Mario James Photo
The 2008 Nissan Navara pickup is available at Fidelity Motors.

Mario James, Gleaner Writer

Competition is a great leveller in any marketplace. When there is competition, the consumer wins.

Case in point, Ford and its Ranger. The Ford Ranger virtually is a forerunner in the compact truck segment of the market. Ford realised that there was a market waiting for a strong small truck, that could fit in an indoor garage, and that wasn't as unwieldy as the full-size products. The concept fit 'hand in glove' with the market and the rest is history - the Ranger being one of Ford's best-selling formulas ever, with production beginning in 1982, and is only now being phased out; production stops in 2009.

However, a product like this becomes so popular, competing manufacturers have to copy and improve on it if they are to stay afloat. Soon, most major manufacturers had some revision of the formula; Toyota had the Tacoma, Isuzu had the P'up and Nissan had the SE. The market, however, could not sustain all the products; hence the decline in Ranger sales. So the original Ranger became a casualty of its own success.

Recent entry

Nissan's most recent entry into the market is the Navara, and Automotives tested the double cab, 2.5-litre Common Rail Turbo Diesel of this version of this truck. The fabric version costs a cool $3.7 million, has four-wheel drive with low range and three differentials, so it is a true off-road vehicle. Interiorwise, Navara is not as plush as Automotives would like, though the plastics used seem to be sturdy. The steering wheel is rather bland, but it does not block guages and has a meaty feel to it. Pedals are spaced right, and the interior has the best rear leg room in class. Utility pockets include penholders, and the switchgear has an expensive feel to it. Navara has a six-speed manual version, and it is being offered in Jamaica! The six-speed automatic though was the one tested, and it did not disappoint.

Make no mistake, this tester likes power. "Power corrupts. Absolute Power corrupts absolutely." The YD25DDTi engine feels like it has enough torque to rotate the Earth. How Nissan has managed to wring so much torque from only 2.5 litres has got to be a closely guarded State secret. In the automatic version, sub nine 0-60 times are possible, which is also best in class. Remember, this is a truck. There are many cars that won't do 0-60 quicker than nine seconds. MANY CARS. And steering while under power is like operating a digital camera. Just point and shoot. The vehicle does the rest. No squirrelly behaviour, no tyre judder, NADA. Mitsubishi doesn't want you to no this, but this vehicle is actually faster than their 3.2-litre L200 Sportero, which was Automotives favourite until this block buster came along.

Off-road testing at Automotives favourite testing grounds (Palisadoes wet sand) proves how worthy this engine is. With the powerplant producing power at an inhumane 5,000 rpm (remember this is a DIESEL), the engine was able to float the tyres on loose, wet sand. Navara weighs in at 4500 lb, which is really a recipe for disaster in sandy conditions, where the weight tends to cause a truck this heavy to sink.

Pure power

But Automotives was able to ride the rev limiter at five grand, tyres spinning furiously responding to all of 170 hp and the world-turning 300 lb ft of torque! As a hydroplane, in sand this truck screamed across the sand, on pure power, its tyres not digging in, but staying on top. A few tourists were on hand to witness our prowess, and were also impressed!

The thing about the Navara though that puts it over the top is that this truck rides as a car without a load in the bed. Hilux, with as good a reputation as Toyota can back, offers more payload (960 vs. 835 kg), but less towing capacity (5,610 vs 6,600 lb) and rides as a bucking bronco. The Ranger betters the ride of the Hilux, but only just, and loses in both payload and towing capacity with bottom of class ratings. Sportero has the looks and a nice interior, but only bests the Navara in payload, with a class-leading 1,045 kg. The Navara bests the class in ride and power, and also the towing capacity puts it at the head of the class. If you are in the market to buy a truck in this class, the Nissan Navara deserves to be first on the list of trucks to test.

mario.james@gleanerjm.com