[TJ16]

Apologies, I only just found this thread, I thought the mods had deleted my post, had not realised it was moved here.
@popsdosh, my NP300 would have been approaching £40K new because it was fitted with various accessories including the £4K genuine canopy (including VAT, I'm a private buyer). Not sure why anybody would ever pay that for the canopy though!

Would not touch a new Land Rover product, all the modern LR's I've experienced have been very unreliable. They look great, have lovely interiors, great ride comfort and reasonable off road but all that could not make up for the amount of time mine had to spend back at the dealer having problems rectified. All my classic LR's were built before Land Rover started to cater more to hairdressers and city bankers than farmers and builders. They seem incapable of fitting any form of reliable electronics and their build quality is hit and miss these days. The new Defender replacement will just be an other overpriced, underwhelming, soul-less vehicle that will have poor reliability and will be driven mostly be school mums in London. I'm hoping Ineos get their hard core defender alternative built (especially if in a UK factory), I'd be tempted to buy one of them.

The mods will be pleased to hear that I'm really starting to enjoy the Navara now. After 1500 miles of use I am really appreciating the ride quality and excellent fuel economy. I still find it looks a bit too SUV like for my tastes but I'm really pleased to see so much aftermarket support. I love the look of the WCS design NP300 with the de-chromed look, big tyres and suspension lifts - that is what I hope to achieve with mine next summer. I'll be doing the de-chroming and suspension lift myself though as I'm not paying WCS £4000 when I can do it myself for £800. Really wish manufacturers would not plaster a working truck in chrome, especially fake chrome, in my opinion it not only looks tacky/chavvy but doesn't really belong on a pickup truck.

 

[popsdosh]

@popsdosh, my NP300 would have been approaching £40K new because it was fitted with various accessories including the £4K genuine canopy (including VAT, I'm a private buyer). Not sure why anybody would ever pay that for the canopy though!

My Tekna including canopy , Tow bar and diff lock was under 25k incl VAT thats why I questioned it. LOL
An N connecta was about 2k cheaper.

 

[TJ16]

My Tekna including canopy , Tow bar and diff lock was under 25k incl VAT thats why I questioned it. LOL
An N connecta was about 2k cheaper.

Yeah, I was quoting retail prices though in context with the price comparison to Range Rovers quoted in other thread.

I'm assuming your £25K was a discounted figure? Seems a very good discount though, they basically giving the canopy away free despite listing it at £3750??

 

[popsdosh]

Yeah, I was quoting retail prices though in context with the price comparison to Range Rovers quoted in other thread.

I'm assuming your £25K was a discounted figure? Seems a very good discount though, they basically giving the canopy away free despite listing it at £3750??

Discounts available to everybody mine was lincolnshire main dealer however used these to seal the deal
http://www.fjchalke.co.uk/business-centre/vans/navara/. Nissan let them match it. luckily coming from a farming background helps as we are use to over inflated RRPs and big discounts its all to do with fooling the finance companies as most will only lend on 50% of RRP nowadays so 45% discounts are the norm on most of our kit.

 

[TJ16]

Discounts available to everybody mine was lincolnshire main dealer however used these to seal the deal
http://www.fjchalke.co.uk/business-centre/vans/navara/. Nissan let them match it. luckily coming from a farming background helps as we are use to over inflated RRPs and big discounts its all to do with fooling the finance companies as most will only lend on 50% of RRP nowadays so 45% discounts are the norm on most of our kit.

True, however I know the same applies to Range Rovers too, the list may well be £80K or whatever (as quoted by somebody on other thread) but reality is you'd get the RR a lot cheaper than that (I know that first hand) so I think the main point still stands that the high spec Navaras are getting quite pricey and stepping into mid range SUV territory and thus attracting the sort of criticism that you'd expect of an SUV if it had these shortcomings (poor heater, naff gearbox etc)

Up here the average wages are pretty low so even a £25K vehicle is considered 'posh' ;-)

Popsdosh, on a different subject, how have you been finding the rear suspension for load carrying? I will have a 600Kg engine to carry early in the new year and I'm a bit concerned over the sagging that I'm already suffering from after loading 200Kg of recovery equipment in. I read that the late 2017 NP300's have had stiffer coils on the rear to cure some of the sagging under load? While we don't carry much more than 200Kg often, we need it to handle the occasional 3/4 ton load. Do you think I'm going to need to use a trailer instead? My B2500 used to handle a load of 750Kg with minimal sagging of the leafs - its only problem was then bad brake fade in hilly terrain when heavily laden.

