Nissan Navara Speed Run: Power Play

This is what happens when you “brake torque” an automatic-equipped Nissan Frontier Navara Navara. Step on the brakes with your left foot, the accelerator with your right, let the revs climb to 4,000 RPM, and savor the sound and fury as 174 PS and 40 kg-m of torque attempt to break the rear tires loose. After around 4 seconds, release the brakes and let the tires paint the asphalt a nice, sticky black for a dozen feet on the way to 100kph in just over 11 seconds. Less if you’re a pro (more on that later). Cue soundtrack from The Fast and the Furious.

Normally, you would not do this on a daily basis. Especially not in front of Universal Motors’ EVP for Marketing, Elizabeth Lee. But this is no ordinary day, and besides, Ms. Lee herself opened up the proceedings with a glorious 5-second burnout in this “Navara Speed Run”. Talk about a license to burn rubber.

Pickup trucks aren’t expected to drive like sports cars, but with the Navara Speed Run, UMC wanted to bring home the point that the Navara lives up to its “Sport Utility Truck” billing, that it’s got the soul of a sports car. The Navara already has an impressive resume. Best-in-class power from the 2.5-liter DOHC CRDi engine (174 PS in the 4x4, 144 PS in the 4x2), beating even the 3.0 and 3.2-liter competition. Advanced transmissions in the form of a 6-speed manual and a 5-speed automatic for better acceleration, higher top gears, and improved fuel efficiency compared to the usual 5-speed stick or 4-speed slushbox. Standard Limited Slip Differential for the 4x4 to control wheelspin. Even the chassis seems over-engineered. While others go with the conventional 6-crossmember chassis, the Navara uses an 8-crossmember design, yielding superior rigidity, durability, and helping create a smoother ride.

So, it was time to put all this to the test.

Held at the ASEANA Power Station, the motoring media were set lose on a fleet of Navaras with the sole purpose of trying to see how much punishment it could take. The battery of tests included 0-100-0kph standing start and rolling start sprints to demonstrate its power-to-weight ratio and sports car-like character, a 50-meter “flex test” of giant potholes and ridges to test the rigidity of the 8-crossmember chassis, and a run along Macapagal Avenue to test the responsiveness of its powertrain in top gear.

By far the most popular test among the media was the 0-100-0 kph sprint, which tested not only the durability of the drivetrain but also the tester’s drag racing skills. With instructors Ferman Lao and Pacho Blanco (of Speedlab and Autoplus cred, respectively) as co-drivers, the media were told to launch the Navara as follows.

Raise the RPM to just a hair below 4,000 RPM. Drop the clutch. Upshift at the 4,000 RPM power peak. At the “BEEP” of the Driftbox GPS system (indicating 100kph), stand on the brake pedal and de-clutch as the Navara comes to a screeching, ABS-assisted stop. Some testers had actually never drag raced anything before, and thus found the first-timer’s experience at the wheel of a truck that much more impressive. Like lifting off from an aircraft carrier and then landing back down with the hook catching the arrestor wire, only without Highway to the Danger Zone playing in the background.

With over a dozen testers going through the punishing sprint twice, the Navara never once broke a hard sweat, no “Check Engine” light telling the tester to please back off already. Bam Olivarez of Daily Tribune set the fastest 0-100kph time of 11.8 seconds among the media, but Pacho’s motorsports experience pushed the Navara a second faster with a 10.8; quicker than even some production passenger cars today.

After the sprint tests, the rest were just gravy as the Navara gobbled up the “flex test” and cruised through the top gear sets. There was one additional, impromptu demo. With Pacho behind the wheel, we found that the Navara was quite a fun drift machine in the dirt, thanks to its surfeit of power. Set to two-wheel drive and with the Limited Slip Differential keeping things under control, the Navara could literally spin donuts and do figure-8s all afternoon. A nicely tuned suspension and steering system (it’s a rack-and-pinion) kept even the amateur drivers from spinning out of control into the weeds. Strictly speaking, it’s not a very practical thing to do, but when you’ve got all that power and technology on tap, then a Sport Utility Truck deserves to be driven like one.