Revamped Nissan Navara teased

Wednesday, 28 October 2020

Nissan's Ford Ranger Raptor challenger is confirmed for New Zealand and ready to head off road.

Nissan has teased the revamped Navara before its debut next week.

Well, it’s not much of a teaser, more a recap of Nissan’s history with the ute. The video looks back at its Datsun origins in 1935 and the gradual evolution into the Nissan brand.

The new ute will debut on November 5th and hit Kiwi markets early next year, pushing the D23 generation of Navara into its sixth year. Expect small powertrain improvements, new looks and better tech, similar to what Toyota has done this year with the Hilux.

We would also imagine Nissan has a rejigged Warrior version in the wings too, taking the fight to Toyota’s Hilux Mako and Ford’s Ranger Raptor.

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While the video doesn’t give too much away leaked images of the facelifted US-market Nissan Frontier (the name the Navara is sold under there) recently surfaced showing a much bolder look, with a massive grille reminiscent of the larger US-market Nissan Titan.

The headlights certainly match up with the shadowy image Nissan have released, so we may be seeing the massive grille as well. Brace yourselves, Navara fans.

If you’re holding out for the next generation, that won’t be revealed until halfway through the decade. It’s looking likely that it will be based on the new Triton, given the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance confirmed Mitsubishi will take the lead on ute development back in May.

Nissan later confirmed via statement that the next-gen Navara won’t just be a Triton with a different face.

Talking to international media, the president and CEO of Nissan globally, Makato Uchida, said that the “Nissan-ness” of future models “will be determined by upper body”.

That means that the oily bits and cabins will be similar to other Alliance models (in this case Triton) but outwardly, it will look unique.

There’s also a good chance the new Navara will be electrified in some capacity.