Nissan Navara Off-road Capabilities Test - Good, but Could it Be Better?

The automotive powertrain is responsible for the overall performance of the vehicle. It encompasses the type of engine, the transmission used, its fuel, differential, driveshaft, axles, and other mechanical factors. Powertrain works as a system; it connects every component and generates power to put your car in motion.

Nissan Motor Corporation continuously impresses the automotive industry with its innumerable international accolades from various award-giving bodies each year. This gives existing customers and potential customers the assurance of its reliability.

An off-road-ready vehicle like the Nissan Navara is made with the industry’s finest materials and powerful mechanisms to perform well on arduous terrains, steep slopes, and the flooded road while carrying a heavy cargo load. To power a vehicle with those capabilities, a strong pulling engine is a must.

All Nissan Navara variants in the Philippine market are powered with a 2.5-L 16-valve direct-injection turbocharged diesel engine with a maximum capacity to produce 187 horsepower and 450 Nm/2000 rpm torque power. Compared to its competitors like the Ford Ranger, it’s lower in power capacity. However, its automatic torque converter works near-flawless shifting. The Navara is structured in a Nissan F-Alpha Platform, coded D23, and configured in either a 4X2 or 4X4 drivetrain.

For its transmission, you can maneuver the Navara with its 7-speed automatic transmission, which can roll over a pile of rocks and climb steep slopes, while a 6-speed automatic transmission and 10-speed automatic transmission are available on its rival, the Ford Ranger. One or two pickup truck tires tend to misalign sometimes because of the arduous terrain. Navara’s chassis twists occur during those times. And Nissan Navara performs well on off-road drives like that.

When submerged into a flooded road, Navara can wade 600 MM water without the engine stopping. Although this is helpful, compared to its competitors, the Nissan Navara’s water wading capability is a bit under.

With all the bumps and rugged driving, an off-road vehicle must be supported with a good suspension setup. The Nissan Navara uses an independent double-wishbone with a stabilizer bar and multi-link coil spring to support rough drives and heavy cargo load. Especially, Nissan claims that the Nissan Navara can carry up to a ton of load.

The 2022 Nissan Navara has presented a decent-working powertrain system that can catch up with this year’s leading models. This might not be the best-seller in its class, but upon testing its capabilities, the Navara has demonstrated a powerful performance overall.

Also Read: Testing the Power of the 2022 Nissan Almera