Nissan’s comfortable Navara 4×4 is ready for work

Nissan Navara Tekna Double Cab 2.5dCi

Van test review: COLIN DAWSON

What is it?

The Navara is Nissan’s offering in the trendy 4×4 double-cab pick-up sector. It was extensively upgraded in 2010, with revised front-end styling from the Pathfinder 4×4. The Tekna test model is highly specified, with leather upholstery, including heated and electrically adjustable front seats, leather steering wheel and gear knob, electric sunroof, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth telephone integration and six CD autochanger. There’s certainly more luxury car than rugged workhorse about the cabin. Whether or not the Navara make sense as a company vehicle really depends on what your needs are. A requirement for four-wheel drive would suggest forestry, landscaping, maybe building and even rural veterinary work. We’ve even seen pick-ups liveried for antique dealerships. On the downside, the double-cab configuration curtails the load length, but the bed will accept a standard Euro pallet and at, 1,125kg, the payload is reasonable. If your business is more than a one-man band, then a five-seater has merit. But probably the best reason to consider the Navara Tekna is how well the vehicle can double as a comfortable and drivable 4×4 when off-duty, with the benefit of a pick-up back for hauling your workload when required. VAT-registered SMEs and sole traders can reclaim VAT on the purchase price. Most pick-ups, especially the more luxuriously equipped double cabs such as the Navara, are likely to be used for private mileage, but company pick-up tax is not applicable if the owner is a sole trader or partner. The Navara is not especially frugal with combined fuel economy at 33.2mpg but it is a reassuringly solid and substantial chunk of metal, so you can’t complain too much.

The pick-up is powered by a turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel driven through a six-speed manual transmission. It certainly has plenty of urge. With a maximum torque figure of 450Nm, it’s no sluggard on the road. It can also be taken seriously as on off-roader, with a rotary-switch-controlled four-wheel-drive system for selecting two-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive high, plus low range, for tackling difficult terrain. And it will happily tug a braked trailer weight of up to 2,600kg. For a pick-up with leaf springs on the rear, the ride is remarkable good. In terms of safety and security, the Navara Tekna is equipped with anti-skid ESP, and anti-lock ABS brakes with EBD for better stopping power, as well as front driver and passenger airbags and side and curtain airbags.

 What’s hot?

• Stylish looks belie its workhorse credentials
• Comfortable, well-appointed cabin with high specification
• Good dual-purpose on/off-duty flexibility
• Decent payload and towing capacities
• Practical C-Channel moveable tie-down points in load bed provide good secure load stowage
• Creditable off-road ability

What’s Not?

• Double-cab configuration makes for a shorter load bed compared with single-cab variants

 

• Run-of-the-mill fuel consumption

 

Business Vans verdict

The Navara offers a good balance between comfortable car and rugged pick-up truck, with the bonus of creditable off-road performance, especially for business van users who need to get beyond the tarmac.

What you need to know

 

On the road price (with optional extras as tested) ex VAT:	£25,750.20
Load length:	1,511mm
Load width:	1,560mm
Load height:	457mm
Load capacity:	1.0 litre 3cyl turbo petrol
GVW:	3,210kg
Towing capacity braked/unbraked:	2,600kg/750kg
Engine:	2,488cc 4-cyl diesel
Power/Torque:	188hp/450Nm
Economy (combined):	33.2mpg
CO2 emissions:	224g/km