Cheaper Nissan Navara Warrior model approaches Australian reveal

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Nissan is dropping strong hits that it will soon reveal its new entry-level super-ute – the Navara SL Warrior.

The made-for-Australia Navara SL Warrior has undergone extensive testing down under, including specific tuning to “deliver a ute perfectly suited to Australian road conditions”.

Already available on the market is the Navara Pro-4X Warrior, which sits at the apex of the brand’s ute range locally. That vehicle placed third in the 2022 Chasing Cars dual-cab megatest.

“We can’t wait to show you what Premcar (the development team behind the Warrior project) has been working on,” said Nissan Australia’s managing director Adam Paterson. 

The Warrior version of the Nissan Navara SL is expected to be launched toward the end of 2022 or into 2023. 

How will the SL Warrior differ to the Pro-4X Warrior?

Nissan says that the SL Navara Warrior will be available “at the most accessible price point to date” and will feature a more aggressive exterior and “enhanced capability required to earn the Warrior name.”

That price should land around the mid-fifties, with the basic Navara SL dual-cab 4×4 model currently priced at $52,000 driveaway and the Pro-4X Warrior sitting at $63,000 driveaway.

Nissan says that more details will be released closer to the time of launch, however Chasing Cars can speculate that the SL Navara Warrior will very likely gain all-terrain tyres, an aggressive bull-bar, steel underbody protection as well as front LED spotlights. 

Currently, the Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior edition competes with other off-road specials such as the Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain, Toyota Hilux Rugged X and Volkswagen Amarok W580.

Nissan Australia is building global buy-in to turn Warrior into a kind of sub-brand of its own in Australia – and the partnership with Premcar continues to work on a Patrol Warrior model.

As yet the Warrior models are not exported beyond New Zealand, though a number of world markets have looked on with interest at the Warrior program.

Premcar to expand with new Warrior products 

Nissan Australia announced two months ago that the ‘Warrior’ program will expand past the current Navara PRO-4X Warrior – developed by Premcar in Melbourne – to include an additional Navara Warrior variant (based on the lower-grade SL), plus the long-awaited Patrol Warrior which Nissan confirmed “is in development with a series of enhancements being evaluated.”

Nissan Australia has found much success with the Navara N-Trek Warrior and PRO-4X Warrior models, with the team having now built more than 1000 examples at Premcar’s facilities in Victoria. 

The Warrior program is part of Nissan’s broader expansion plan here in Australia, as the brand will soon introduce new-generation versions of the Qashqai small SUV, X-Trail midsize SUV, Pathfinder large SUV and a new Z sports coupe. 

The Patrol Warrior program remains on the table as part of the Premcar plan and is expected to feature comprehensive engineering enhancements over the standard Y62 Patrol – in a similar fashion to the upgrades made to the Navara Warrior dual-cab. 

Nissan Navara 2022: prices in Australia

All prices listed are before on-road costs.

• SL manual: $46,600
• SL auto:  $49,100
• ST manual: $52,280
• ST auto:  $54,780
• ST-X manual: $55,770
• ST-X auto: $58,270
• PRO-4X manual: $58,130
• PRO-4X auto: $60,630
• PRO-4X Warrior manual: $67,490
• PRO-4X Warrior auto: $69,990