Nissan Navara 2022: SL grade gets tough Warrior treatment as new entry-level off-roading ute

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The Nissan Navara has just got tougher with the announcement and reveal of the new Navara SL Warrior developed in collaboration with Australian automotive specialist Premcar. 

The ‘entry-level’ Warrior version is a step up from a standard SL Navara and will include several new off-road features over the standard model. 

Nissan Australia says that the SL Warrior is expected to land in Nissan showrooms in August 2022. 

The new SL Warrior sits at a $10,000 cheaper price point than the current flagship Navara Pro-4X Warrior that costs $68,090 before on-road costs for the manual variant. 

The Navara SL Warrior competes in a growing field of off-road specialty utes such as the Toyota Hilux Rugged X, Mazda BT-50 Thunder and Ford Ranger Wildtrak, as well as the Volkswagen Amarok W580. 

Specification for the new Navara SL Warrior 

Premcar has gone to work adding a new winch-compatible bullbar with integrated LED light bar, 17-inch wheels with all-terrain tyres, a 40mm higher suspension lift, a towbar and an uprated 3500kg braked towing capacity to the new Navara SL Warrior. 

The suspension has been completely overhauled with new springs, dampers and bump stops, with front and rear damping being revised for better compliance, sound isolation and reduced float when towing a trailer or with a load onboard. Different fender flares and tub-liner are included, along with all-weather floor mats. 

These features add on to the standard SL specified Navara that has a 7.0-inch driver cluster, an 8.0-inch central touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a six-speaker stereo with both USB-A and USB-C connections and a reversing camera. 

How does the SL Warrior compare to the standard SL?

Both of these Navaras dual-cab utes come fitted as standard with the now prominent  2.3-litre twin-turbocharged diesel four-cylinder engine that makes 140kW/450Nm. 

Both are also available with either a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed automatic. But, from here there are myriad differences, particularly in suspension. 

The Navara SL Warrior has greater ground clearance (up 40mm), a higher degree of approach angle (4 degrees) and a greater track width of 30mm thanks to a revised suspension setup. 

Also updated are the suspension dampers, with the rear units now 17 percent larger in diameter and have a 62 percent increase in rebound. 

The front dampers have been increased by 17 percent in diameter, along with a 55 percent increase in high speed rebound stiffness. 

In terms of spring rates, the Navara SL Warrior has had a seven percent reduction in the front, while the rear springs of the SL Warrior have seen a six percent reduction, which means that the dual-cab ute will have improved handling and less body-roll, according to Nissan Australia. 

In simple terms, the new SL Warrior should be better off road than the standard SL variant. 

Safety technology on the Navara SL Warrior

The Nissan Navara SL Warrior has seven airbags fitted as standard, including front, side, curtain and driver’s knee airbags. 

Also standard on the SL Warrior is forward collision warning, AEB and intelligent driver alert, which are also standard on the regular SL dual-cab variant.

Nissan Navara 2022: prices in Australia

All prices listed are before on-road costs.

• SL manual: $46,600
• SL auto:  $49,100
• SL Warrior manual: $58,000
• SL Warrior automatic: $60,500
• 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: $68,090
• PRO-4X Warrior auto: $70,590