Video: Building the new Warrior

The so-called “toughest Navara in the world” has been in development since 2019, and now Nissan Australia is giving us a sneak peek at what’s gone into its latest home-grown tough truck.

Designed and built in collaboration with Melbourne-based engineering firm Premcar, the upcoming 2021 Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior will be priced from $67,490 plus on-road costs in manual form (or $69,990 plus ORCs with the auto) when it goes on sale in Australia from September 1, 2021.

It’s also expected by its creators to crush its key rivals, including the Toyota HiLux Rugged X, the Ford Ranger Wildtrak X and the incoming Volkswagen Amarok W580X, offering more modification options for buyers of the 4x4 dual-cab ute.

The second iteration of the Aussie-developed Warrior ute after the previous Navara N-TREK, the PRO-4X version gets a number of upgrades.

“We’ve focused a lot on the fit and finish of the vehicle and we’ve made it even better,” said Premcar’s head of programs Tom Inbesi.

“We undertook durability testing, thermal testing, NVH testing, as well as all the component testing.

“And we conducted a lot of it at the Australian Automotive Research Centre, and they have some of the toughest off-road tracks.”

Claimed to be “best in class”, the PRO-4X is features uprated Premcar-fettled suspension with Monroe springs and dampers, a winch-compatible bull bar, integrated light bar, all-terrain Cooper tyres, heavy-duty underbody protection and increased ground clearance (from 220mm to 260mm), among other upgrades.

Power comes from a carryover 140kW/450Nm 2.3-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel engine.

“Australians love utes, but more importantly they love to modify utes. Nissan didn’t have a product that fitted that niche [before the first Warrior],” said Nissan’s local product development manager, Matthew Baily.

“Premcar has a long-established history of engineering and design excellence, but they’re also a very innovative company. They have manufacturing facilities [and] the quality of the workmanship that they undertake is second to none.

“From a customer’s perspective, to know that it’s been locally developed, locally designed, locally tested and locally manufactured is extremely important.”

Premcar engineering director Bernie Quinn added: “Australian-developed by Australian engineers for Australian conditions – that’s the thing that the Warrior brand represents.”