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IOL News
5 days ago
- Automotive
- IOL News
Celebrating the Spirit of Africa and the prowess of the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior bakkie
The Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior is a big bakkie, but it's surprisingly nimble. Image: Supplied Celebrating its coming of age, the Spirit of Africa 4x4 driving challenge, now in its third year under the Nissan banner, saw 22 journalists and content creators, including some of our colleagues north of our borders, celebrate its 21st birthday, tackling the course in Cullinan just outside Pretoria. Founded by motorsport legend Sarel van der Merwe, the event saw us pairing up to take on various speed and technical challenges in the Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior by Premcar. Navara PRO-4X Warrior Launched in March, the Navara PRO-4X Warrior is a collaboration between Nissan and Australian engineering firm Premcar, making South Africa the first market outside Australia to build and offer the Warrior. The exterior features a more aggressive look with a blacked-out grille, door handles, roof rack, side steps, 17-inch alloys under flares and red accents, while inside the seats receive Warrior-banded black seats with red stitching. The modified front bumper improves the approach angle by two degrees to 35 degrees, with the departure angle still 27 degrees. The suspension has also been transformed, providing increased ride height and a wider track, while improved springs and recalibrated dampers give better wheel articulation. Under the bonnet is the same 2.5-litre turbo diesel engine with 140kW and 450Nm of torque coupled to a seven-speed automatic transmission with 4H, 4L and a rear difflock. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The Spirit of Africa challenge saw the Navara PRO-4X Warrior tackle some difficult obstacles. Image: Supplied Off-road skills The event, which started in April, sees 400 two-person teams testing their off-road driving skills over two days to secure a spot in the Top 20, which will be announced after 21 June. But back to testing our skills. Because of the limited time, we completed 12 of the 16 challenges, competing in four technical and eight high-octane speed events. Between 10 and 30 points are deducted or seconds added per infringement pole struck, so we had to keep our wits about us. I teamed up with Anton Willemse from Adventure Afrika, the pair of us having secured second place in a previous Spirit of Africa competition. Let's go Up first was a speed challenge, which saw me post a good time without hitting any red flags or poles, followed by a technical challenge that needed to be completed within a certain time. My partner acquitted himself well, so we decided that I would do the fast bits and the rocky pole littered part of the competition would be his responsibility. As the day progressed and the Gauteng winter sun started to warm us up, the competition heated up too, with us keeping our ears to the radio to hear the marshals call out penalties from the other hopefuls. The Navara is a big bakkie, but it's surprisingly nimble as we thread our way through the poles and red flags in 4H. With my left foot on the brake and right foot hard on the accelerator as a type of launch control, it would lunge forward on the speed sections and during the drag race, managed well over 120km/h. We had a fair idea of where we were in the pecking order, but after a couple of less than favourable challenges, we reckoned that our race was run. Tight turns were the order of the day at the Spirit of Africa Challenge. Image: Supplied Racing face However, competition is a funny thing. The moment the marshall counts you down and you enter the obstacle your 'racing face' appears and you're back in full competition mode. It felt like we had managed to claw back into contention until the last figure of eight speed challenge. All was going well and we were flying through just missing the poles before the last sharp left hand turn. The front left wheel dug in, the Navara continued straight, and I unceremoniously ploughed over three poles before it turned to cross the line. Oh well, it was still a fun and challenging day out testing the abilities of the Navara PRO-4X Warrior. Motorsport legend Sarel van der Merwe (middle) with third place winners Willem van de Putte (left) from Independent Media and IOL Motoring and Anton Willemse from Adventure Afrika. Image: Supplied Bronze Medal Swapping the day's war stories among ourselves, we weren't expecting much when the chief marshall came out to read the results. Counting down from 15 (there were three Nissan SA staff teams as well), we weren't last and as he went through the top 10 and then the top five, we were in with a podium chance. 'And in third place, team number three with Willem and Anton,' he said. Not too shabby for a day's outing. Brendon Staniforth (Maroela Media) and Oliver Keohane (Leisure Wheels) claimed the top spot, followed by Reuben van Niekerk (Wheels24) and Denis Droppa (Business Day) in second place.
