If Nissan can manage to hold the NP300 Navara to the same standards as the Qashqai, X-Trail or Pathfinder, the good people of Europe might be in for a real treat.
The thing that stood out the most while reading the official press release for the NP300 Navara, is that Nissan kept mentioning just how much refinement this car brings to its segment. Indeed, the European Pick-Up segment isn’t what you’d call extra competitive at the moment, since most of these models are a lot more utilitarian than they are refined.
In the US for example, top of the line heavy duty beasts are just as comfortable as they are capable of towing a small moon, whereas European models tend to be smaller and a lot less SUV-like.
Ask VW and they’ll tell you that the Amarok kind of changed that, in the sense that with their car you don’t sacrifice as much in terms of interior quality, specs and comfort as opposed to a typical compact SUV.
What Nissan are trying to do with the NP300 Navara is close the gap to that compact SUV even further, by offering superior interior quality and yes, refinement, which in a way is how they managed to win so many people over with their current generation Qashqai – a surprisingly well built and comfortable car.
In terms of looks, this thing couldn’t be any different from the Amarok, which has a lot more vertical design lines, while the Navara prefers flexing its muscles, aesthetically.
Of course, the Ford Ranger is pretty impressive too, both inside and out, while the Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi L200 kind of fall behind.
Based on other similar Nissan models (size-wise), such as the X-Trail or the Pathfinder, it’s fair to say that the NP300 Navara could turn into a very important player for this segment.
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