Nissan Thailand has revealed an updated Navara ute boasting significantly revised interior with new technology – but don’t expect to see it in Australia anytime soon.
Pictures posted by AutoFun show the Thai-market Navara PRO-4X with the full gamut of changes.
While it doesn’t look much different on the outside, the updated Thai-market Nissan Navara gets a new dashboard with a soft-touch insert depending on variant and a new 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment similar to the one seen in other models like the Qashqai, X-Trail, and Mitsubishi Outlander.
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Source: AutoFun -
Highlights beyond the design changes and the new, larger display also include the addition of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, as well as a revised climate control panel which combines physical switchgear with a digital panel to show temperature and fan speed.
While local Navara models are sourced from Thailand, a spokesperson for Nissan Australia told CarExpert: “The update is specifically for the Thai market. There are currently no plans for this vehicle in Australia”.
According to reports, the changes appear to align the Navara ute with the related Nissan Terra 4WD, which is to the Navara what the likes of the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X are to the Ranger and D-Max, respectively.
Almost a spiritual successor to the original generations of Pathfinder, the Terra has never been sold in Australia.
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Navara PRO-4X (Australian model)
The other changes for the Thai market include the fitment of Euro 5 emissions systems for the 2.3-litre twin-turbocharged diesel engine – it appears Thailand is even further behind than Australia.
This mainly involves the addition of a diesel particulate filter (DPF) which helps to reduce harmful particulates and pollutants that are emitted by diesel engines.
Lower grades of Navara in Thailand score a single-turbo version of the 2.3-litre diesel, similar to the Australian range.
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Navara Black Edition
While dual-cab ute sales continue to boom in Australia, the Nissan Navara plays at a much smaller scale than rivals like the Ranger, HiLux and D-Max, despite posting decent growth in recent months.
To July 31, 2024, there have been 665 4×2 and 5714 4×4 Navara units newly registered in Australia, up 118.0 per cent and 48.5 per cent respectively for the January to July period in 2023.
However, the Navara is a bit-player compared to the Ford Ranger, which has registered 3216 4×2 and 35,230 4×4 units respectively across the same period – basically outselling the Navara by more than six to one.
Still, Nissan isn’t done with the ageing Navara, recently releasing the limited-run Black Edition for Australia, with a couple more announcements expected in the coming months.
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Navara Black Edition
While a decade old, it’s unclear when the next-generation Navara will debut, let alone arrive in Australia.
Nissan’s representatives are tight-lipped about the next iteration of the popular ute, and the brand is clearly not on the same product timeline as Alliance partner Mitsubishi, which recently released the latest version of its Triton ute.
Three years ago, then-recently appointed CEO of Nissan, Makoto Uchida, said while there will be collaboration between the brands as well as some shared components, there will be clear differentiation between the two vehicles.
“The brand, the ‘Nissan-ness’, will be determined by the upper body. But if you look back, in relations with Renault, because we had the challenging volume task, each partner tried to minimise cannibalisation as much as possible,” he said.
“As a result we looked for significant differentiation between the two and the result was less efficiency in investment. But it doesn’t mean we are 1724454467 going to adopt identical upper bodies… that’s not our intention.
“… differentiation will be attained [but] we can use existing assets, for example we look for adoption of common doors. There are other successful models where they adopt common doors but they look different.”
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