 

[Quite Scary Productions]

It was possibly the worst money I’ve ever spent on a car ! How can you not use the d40 adventura extras and gadgets as a bench mark and build on it , but no let’s loose lots of stuff and put lesser quality products in its place . I will never buy one again and this is my 3rd nav

 

[TJ16]

Most is Motorway driving to be fair , computer is saying 37mpg at the moment ,
best according to the computer says 44mpg , but i think that is a stretch ..

My computer over reads by approx. 10% (or 4mpg) so if it is showing 44mpg on the computer it will be an actual of 40mpg which is still very good! I'm on the original 255/60R18 tyres. Bigger tyres will give more accurate speedo, trip and fuel computer.

I just managed to get a true 47mpg out of mine but only by doing a couple of 250 mile motorway trips at a steady 56mph on empty roads and unladen except for wife and kids. The computer showed 49mpg.

I did the exact same trip last week, identical roads and traffic conditions but at a more normal 70mph and got just 32mpg. The computer showed 37mpg!, it seems to get more inaccurate the faster you go.

PS. The speedo over reads too, so if it shows 60mph you'll only really be going 56mph. In got my 47mpg by doing 60mph on the speedo which is actually 56'ish, the same speed as most HGV's on inside lane.

 

[popsdosh]

True, however I know the same applies to Range Rovers too, the list may well be £80K or whatever (as quoted by somebody on other thread) but reality is you'd get the RR a lot cheaper than that (I know that first hand) so I think the main point still stands that the high spec Navaras are getting quite pricey and stepping into mid range SUV territory and thus attracting the sort of criticism that you'd expect of an SUV if it had these shortcomings (poor heater, naff gearbox etc)

Up here the average wages are pretty low so even a £25K vehicle is considered 'posh' ;-)

Popsdosh, on a different subject, how have you been finding the rear suspension for load carrying? I will have a 600Kg engine to carry early in the new year and I'm a bit concerned over the sagging that I'm already suffering from after loading 200Kg of recovery equipment in. I read that the late 2017 NP300's have had stiffer coils on the rear to cure some of the sagging under load? While we don't carry much more than 200Kg often, we need it to handle the occasional 3/4 ton load. Do you think I'm going to need to use a trailer instead? My B2500 used to handle a load of 750Kg with minimal sagging of the leafs - its only problem was then bad brake fade in hilly terrain when heavily laden.

Put it in a trailer ! we carry as little as possible in the back . By the way the stiffer springs are a myth started by I know not who? Possibly a salesman! We did some checking when this first appeared and they are the same part number they have always been and the same strength. if you are going to put 750kg in you wont enjoy that experience as you will be riding on the bump stops star gazing.

I dont buy the getting pricey bit they are cheaper than nearly all the alternatives. When we got our first a 3yo 75k miles discovery gave us a brand new Nav to drive away and a few grand in our pocket six years later the NP300 was less than we paid for the first Nav. The Tekna in D40 was nearly up with the Discovery spec at that time. RRs dont come in much under 80kfor the paupers spec one a similar lowly Nav(in the range) can be had for the low teens. Of course the Navs are going to be in mid range SUV territory as thats what they are from a technology point of view. As you said earlier LR products can be problematical however I was never left questioning their willingness to put things right, right down to them automatically asking to check a vehicle just before the warranty expired not that we ever risked having one that old.

 

[TJ16]

Put it in a trailer ! we carry as little as possible in the back .

Thanks, thought as much. It is annoying though as I bought a pickup instead of an SUV specifically to carry stuff in the back. Hopefully aftermarket springs will fix problem.

By the way the stiffer springs are a myth started by I know not who? Possibly a salesman! We did some checking when this first appeared and they are the same part number they have always been and the same strength.

It wasn't a salesman. I read about it on a few Australian magazine articles and it was mentioned in an official Nissan news article, all regarding the Series 2 update to the NP300.

The Nissan press release said this:

Enhanced suspension tuning on Navara model variants fitted with 5-link coil-spring rear suspension (does not apply to model variants fitted with leaf-spring rear suspension):
Revised front shock absorbers
Revised rear shock absorbers
Revised rear rebound dampers
Result: more refined ride and handling with improved lateral stability, especially when carrying a load in the cargo area or towing

This is one of the magazine articles: https://www.4x4australia.com.au/news/1610/nissan-navara-to-address-suspension-issues

To be honest, even if the springs didn't sag under the load, I would probably fit aftermarket springs to the rear end because I prefer my pickups to be tail high not tail low. Tail high is a more tradition pickup truck stance. It just looks odd to me being nose up tail down. a 2" lift at the rear would fix the stance for me and hopefully at same time will alleviate the load carrying issues.

