Nissan Navara on slippery slope

Pro-4X still makes for pleasant transport with good fuel sonsumption.

- Mark Jones

I have always liked Nissan's Navara, and also felt that it should have sold way better than it has. And I was looking forward to spending some time with their top of the range, Navara Pro-4X, which would also be my first drive in a Navara since 2021, when I got to test their then, just updated, Navara Pro-2X.

The big news at the time was that the Navara was being built locally, and the updates would add some life to what then could have already been considered an aging range of offerings.

I remember the Navara Pro-2X at a retail price of around R680 000 as being right on par with just about anything from Ford or Toyota with their Ranger and Hilux offerings.

The drive and ride quality sort of bakkie like, the off-road ability the same, the tech thereabout too, and even the performance numbers were right in the same ballpark in those days.

But what has happened since then is that the double cab leisure bakkie market has moved on exponentially, especially with the likes of Ford's next generation Ranger and its VW Amarok sibling now offering car like ride quality and feel, with state of the art, high-tech features.