Mid-variant goodness: 2024 Nissan Navara Calibre-X 4×2 AT- Review
It’s easy to dismiss the Nissan Navara because of its age, easily surpassing more than a decade with the same platform and powertrain option renders it virtually ancient compared to the very modern and advanced trucks in the market nowadays.
I personally consider the Navara as one of my top picks in the segments and is generally one of my favorite cars on sale today. Recently, the brand decided to tweak the interior a little bit and bring more class and sophistication, along with the introduction of a rather cool variant that almost fooled me. Let me explain…
2024 Nissan Navara Calibre-X
Table of Contents
When it was first delivered, I saw the iconic Navara color combination of White, Orange, and Black all over the exterior. This makes me recognize it as the top-of-the-line Pro-4X model because that’s where the multi-tone colorway is offered.
It wasn’t until I walked around the vehicle did I notice that it was in fact just the Calibre-X, a variant lower. I was shocked at just how well the brand was able to bring the overall look of the more expensive Pro-4X to the Calibre-X, Nissan tends to do this across models most notably the Kicks where all variants look basically the same.
I appreciated this because oftentimes brands are more than willing to make you feel like you bought and are driving the ‘lesser’ variant.
Interior
This is where the major updates took place, the dashboard has been refreshed and updated to now resemble the same layout and general equipment found in the PPV sibling Terra. Gone are the more rounded and sculpted shapes of the dash and it now features a more upright and angular panel.
It has an updated head unit cluster has been updated with a bigger touchscreen unit flanked by physical buttons (thankfully), while the climate control system has also been reworked to feature the same look found on most Nissan models now. What I like the most about the interior though is the instrument cluster, it has analog gauges flanking a digital screen in the middle, I like the mixture of old-school and new-school.
Much like the exterior, the interior seats and panels are also cast in the top-of-the-line colorway of orange and black, it really does look and feel like the Pro-4X interior except for the lack of 4WD buttons.
Performance and Safety
Powering the Navara is the 2.5-liter turbocharged-diesel engine that’s been offered for quite some time now, it still makes 190 PS and 450 Nm of torque, and the transmission is a 7-speed automatic unit with a manual mode.
Nissan takes safety seriously, and the Nissan Intelligent Mobility (NIM) suite is present even in the Calibre-X model in the form of, the Intelligent Around View Monitor (IAVM), Intelligent Around View Monitor (IAVM), Moving Object Detection and O-Road Monitor, Moving Object Detection Without (with Reverse Camera), Intelligent Emergency Braking (IEB) With Without Intelligent Forward Collision Warning (IFCW), Intelligent Driver Alertness, Blind Spot Warning (BSW), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), High Beam Assist (HBA), Hill Start Assist (HSA), Hill Descent Control (HDC).
Driving Impressions
I’ve already written my extensive and extreme driving experience with the Navara Pro-4X earlier this year during a Zambales drive with Nissan. However, I still find myself impressed every time I drive the Navara because of how comfortable it is for something rugged, then again the Nissan Navara has always had it’s suspension system for a selling point, claiming to be the comfortable pickup option in the market (Though that does come at the cost of having a lesser payload capacity).
Apart from the apparent comfort, the Nissan Navara Calibre-X feels light to steer and maneuver around the city, I found myself not really adjusting to its height and size because of the ergonomic driving position and layout. The whole NIM suite along with the around view monitor really helped me keep away from parking posts and other objects otherwise obstructed.
While the 2.5-liter may be on the older side, it is reliable in its performance giving me the torque down low to get this hulking vehicle moving in stop-and-go conditions, but it also has enough oomph up top the rev range to aid in overtaking situations, the transmission is also very decent not leaving me hanging during overtaking but also remaining smooth at slower speeds.
I honestly think the Navara while not the most dynamic feeling pickup is the most user-friendly one in terms of usage overall.
Points for improvement
My only gripe with the Navara would be the lack of more updated safety features like lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control. These features are almost expected already these days and the lack thereof might be glaring for some.
Price and Verdict
At PHP 1,630,000 the Nissan Navara Calibre-X 4×2 is a decently priced mid-variant pickup. It remains one of the stronger units for the Nissan brand locally, and the little updates done to the model like the interior should be enough to keep it competitive for a little while longer.
What makes the Nissan Navarra such a strong option is that it sticks to its core competencies well, comfort, and capability, while the other pickups may be more ‘advanced’ and filled with technological trinkets, the Navara remains a true pickup truck.
