2021 Nissan Navara facelift teased, November 5 unveil

Having endured six long years on the market without any major changes, the D23 Nissan Navara is finally going under the knife. We’ve recently seen several leaked images of the facelifted pick-up, but the Japanese carmaker has now confirmed that it will debut on November 5, with this teaser video accompanying the news.

First, we’ll have to talk about the name. After persevering with calling the vehicle the NP300 Navara, Nissan appears to finally be ditching the alphanumeric middle name. The aforementioned leaked photos show the car with the Frontier script on the grille, a name which is used in Latin America. However, North Americans will get a completely different version of the Frontier, based on the old D40.

Just as in the teaser video of the Z Proto, the company spent a lot of time talking up the heritage of its pick-up line that spans 85 years. Our only look at the new Navara comes at the end of the video, with a darkened front shot that shows the new cube-like LED headlights, C-shaped daytime running lights and hints of the massive grille and reprofiled bumper.

Aside from the major front overhaul, the rear is also expected to receive some changes, including new tail lights with C-shaped light guides, a revised tailgate design and a beefier bumper. We’re also expecting some new wheel designs to go with the nip and tuck.

To keep up with the advancing pick-up market, the Navara will likely receive several new features, particularly in the world of safety. The truck can already be had in Europe with autonomous emergency braking, so this vital safety net should make its way to Southeast Asia with the facelift. New systems like adaptive cruise control may also be introduced.

As for the engine, the Navara will likely soldier on with the Renault-sourced 2.3 litre twin-turbocharged diesel four-cylinder, currently making 190 PS and 450 Nm of torque. Malaysians won’t be familiar with this mill because it has never been offered here – instead, we get the old 2.5 litre oil burner from the D40, making a similar amount of power and torque as the 2.3 litre unit.

Could the smaller, more frugal engine make it to our shores – perhaps with a power boost – given that the rest of the competition come with new and upgraded engines? Time will tell, but whatever engine we’ll get, it will likely be mated to the same six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic gearboxes as before.

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