Final specification and a date of reveal is expected to be announced in due course.
Imported replacement of the depicted locally made Nissan Navara will arrive in November. Picture: Nissan
Hinted at the unveiling of the Tekton in September, Nissan South Africa has tentatively announced a reveal time for the updated D23 Navara.
Imported streamlined range
No longer locally made following Chery’s acquisition of the Rosslyn plant outside Pretoria earlier this year, the Navara will again become an imported model sourced from the Samut Prakan facility in Thailand.
The same plant that produced it until 2021 when the current “facelift” variant became a made-in-South-Africa product, the “new” Navara will have a streamlined line-up comprising three trim levels at launch, SE Plus, LE Plus and Pro-4X.
This means the XE, SE, limited run Stealth, Pro-2X and Pro-4X Warrior derivatives all fall away, with the same fate likely to involve the single cab currently only available in XE and SE grades.
New interior
Set to have receive incremental exterior changes, the Navara’s biggest overhaul has been inside with a new infotainment display and climate control panel, albeit only for the LE Plus and Pro-4X.
Whereas the SE Plus keeps the current interior layout, its sibling pair also benefit from a new centre console and gear lever.
Same engine
Up front, Nissan has confirmed that the Navara will retain the 2.5-litre YD25DDTI turbodiesel engine instead of reverting to twin-turbo 2.3-litre YS23.
Producing the same 140kW/450Nm as the erstwhile Rosslyn-made model, the oil-burner will again be paired to the seven-speed automatic gearbox, with the future of the six-speed manual unknown.
Selectable four-wheel drive with low range and a locking rear differential is expected to be optional once again, but standard on the Pro-4X.
Stay tuned
The prolonging of the D23 Navara’s lifecycle will see it enter its 13th year of production in 2027 and 10th in South Africa.
As is already known, this means the Mitsubishi Triton-based D27 won’t be offered as sales are exclusive to Australasia.
Even less clear is the availability of the Chinese-made Navara Pro, which will go on-sale in Australia and New Zealand next year powered by a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
Due to be revealed in November, expect more details of the “new” D23 Navara to be announced soon, including the date of reveal.
