Attracted by duty-free prices and bang-for-buck proposition, quite a few acquaintances have over the last 10 years gleefully bought pick-up trucks to replace their regular passenger cars. But I’d be lying if I’m to say that all of them are still truck owners. Some realised (soon after taking delivery) that pick-ups aren’t that easy to live with on daily basis, especially when used within the confines of the concrete jungle.
Whether it’s the size of the thing (try parking it at a shopping mall), lack of a secured boot, upright seating and jiggly ride at the back, or sulphur-laced diesel fumes, trucks have unique traits that first-time owners may never be able to adapt to over time, unlike passenger cars.
Having said that, pick-up manufacturers have gone to great lengths to make trucks more car-like and more hospitable with each new iteration, the Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton make compelling cases, but none more so than the all-new Nissan NP300 Navara. Choosing the top-spec VL variant will reward you with amenities that rival premium passenger cars – LED projector headlights, rear camera, leather seats with power adjustments, dual-zone air-con with rear ventilation, colour LCD on the meter cluster, cruise control, tail-gate spoiler, to name but a few.
But beyond the creature comforts, the traditional hardware of trucks is changing as well, and this is significant. In the new Navara, you get a 7-speed automatic with a wide spread of ratios, vehicle dynamic control with hill start/descend assistance, limited slip function that’s governed electronically (replacing the mechanical differential locker), and a multi-link rear axle suspended by dampers and coil springs (bye, bye leaf springs), leaving the ladder frame of the NP300 as the only large ticket item that harks back to the traditional pick-up. Oh, did we mention that it has 190hp and 450Nm from its 2.5-litre common-rail diesel engine?
We will deliver a more definitive verdict on whether the new NP300 Navara is indeed a pick-up you can marry and live with happily ever after, but brief impressions during its post launch media drive suggest that the NP300 may well have the necessary ingredients to convert a passenger car owner into a truck believer, while still looking after those who actually need a truck that does those macho off-road stuff.
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Nissan NP300 Navara
VL Automatic RM120,800 (RM124,484.60*)
V Automatic RM109,800 (RM113,181.44*)
SE Automatic RM102,800 (RM105,988.52*)
SE Manual RM97,800 (RM100,850.72*)
E Manual RM89,800 (RM92,630.24*)
Single Cab Manual RM78,759.80 (RM81,818.20*)
Note: All variants come with 4×4 and are double cabs unless stated otherwise.
(*Price with insurance).