Naa Na Na Na–vara!

Just like The Beatles advised Jude to do, Nissan South Africa have taken a slightly sad song and made it much better. We’re talking about the new and improved Nissan Navara, which is now built-in the Rosslyn plant near Pretoria.

- By Pierre Steyn. Pictures by Ronel Steyn

It has been a while since I’ve driven a Nissan that turns heads. The last one was the high-performance GT-R, a beast straight out the Fast & Furious franchise. That was about 10 years ago. Recently, I took the new Navara Pro-4X double cab on a gravel trip through the Karoo. And you know what? Heads were turning again!

The Navara reboot involved much more than applying a bit of lipstick and mascara halfway through the lifecycle of a model to increase its desirability. Instead, Nissan deployed a whole arsenal of improvements, ranging from a new engine, a new suspension design, a new interior, improved safety systems and driver aids, and a new exterior design. The grille is new, as are the front and rear bumpers, and LED headlights give the vehicle a much more aggressive look.