News.com.au
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
2025 Nissan Patrol Warrior Review
If you've been on the edge about whether to buy a Nissan Patrol, now is the time. Like, literally, get your order in, because this is the best this generation has ever been, and it will be gone before you know it. That's because there's a new-generation Y63 Patrol coming, which will get a more advanced and efficient six-cylinder engine and a completely redone interior. Heart of a Warrior The charm of this model is its terrific 5.6-litre petrol V8 engine, which will continue on until the bell tolls in 2026, and it finally scores an interior deserving of its $100,000 price tag. There are three versions of the Patrol – the Ti, from about $99,000 drive-away, the Ti-L with a few more luxury items at roughly $111,000 drive-away, and the Warrior by Premcar, which is the most hardcore version (and the one to pick!) at nearly $115,000 drive-away. Choose the Ti or Warrior, you get eight seats (2+3+3), while the Ti-L has a seven-seat design (2+3+2). Fresh tech helps the cause All of them have seen a revised interior that includes a better, factory-fit 12.3-inch touchscreen media system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and that system includes sat nav and has a new rotary dial media controller too. It's been offered in other markets, but Australia has been low on the list for it – but it sees the reintroduction of a surround-view camera with forward view mode for off-roading, which was removed as part of the last, less successful, interior update. The new dash also gets a wireless phone charger, and there has been a rethink of the positioning of some controls, while the driver gets a new 7.0-inch digital instrument display that offers much better usability than the last version, incorporating a digital speedo, tyre pressure monitoring, off-road angles (pitch and yaw) and a compass, too. Along with some revisions to the interior trim, the Ti and Ti-L models feel a lot less like a 1970s golf club, but it's hardly cutting edge cabin treatment. Practicality-wise, it nails the brief with enough space for adults in all three rows of seats, and a big boot area as well. Just a shame the rear seats don't have electric foldability, as it's a loooong reach (or walk around to the door) to shift them. The drive experience hasn't changed, and that's whether you're talking on- or off-road. It's a monster on dirt But as has been the case since Nissan launched the fettled Warrior model, the off-road-focused flagship offering is the best of both worlds. Premcar's mods include a 50mm lift kit, 34-inch Yokohama all-terrain tyres, recovery hooks, and in combination with revised suspension, better clearance, more off-roadability and a wider track, it feels like the Warrior is ready for whatever you can throw at it. We threw it around some country road corners and while it's no masterpiece in dynamic prowess, it has a soft and comfortable ride with predictable driveability. The Warrior also scores a side-exit exhaust, and the pipes make the V8 engine sing. You won't be able to get enough of the soundtrack. Off-road? It's a beast. Low-range and a few different off-road modes ensure you'll be able to churn up the sand or crawl up craggy hillsides, and it can deal with deep water crossings and muddy surfaces easily. It's thirsty The biggest concern for potential customers will be fuel consumption. It averages 14.4L/100km on the official numbers, but I saw 16.2L/100km across a mix of driving. And the preference is 98RON premium unleaded for its 140-litre tank. Yeesh, that's gonna be a pricey refill every week or two. But there's a nice sweetener for this updated Patrol (and models sold prior, provided they've been serviced with Nissan or get a check-up done if maintained elsewhere) – a conditional 10-year/300,000km warranty. If you service with Nissan (every 12 months/10,000km) you can get a decade of warranty cover, including genuine accessories fitted, and there's a 10-year roadside assistance plan too. Verdict If you can stomach the cost of the Patrol and the petrol costs don't bother you, this is the best version of the Y62 yet. Can't wait to see what the new Y63 is like! 4 stars NISSAN PATROL WARRIOR OUTPUTS: 298kW/560Nm FUEL CONSUMPTION: 14.4L/100km