 

[TJ16]

After a month of ownership, one thing I'm extremely pleased with on my NP300 is the infotainment system and the dash info display.

We just got rid of a 2 year old Vauxhall Corsa that was fitted with the GM Intellink (MyLink) system. It was awful. It was the main reason we got rid of the car. In comparison the Nissan system is a dream to use.

The Intellilink had no physical buttons or knobs to access menu options etc and the software was multiple sub menus with small buttons that proved dangerous to use while driving. The screen had no manual control over night/day mode. Start the car at 4am to go to work and I was blinded by a super bright white screen with no way of controlling its brightness. While driving, to switch between sat nav and radio would mean pressing on several small menu navigation buttons on the screen that was smaller than the NP300's and it was mounted low down in the Corsa dash which meant taking eyes off road for several seconds at a time.

The NP300 has physical buttons to choose radio, sat nav etc. It has the lovely rotary knobs for volume and menu navigation and even has a manual override on the day/night mode. Also, even the buttons in the software are big and easy to use while driving. Well done Nissan. It is a joy to use compared to GM's system.

My wife and I also both love the display in the instrument binnacle too. It has nice colours, is very clear and has a good range of options. Really impressive for a pickup truck, actually better than many car systems!

The icing on the cake is having a CD player in addition to the infotainment. On the Corsa the CD player was not available if you chose to have the infotainment system.

8/10 from me.

Would have been 10/10 but the sat nav maps are out of date and the route planning is limited compared to my windows phone map app. Also the Nissan system doesn't support my windows phone via USB whereas the GM system did. Not a huge problem because I mainly use Bluetooth for phone calls. Never really did much music streaming as I tend to listen to radio.

 

[Mjghips]

Addblue

Add blue is so cheep if you buy 20l bottles so it’s not putting me off a euro 6

 

[popsdosh]

Add blue is so cheep if you buy 20l bottles so it’s not putting me off a euro 6

Costs us 30p/l ,you will more than see your money back

 

[dashed]

Generally pretty pleased with mine, but not blown away.

I've had loads of issues with the rear canopy, and also the local dealership is laughably bad. Nissan UK also haven't provided great backup so that worries me a bit for the future with any warranty issues etc (the long warranty was one of the reasons I bought it!).

- I don't think the driving position is great or the seats that comfortable.
- Auto headlights are a pia and can't be turned "off"
- Aircon / heater is rubbish
- Trim just feels a bit fragile - glovebox bracket cracked when removing it to get to fusebox (which as per manual) and door trims seem to stain when you open the door and they get rained on!
- 4x4 system isn't as good as others out there and winds up very easily so you've got to be careful on mixed surfaces (i.e. on and off tarmac and farm tracks / fields etc)
- Wheel size limits tyre options
- horn is a pathetic little "parp" - now replaced with a nautilus!

+ Economical
+ No issues with AdBlue - doesn't bother me chucking a bottle in every few months
+ Ride seems ok for a pickup

I guess in summary, I like the truck but not sure I'd buy another (probably more down the rubbish dealership support I've had). Will probably go elsewhere next time around.

 

[Mjghips]

Generally pretty pleased with mine, but not blown away.

I've had loads of issues with the rear canopy, and also the local dealership is laughably bad. Nissan UK also haven't provided great backup so that worries me a bit for the future with any warranty issues etc (the long warranty was one of the reasons I bought it!).

- I don't think the driving position is great or the seats that comfortable.
- Auto headlights are a pia and can't be turned "off"
- Aircon / heater is rubbish
- Trim just feels a bit fragile - glovebox bracket cracked when removing it to get to fusebox (which as per manual) and door trims seem to stain when you open the door and they get rained on!
- 4x4 system isn't as good as others out there and winds up very easily so you've got to be careful on mixed surfaces (i.e. on and off tarmac and farm tracks / fields etc)
- Wheel size limits tyre options
- horn is a pathetic little "parp" - now replaced with a nautilus!

+ Economical
+ No issues with AdBlue - doesn't bother me chucking a bottle in every few months
+ Ride seems ok for a pickup

I guess in summary, I like the truck but not sure I'd buy another (probably more down the rubbish dealership support I've had). Will probably go elsewhere next time around.

Hid same issue with door trim and rain on the demo I had but I was just the silicone it was cleaned with. Used dash cleaner on them before I took it back and it was fine (use armoral)