New Nissan Navara Warrior in the works for South Africa – Everything we know

The brawny Nissan Navara Warrior is reportedly on its way to South Africa to take on the likes of the new Toyota Hilux GR-Sport and Isuzu D-Max AT35.

Originally making its debut in 2021, the Warrior is an uprated version of the flagship Navara Pro-4X developed by Melbourne-based firm Premcar.

“South Africa is definitely a potential market for us,” Premcar co-owner Bernie Quinn told Australian publication Carsales.

“As you probably know, South Africa makes Navaras and the South African market is very similar to the Australian market in terms of the customer.”

Local dealer franchise Group1Nissan has also written about the possibility of a Warrior debut, lending further credence to the rumours.

Premcar’s Quinn has apparently made multiple trips to our shores recently to discuss the potential launch with the domestic subsidiary of Nissan.

The mechanical differences between the locally made Navara and the ones sourced from Thailand, on which the Australian Warrior is based, are cited as the main reason for the delay in introducing the vehicle.

The Rosslyn-built Navara features a slightly different chassis tuned for our local conditions as well as a 2.5-litre, turbo-diesel engine compared to a 2.3-litre, twin-turbo in the Thai models.

However, the technicalities have seemingly been overcome, with Nissan South Africa expected to make a definitive announcement on the Navara Warrior’s domestic availability in the near future.

What to expect

The Navara Warrior features numerous enhancements over the standard Pro-4X to make it a more capable off-roader in every sense of the term.

The Australian variants benefit from the addition of a Warrior decal pack, Safari-style bulbar, an integrated light bar, wider fender flares, a Nissan Genuine winch, a Warrior-specific towbar, a Navara-branded red bash plate, and a 3mm steel underbody protection plate.

Moreover, they are equipped with rugged 17-inch alloy rims shod with Cooper Discoverer All Terrain AT3 tyres.

Under the skin, the bakkie gets a revised suspension system with new spring rates for more front-end support and less body roll. The front and rear damping rates have also been tuned to provide better compliance, improved isolation from impacts, and reduced float when towing or carrying a load.

This is complemented by a larger, taller jounce bumper for better control of wheel movement at maximum suspension travel, and reduced transmission of large impacts into the cabin.

The upgrades resulted in the following improvements to the Navara:

• Wider track, from 1,570mm to 1,600mm
• Increased ground clearance, from 220m to 260mm
• Improved approach angle, from 32 degrees to 36 degrees

Interior touch-ups are minimal, only including Warrior headrest embroidery on the seats.

The South African specifications of the Navara Warrior will likely be detailed once it’s confirmed for our market.

Nissan Navara Warrior