Nissan Navara Van Lease

With the NP300 Navara, Nissan has addressed the fundamental reason why vehicles of this kind tend to lurch about as they do, namely the old fashioned leaf-sprung rear axles that, until the launch of this model, were deemed mandatory in this class if a proper one tonne payload was to be maintained. The Navara proves the possibility of another way, a decade of development delivering an all-new five-link rear suspension set-up, just like the kind of thing you get on a Crossover or a small SUV. At speed through the bends, it certainly sets a new standard for handling dynamics in the pick-up class, helped by surprisingly feelsome steering and a clever electronic limited slip differential that maximises cornering traction.

The revised suspension system is used only on Double Cab variants. Lower-spec ‘King Cab’ derivatives continue with a developed version of the previous generation model’s leaf-sprung set-up and are powered by a single turbo 160PS version of the 2.3-litre dCi diesel now used right across the Navara line-up. In the Double Cab range, there’s the option of a twin turbo 190PS version of this unit and you can mate it with either manual or automatic transmission. As for efficiency, with the manual derivative, you’re looking at 44.1mpg on the combined cycle and 169g/km of CO2. All Double Cabs and most King Cab models get 4WD, a system carried over from the previous model and offering both high and low range options for those times when a lack of traction means you want more than just drive to the rear wheels. It’s a tough, capabe set-up that gives this Navara prowess in the rough stuff.

The Navara has never been a shrinking violet in the styling stakes and in the NP300 guise, it’s as bold and brash as ever. In terms of styling evolution, the major changes have taken place up-front. A signature so-called ‘V-motion’ grille and boomerang-shaped LED daytime running lights provide distinctive Nissan design cues.

Time to step up into the cabin and take a seat inside. Nissan says that the dashboard assembly has been redesigned from the ground up, but at first glance, much appears to have been borrowed from the brand’s X-TRAIL SUV. Which is no bad thing given that the objective here was clearly to make the interior as car-like as possible.

In the back, there’s also the bonus of being able to flip up the seat bases to access two hidden storage compartments and create an extra area for transporting items you don’t want to consign to the cargo bay.

So. How practical will this NP300 Navara prove to be in day-today use? Pull down the lockable tailgate with its big centrally-mounted handle and find out. Once you get your stuff in, the cargo bed is usefully long, up to 1788mm in the King Cab model or up to 1578mm in the Double Cab variant, a segment-leading figure which is 67mm more than the previous generation model could offer.

As for the weight of items you can carry, well payload capacities are slightly down compared with the previous version, but you’ll still be able to carry well over a tonne in the Double Cab model – or as much as 1,203kg if you were to go for an entry-level 2WD ‘King Cab’ model. Bear in mind also that there’s a generous maximum towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes across the Navara range, which is un-bettered in the class. And when you are hauling something of that weight, you’ll still be able to carry up to 800kg in the cargo bay, delivering a best-in-class total that betters the next nearest rival by a useful 200kgs.

Is this Nissan the game-changer we were promised? In many respects, yes. The handling is far better than anything we’ve previously seen from any pick-up, even if it isn’t quite as car-like as the brand would like you to believe. To be fair, there’s only so much you can do with a commercial vehicle that has to be industrially capable and, faced with those constraints, you can only admire what the Japanese company has achieved here.