with the higher minimum one-tonne payload rating across the dual cab range. Off-road credentials include a 12.5-metre turning circle, 220mm ground clearance, 600mm wading depth and 32 degrees approach, 22.9 degrees ramp break-over and 26 degrees departure angles.

Base-grade ute interiors are looking more upmarket these days and the Navara SL is no exception, offering a visually-pleasing and practical blend of contrasting chrome, satin chrome and textured hard surfaces combined with two-tone upholstery. 

Although the seats are supportive and comfortable, tall people might find the driver’s seat a tad too high. Even on its lowest setting, it can feel like you’re sitting more over the steering wheel than behind it. A more prominent and defined left footrest would also be welcome here.

Rear seat head-room and shoulder-room are marginal for three adults, particularly in the higher centre position with feet either side of the transmission hump, knees squeezed together between the front seat backrests and head pressing into the roof lining. However, knee-room is acceptable for the two outer positions, thanks largely to the concave shape of the front seat backrests. 

The adjustable A/C vents in the rear of the centre console boost rear passenger comfort, although most of the airflow is blocked by the centre passenger’s legs if travelling three-abreast. Needless to say, the Navara (like most dual cabs) works much better as a four-seater.

The Navara is a good-looking unit – in that unassuming manner of most SUV-ified dual-cab utes nowadays. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to make a vomit-face about either.

As I always tell you, dear readers: be a grown-up and sort out your own opinion, with regards to looks. You like what you like; I like what I like; sometimes we might like the same thing. No doubt, if you’ve got this far into the yarn, you’re not particularly put off by the Navara’s looks anyway.

The Navara SL has gained 105kg since we last reviewed this model in 2018. Although it now has a heftier 2033kg kerb weight, its 3150kg GVM also allows for a higher one-tonne-plus payload rating of 1117kg. 

It’s also rated to tow up to the class-benchmark 3500kg of braked trailer. However, to do that while staying on the legal side of its 5910kg GCM (or how much you can carry and tow at the same time) would require a massive 740kg reduction in payload. And that would leave only 377kg of legal payload capacity, which could easily be used up by a crew of four without luggage.

A more practical compromise for potential owners would be to base the towing limit on the Navara’s 3150kg GVM instead, which would reduce the maximum tow rating from 3500kg to 2760kg (which is still a sizeable trailer) but maintain the Navara’s big one-tonne-plus payload rating. 

The load tub floor’s 1509mm length is slightly shorter than its 1560mm width and its total load volume has grown thanks to a 45mm depth increase. However, with 1134mm between the rear wheel housings, it won’t fit a standard Aussie or Euro pallet (like most dual cab utes).

Cabin storage includes a large-bottle holder and storage bin in each front door plus a single glove-box and overhead glasses holder. The centre console offers an open storage cubby at the front, two small-bottle/cup holders in the centre and a small lidded box at the back.

Rear seat passengers also get a large-bottle holder and smaller storage bin in each door plus a fold-down centre armrest with two small-bottle/cup holders. The rear seat’s base cushion can also swing upwards through 90 degrees and be stored vertically for more internal cargo space. 

The interior is nice and well-laid out, if a little on the plain side of things. Build quality is impressive.

The seats are cloth and there is hard plastic everywhere – but that’s all in keeping with its hard-work-and-fun-lifestyle approach.

The seats are comfortable and space is more than adequate, although the second row is a bit squeezy if three adults – or even lanky teens – are located there.

The new 8.0-inch colour touchscreen is easy enough to operate although, as mentioned, I couldn’t get my smartphone paired up to it. 

Storage options include a shallow space (with a 12V socket) on top of the dash, a small console, cupholders (two under-vent locations and between the two front seats), and door pockets.

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.

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 2.3-litre YS23DDTT four-cylinder turbo-diesel is a gem, with two-stage inline turbochargers that provide excellent lag-free response either when accessing its ample 450Nm of peak torque between 1500-2500rpm, or 140kW of maximum power at 3750rpm.

The intelligent torque converter automatic offers near-seamless shifting between its seven close ratios and quickly downshifts under deceleration to ensure you’re always in the right gear when you accelerate again. The overdriven sixth and seventh cogs provide good economy for highway driving and a manual sequential-shift function allows more direct engine control, which is particularly useful on steep declines (which we tested) or when hauling heavy loads in hilly terrain (ditto).

Its 4x4 transmission is dual-range part-time controlled by a rotary dial on the dash, with shift-on-the fly electronic 4x4 engagement up to 100km/h and 2.7:1 low-range reduction. The electronic rear diff lock is controlled by a dashboard switch.

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.

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.)

The twin-turbo Navara engine has consistently delivered sub-10L/100km economy in our tests, albeit never as low as Nissan’s official figure of 7.9L/100km. So, we weren’t surprised to see a combined average of 9.2 on the dash display when we stopped to refuel after 314km, which included about a third of that distance hauling a maximum payload.

Our own figure measured at the pump came in at 9.8, which is still sub-10L and impressive given its robust performance.

Based on our figure you could expect a driving range of around 800km from its 80-litre tank.

Fuel consumption is listed as 7.0L/100km. I recorded a fuel consumption on test of 9.8L/100km, after more than 240km of driving, including high- and low-range four-wheel driving. 

It has an 80-litre fuel tank.

It’s not hard to find a comfortable driving position, the four-coil unladen ride quality is excellent and it has impressively low engine and tyre noise up to 110km/h. Our only gripe is that the driver’s seat base cushion feels too short for proper under-thigh support.

The most noticeable improvement is the steering, which we suspect is related to the switch to larger 17-inch wheels as Nissan makes no reference to it. The heavy, lifeless feel since its 2015 launch has finally been replaced with steering that’s nicely-weighted, easier to turn and feels more connected to the front wheels.

The twin-turbo diesel engine has ample performance, with its sizeable 450Nm of torque making light work of city and suburban driving. At highway speeds it requires only 1750rpm to maintain 100km/h and 2000rpm at 110km/h, which is also right in the middle of its peak torque band where throttle response is at its best.

The general impression is in the Navara’s favour: it’s a smooth, refined daily driver.

It’s not an insubstantial ute, measuring 5255mm long (with a 3150mm-long wheelbase), 1850mm wide and 1825mm high but, even with a listed kerb weight of 1942kg, it manages to feel like an easy-enough steerer. Turning circle is listed as 12.4m.

As mentioned, the engine and auto are a responsive and energetic match-up and do well to deliver controlled power and torque when needed.

The Navara’s suspension set-up (coil springs all-round, independent double-wishbones with stabiliser bar at the front, and five-link rear) helps to yield a comfortable, compliant ride and add to its overall controlled handling.

It’s mostly quiet in the cabin, although noise from that twin-turbo engine starts to intrude when the Navara is pushed hard at lower speeds.

All-round driving characteristics are pretty good but there is, however, a definite sponginess to the brake pedal though, but, having said that, the ute did grind to controlled stops on the two occasions we did “Watch out for that roo!” emergency-braking scenarios. It has disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear.    

There is some body-roll when pitched hard into corners, but otherwise this ladder-frame chassis workhorse drives pretty well in most circumstances.

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.

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

The Navara is covered by Nissan's five years/unlimited km warranty plus five years 24-hour roadside assist. Scheduled servicing every 20,000km/12 months whichever occurs first. Total capped-price of $2971 covers the first five scheduled services up to five years/100,000km whichever occurs first.

Nissan’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, five-year, 24-hour roadside assistance and six-year capped-price servicing program cover all 2020 Navaras.

Servicing intervals are scheduled at 12 month/20,000km intervals and cost $537, $562, $713, $562, $537 and $738.