The hard-to-beat Nissan Navaraby Alan Reid
To give you an overall picture of this vehicle, let’s start with the technical aspects. The intercooled 2.5 litre turbo diesel was remarkably quiet whilst delivering good acceleration and power, and I was impressed with the road handling qualities which I assume are greatly enhanced with the leaf spring suspension in the rear and the double wishbone in the front. The five-speed transmission was smooth and provided comfortable cruising and control throughout the gear-changing process. Power steering is standard in the Navara and I was impressed at how agile, light and responsive it was. I was also keen to check out the driving qualities of the vehicle as having long legs I quickly become uncomfortable in a vehicle with little leg space. I wasn’t disappointed with the Navara – there was plenty of leg room and what’s more the ergonomically designed seats were very comfortable and easy to adjust. The Navara double cab is larger than most in its class which allows for excellent all-round vision. Standard features include air-conditioning, a CD player/radio, power windows, central locking, and driver and passenger airbags. Being a ute, you have to carry things around in it, and the towing capacity of 1500 kg provides ample justification for calling the Navara DX a heavy duty hauler. For further information on the URVAN and Navara, email this article to a friend------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- you may also be interested in the following article: Nissan URAVANbby Alan Reid
If you are constantly getting in and out of the vehicle to pick up and deliver, the URVAN has some great features, including a large sliding door on each side of the vehicle and a large rear door which was surprisingly easy to open. The low floor height makes for easy loading of heavy and awkward items. The URVAN has a 3 litre common rail turbo diesel which produced plenty of grunt when it was needed. I was impressed with the URVAN’s tight turning circle which made moving in and out of confined areas relatively easy. I used the URVAN for a week and thought about what it would be like to be in the vehicle doing my job day in and day out – how good would it be for long-term comfort? The URVAN has ergonomically designed seating for comfort and the air-conditioning, power windows and mirrors are easy to operate and reach. Additional touches like the drinks cooler, pen holder and CD audio system create an environment of comfort and convenience. |
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When I collected the URVAN from Nissan I concluded that this is a vehicle generally driven by couriers and delivery drivers, and that I had better put myself in their shoes whilst driving and using the vehicle. The first thing I noticed was the huge load space – 2720 x 1545 mm and a height of 1350 mm. |
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