(By Tom Lohnes) – The Nissan Navara is essentially the Toyota Hilux to the Frontier’s Tacoma. It’s the cooler, better, global truck Americans don’t get because of the stupid chicken tax. There’s a new cool Navara too, and it really makes me wish we had this truck in the states.
Called the Navara PRO-4X Warrior, this Ranger Raptor fighter was developed by a 3rd-party company called Premcar in Australia to be perfectly suited for both on and off-road use. Under the hood lies a 4-cylinder turbodiesel just powerful enough to save this truck from being dangerously slow. Outside, the Navara gets an extreme body kit along with a lift and some ultra-aggressive tires.
Would something like this work in the states? Absolutely. Look at the Chevy Colorado ZR2, currently the only midsize Baja-oriented truck besides the Jeep Gladiator Mojave. Those things sell extremely well for their price, and the 4-cylinder diesel trucks take up a good 40% of sales. So, what should Nissan do? Grab a Frontier, specifically the very nice looking 2022 model, and do the same stuff. Import a few turbodiesels, and you have a direct competitor to the ZR2.
Why don’t they do this? Well, Nissan USA is a bit strapped for cash at the moment, with the pandemic and just flat-out poor sales affecting their bank. If they took a little risk, things could pay off greatly. But I understand why they don’t. Would you want a Frontier Warrior in the States? I sure would.
