Nissan Navara offers dual roles, but is a worker at heart | Car Reviews

#01#The new Nissan Navara pickup replaced the previous model in 2005. Built alongside the Pathfinder at Nissan's plant in Barcelona, the Navara shares many of its components, including drivetrain and chassis. Indeed, from the B-pillar forwards they are all but identical. The ladder-frame chassis and double wishbone independent front suspension is carried over from the Pathfinder, but out back the Navara has a rigid rear axle with leaf springs and of course the pickup bed mounted high up on separate rails. This arrangement allows the Navara to carry a payload of 1050kg, and as a double-cab, to qualify for favourable company car tax terms.

The Navara comes with just one engine option, the 2.5-litre turbo diesel which provides a class leading 169bhp at 4000rpm, and perhaps more importantly, 297lb.ft of torque at 2000rpm. It is this latter figure that allows the Navara to legally tow up to 2600kg. The four-cylinder engine is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox (with a five-speed automatic option) and a part-time four-wheel drive system with high and low ratios for when the going gets really tough. The driver can select either two-wheel drive or 50/50 four-wheel drive high and low ratios by an electronic switch on the dashboard. However, there is no hill descent system present. #p##02# Mitsubishi claims that the L200 is the top selling pickup in the UK, but down South where I live it's hard to believe that. The Navara has become the pickup of choice whether for work or for leisure. The expanding leisure market has affected the way pickups are sold in the UK. For instance, the Navara is available in four trim levels, of which the Outlaw we drove is the second highest (to Aventura). Our Outlaw was additionally fitted with the Premium Pack (which brings in leather seats front and rear), which as standard comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, electric front and rear windows, electric heated door mirrors, in-dash 6 CD autochanger and rain sensing wipers; the list goes on and is a long way removed from the type of pickups that used to be the domain of builders and the like.

However many toys and niceties you have, the Navara is still a pickup truck; as tough as old boots and ready to work - whether you want yours to get dirty is down to you. Up in the cab, you get the commanding view typical of most 4x4s and the ambience inside is pretty good too. The dashboard and door panels are not up to the standard you'd expect from an SUV, but they are acceptable; the leather seats on the other hand are far too nice to throw all your work paraphernalia into the cab part of the pickup.

There was no getting away from the fact that the engine is a lot noisier than in most SUVs. Although it's modern enough, being Euro IV compliant on emissions, it may be lacking in a little soundproofing. Again, the six-speed manual 'box feels more 'butch' than slick, but settle back and rely on the torque and the Navara drives better than you might think. The ride is a little firm (don't forget that there's capacity for a ton of bricks or what have you out back) and it probably rides better with a load on board, but it's still perfectly acceptable. It's not too bad round corners either, the high up seating position, and indeed the high up stance of the truck does not translate into the expected body roll. Grip runs out long before alarming roll angles can set in; the Navara gently understeers when asked to corner too fast, but it's perfectly capable of staying with all but the fastest traffic on the roads. #p##04# What I did find a little disconcerting was the deep whooshing noise when depressing the clutch on upward gear changes, i.e. when engine revs were high. If this is typical of the Navara, it would be enough to make me take the automatic option straight away.

Checking out the more important areas (as this is a pickup and not a sports car), the rear seating area seems suitably spacious and even though the rear seat backs are fairly upright, they seem comfortable enough. But it's out back that's the most important. The Navara is 350mm longer in the wheelbase than the Pathfinder, and a massive 480mm longer overall. Most of the wheelbase increase is simply pushing the back wheels further backwards rather than to liberate extra interior space, but the payoff for all this length is that the Navara has the widest and deepest load bed in its class, and the largest load area. If you need even more length, the King Cab Navara trades rear legroom for load space.

All in all, it's easy to understand why the Nissan Navara, especially in double cab form, has become such a common sight on our roads. It looks great, tough and butch, but very stylish. It works great if that's what you need it for, but it's more than capable in its dual role as family transport. As more and more people seem to find leisure pursuits that involve more load carrying, so that vehicles like that Navara can only go from strength to strength.

2006 Nissan Navara UK range overview

- Nissan Navara King Cab: £17,589
- Nissan Navara Double Cab: £18,764
- Nissan Navara SE King Cab: £19,704
- Nissan Navara SE Double Cab: £20,879
- Nissan Navara Outlaw King Cab: £20,761
- Nissan Navara Outlaw Double Cab: £22,171
- Nissan Navara Outlaw Double Cab automatic: £23,464
- Nissan Navara Aventura Double Cab: £25,226
- Nissan Navara Aventure Double Cab automatic: £26,519

Note: prices include VAT.