I love a road trip. In fact I just love driving, hence I do the job that I do. But a good, long, interesting road trip is something I will drop almost anything for and, when you live in a country as beautiful as ours, it doesn’t really matter where you go because you are guaranteed an excellent mix of beautiful scenery, interesting people, rich history and most importantly, fantastic roads.
A group of friends and I decided to take a trip out to one of this country’s most beautiful areas – the Blyde River Canyon – but coming up with a route and accommodation was nowhere near as difficult as choosing just which car to do the long trip in. I knew it would have to be diesel and comfortable. I always treat a road trip as an economy run but I am the last person to do so in discomfort. Hands up who wants to drive to Cape Town over three weeks to save fuel? Save the planet yes, but don’t break your back in the process. So it boiled down to a few options. A French people mover? A luxury German saloon? Or a rugged off-roader?
The latter became the best option as our destination involved driving on dirt roads and the possibility of some mild off-roading. So the Nissan Navara 3.0 V6 dCi (or the V9X, as it’s called) became my chariot. Featuring the new 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 diesel engine, I knew I would get a good combination of reasonable fuel economy, comfort, luxury and capability. I was presented with a shiny new example, finished in a sexy (and rare) Black Pepper paintjob and, after brimming the 80-litre tank, the game was on.
Having tested the Pathfinder V9X two weeks before the Navara arrived, I was immediately disappointed to find that some of the luxurious extras the Pathfinder flaunted were missing in the Navara – items like heated leather seats, keyless entry and automatic lights, for example – but when you consider the gigantic price difference (R100 000) and more rugged target audience the Navara is aimed at, you can quickly forgive it for the missing bits. The spec was still high though, with the Navara showing off items like a brilliant Bose sound setup and an excellent satellite navigation system, the latter of which would prove to come in very handy indeed.
The smooth engine is mated to a quirky automatic gearbox and, with seven speeds, it is a great match to the torque-filled motor. It’s very sluggish though and it takes a bit of Welly to get the box to kick down when on an incline. There is a manual shift mode which solves that problem, but the usually silky gear shifts then become jerky and slightly ruin the experience. It’s a great pity because I reckon the low fuel consumption, which is claimed at a very modest 9.5-litres/100km, would be more easily achieved if you didn’t have to coerce the box into performing properly. There is 170kW on tap, which is very decent for a diesel and with 550Nm of torque on hand from just 1750 r/min, this bakkie sure has balls. Unladen and driven cleverly, you’ll do 100km/h in a claimed 9.3 seconds and top out at 195km/h. There’s a fair amount of turbo lag on pull away though, which takes a bit of getting used to, and with a very light rear end, the traction control light flashes often when pulling away with gusto. Carbon emissions are pegged at a decent 250g/km.
Considering that the Navara weighs in at just over two tons with a full tank of diesel and that we were travelling with four people and nine’s worth of luggage on board too, an average fuel consumption figure of 9.9-litres/100km was great to see after our 460km drive out to Galagos Villa in the Blyderivier Botaniese Reservaat, and that was achieved while using cruise control at every opportune moment (because I like to travel comfortably, remember). What I also enjoyed from an economy point of view was the Navara’s telematics system (Nissan Premium Connect), which utilises the navigation’s touch-screen LCD display to relay trip and economy data, and with a real-time fuel consumption readout (a bar graph with instantaneous reaction to your right foot), you can easily gauge how well you’re treating your wallet.
Then there’s the navigation itself. Easy to use and pleasing to look at, the on-board system made light work of getting us to the lodge despite the fact that the main road ended a few hundred metres before the front door. A simple input of GPS co-ordinates were all the lady in the dashboard needed to calculate the route and, with a selection of modes and options, you can take a good few minutes just playing around with the system. What I particularly liked was how, depending on our location and road type, the system automatically relayed the most important information. Once we reached the end of the software’s mapped roads, a very useful tracking feature was automatically enabled just in case I couldn’t remember my way back on those unmarked dirt roads. The system also features GPS positioning data which includes altitude and heading.
