MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONS

NAVARA ST AND ITS TRITON GLS RIVAL GO TOE TO TOE IN A BATTLE OF THE MID-SIZE DUALCAB 4X4 UTE SEGMENT. AND THE WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION IS …

- MATT RAUDONIKIS & SCOTT NEWMAN

WHILE the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux continue to be the stars of the 4x4 ute class, there are plenty of other brands in the mix, all of them wanting bit of that action that is so hot right now. This opens up a diverse range of products at varying price points for buyers to choose from and, frankly, the buyer has plenty to look at. There should be a 4x4 ute on the market today to suit every buyers’ application and budget.

Two of the long-time players in the category are the Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara, and with the Navara receiving a recent facelift and equipment upgrade and a Triton in the car park, we figured we should take them out for a look at which works the best.

NISSAN NAVAR A ST

THE Navara we have here is the ST variant; the second up the scale in a four-model double-cab line-up. It came to us loaded with optional accessories such as an air intake snorkel, loopless steel bumper, Warn VR winch and fender flares.

All these factory goodies add a hefty $11,573.14 to the ST’s $54,790 MSRP. Include another $650 for premium paint and you’re looking at $67,003.14 before on-road costs. Or, to put it another way, very nearly enough to buy Nissan’s new PRO-4X Warrior.

POWERTRAIN & PERFORMANCE

NISSAN carried over its 2.3-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine for the facelifted Navara and this ST spec 4x4 gets the bi-turbo set-up that makes 140kW of power and 450Nm of torque, which are middle-of-the-road figures for cars in this class.