This being a Nissan, of course, the four-wheel drive Navara was great off the beaten track, too. With a selector knob placed on the centre console, it was easy to switch from two- to four-wheel drive even at high speed, and once engaged, the 4×4 capability of the Navara really shone through. Locking diffs are standard too, so no matter how sticky our situation may have been, I didn’t need to worry about a thing. Perhaps the only worry I did encounter while bundu bashing was the Navara’s width (1850mm), which lead to surface scratches down the sides and front edges of the body thanks to thorny bushes and the odd tree. The reversing camera though was particularly useful in avoiding rocks and pavements alike.
Wheel articulation is excellent with long, independent travel for each of the wheels, and while the on-road dynamics are slightly compromised by the fat tyres and softened suspension, a good balance is met overall. The ride is a bit bouncy when the load box is empty though, but that’s part and parcel with a bakkie. Steering is light and communicates enough road information to impart confidence at high speeds on-road and sure-footedness off-road, although the rack rattles a bit too much on dirt. Driving comfort is also not bad and, after over six hours straight in the cloth-covered seats, neither I nor my three passengers complained of a sore back or numb buttocks. The adjustable lumbar support on the driver’s seat made a huge difference in maintaining my comfort, too.
The departure trip saw our three-car convoy on a long stretch of the N12 highway through the east of Joburg and Witbank onto the N4, with a north-eastern turn up towards the R36 through Lydenburg, Ohrigstad and Dullstroom, the J. G. Strijdom tunnel and then a squirt up the R527 towards the Blyde River dam. Littered with slow-moving trucks and potholes, the Navara impressed with its overtaking ability and with its big shoes, even being unable to avoid some potholes was no problem at all. Returning on a more scenic and interesting route, we headed back to Joburg with Pilgrim’s Rest, Graskop and Machadodorp in mind. This is where my world got a lot more exciting, because the R533 was the road we’d use and that is home to Robber’s Pass.
At this point I wished I’d chosen a sports car for the trip, because what awaited us just outside Pilgrim’s Rest is one of the best road’s I’ve ever driven. Tight switch-backs, sweeping corners and beautiful views – a petrolhead’s dream – and the best bit is I still enjoyed it as if I was in a sports car. The Navara handled with aplomb, even making its safety systems work a little when approaching one of the hairpins with a little too much enthusiasm. A quick stop in Pilgrim’s Rest lead to lunch in Graskop, a pass through Sabie and then the best part of the entire five days – Long Tom Pass on the R37.
Again, it didn’t matter that I was in a diesel bakkie with a net weight of about 2.5 tons. I was in love with the tarmac. And the views. We really do live in an incredibly beautiful place and, at over 2500m above sea level on the pass’ highest point, looking out over the Northern corner of Mpumalanga was absolutely breath-taking. Potholes were again on the menu for the leg down from Lydenburg to Machadodorp and it was quite a welcome relief to meet the N4 highway at dusk. After the mammoth 1385km round trip, average consumption had climbed to 10.7-litres/100km, but that is still definitely impressive when all factors are considered.
Once home and rested, I stared at the Navara for at least an hour while my favourite car wash took care of the dirty work on the final day of my week-long test, and it really dawned on me how impressive it had been. Here was a car which had been comfortable for over 20 hours in total. It had carried all our luggage, food and drinks without complaint. It made me smile like a 5-year-old on two of this country’s best driving roads and it made me look like a hero where there were no roads. Yet in doing all of this, it used a considerably low amount of fuel.
Initially it didn’t really make sense to me, why someone would spend R520 000 on such a big bakkie with such a big engine. Especially when you consider that the Navara 3.0 V6 dCi 4×4’s nearest rivals are the Toyota Hilux Legend 40 4×4 Raider (R441 800) or the Land Cruiser 76 Series 4×4 wagon (R450 800). In fact, Navara is South Africa’s most expensive bakkie. But the moment we got out of the fast-paced and jam-packed city, everything fell into place. It’s a cruiser, carrier, off-roader and driver’s car all rolled into one popular package and yes, I would buy one.
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Photography by Downphorse Automotive Photography. Used with permission.
