So its been a few years since I had a Nissan of any description. However I have one arriving today which shares a couple of traits with a Z32... Its a manual twin turbo with rear wheel drive, can anyone guess what it is?

That's a tricky one, is it a Navara? Or a modified Skyline?

Ah ha... you swine got it in one! I was hoping it would have taken a few new guesses. Yeah an NP300 Navara, its even a slicktop!

Health to enjoy Chris and we need a pic. :)

Good choice, the twin turbo drives so much better, very clever setup too, one turbo spools the other, vast improvement over the old ones.

Thanks guys, its here. I managed to snap a couple of pictures as a virgin vehicle on the DSLR but forgot to take any on the phone. As ever these days, the factory only does half a job so this afternoon I've fitted a tailgate power lock kit, load liner, tailgate liner, tailgate seal and then finally a hardtop. Its been a busy one!

 

Anyway here is the finished article!

 

 

 

Very nice :yes:

Very nice :yes:

 

Well its a 1000x better than my astravan! I'll be doing 35-40k a year in it like I have in the astras so its time for a change after two of them and over 260k miles

Is that a 99 spec spoiler on top :)

Nice bus and nice colour buddy:thumbup:

Is that a 99 spec spoiler on top :)

 

Haha not far of! Never noticed that!

Let us know how you get on with your Renault eerr i mean Nissan Chris:biggrin:...wife wants one but ime leaning to the Toyota:yes:

Let us know how you get on with your Renault eerr i mean Nissan Chris:biggrin:...wife wants one but ime leaning to the Toyota:yes:

 

I will mate, its superb so far. Its no more of a Renault than any other Navara, it does have a version of the 2.3 dci engine used in the master van, but this one is twin turbo @ 190bhp and unique to the NP300. By far the best selling point for me and why I wouldn't entertain another truck is the coil sprung rear end which is unique amongst proper pickups. What a difference it makes, I drove a brand new L200 in comparison and I thought the wheels had come of it was so rough. Its far from the pinnacle of driving pleasure but for a pickup its hugely impressive. I didn't like the 7 speed autobox, it felt very slow and dim witted and wanted to wait until 2500rpm before changing gear which is just silly when the thing has 332lbft of torque @1500rpm! Having said that, Renault are going to offer a version of the NP300 along with Mercedes apparently both will be badge engineered versions with the Renault using the 2.3 and apparently the the Mercedes will be offering a V6 oil burner.

 

Mine is an N-Connecta which is the second down in the spec list, Tekna being the top, its a leased company vehicle so I had a budget to keep to which is a shame as I would have quite liked the Tekna mainly for its around view monitor. I didnt think much to the quality of the leather but the LED headlights in the Tekna would have been nice. However to be honest the Accenta+ which is just below mine (only difference being the integrated Satnav) is probably as far as you need to go unless you want the navigation which I did.

 

I believe there is a new Hilux due very soon, if its not out already the biggest problem with them is the lack of power. If it were me... I would certainly wait for the new VW Amarok which is due soon to see what that is like the ENTIRE range has a 3.0 V6 in different states of tune which is fantastic. The D40 navara was unique at one time offering a V6 but the NP300 does not offer one as yet.

Very nice Chris....:thumbup:

Very nice Chris....:thumbup:

 

Thank you mate, managed another 10 miles today... all going well!

I will mate, its superb so far. Its no more of a Renault than any other Navara, it does have a version of the 2.3 dci engine used in the master van, but this one is twin turbo @ 190bhp and unique to the NP300. By far the best selling point for me and why I wouldn't entertain another truck is the coil sprung rear end which is unique amongst proper pickups. What a difference it makes, I drove a brand new L200 in comparison and I thought the wheels had come of it was so rough. Its far from the pinnacle of driving pleasure but for a pickup its hugely impressive. I didn't like the 7 speed autobox, it felt very slow and dim witted and wanted to wait until 2500rpm before changing gear which is just silly when the thing has 332lbft of torque @1500rpm! Having said that, Renault are going to offer a version of the NP300 along with Mercedes apparently both will be badge engineered versions with the Renault using the 2.3 and apparently the the Mercedes will be offering a V6 oil burner.

 

Mine is an N-Connecta which is the second down in the spec list, Tekna being the top, its a leased company vehicle so I had a budget to keep to which is a shame as I would have quite liked the Tekna mainly for its around view monitor. I didnt think much to the quality of the leather but the LED headlights in the Tekna would have been nice. However to be honest the Accenta+ which is just below mine (only difference being the integrated Satnav) is probably as far as you need to go unless you want the navigation which I did.

 

I believe there is a new Hilux due very soon, if its not out already the biggest problem with them is the lack of power. If it were me... I would certainly wait for the new VW Amarok which is due soon to see what that is like the ENTIRE range has a 3.0 V6 in different states of tune which is fantastic. The D40 navara was unique at one time offering a V6 but the NP300 does not offer one as yet.

 

wow nice test report so far...ime dicking with you Chris,the truck looks superb mate and ime liking the twin turbo bit:yes:

wow nice test report so far...ime dicking with you Chris,the truck looks superb mate and ime liking the twin turbo bit:yes:

 

Shes up to 160 miles or so now... how pathetic is that. Either way for a new tight engine, I've only ever driven it around town for the past few days and its managing about 29mpg its doing quite well. Official Nissan figures are 44mpg, other owners seem to be reporting late 30's over mixed driving which for a pickup is unreal.

 

I would say go and drive one and you'll be blown away, I was compared to other trucks on the market! Just make sure its a double cab, as the king cab 2 door ones still have cart springs at the rear.

Shes up to 160 miles or so now... how pathetic is that. Either way for a new tight engine, I've only ever driven it around town for the past few days and its managing about 29mpg its doing quite well. Official Nissan figures are 44mpg, other owners seem to be reporting late 30's over mixed driving which for a pickup is unreal.

 

I would say go and drive one and you'll be blown away, I was compared to other trucks on the market! Just make sure its a double cab, as the king cab 2 door ones still have cart springs at the rear.

 

Ime scared to Chris...i know ile love it and i hate spending money:rofl:

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Ime scared to Chris...i know ile love it and i hate spending money:rofl:

 

Deep pockets and short arms! Its up to 8500 miles now, average about 35mpg over all which isnt to bad. Overall its brilliant, the infotainment thing is a bit crap but its standard nissan parts bin. To be fair the window switches are pretty much the same design as a Z32! Typical parts bin vehicle but they are pretty cheap for the amount of metal.

 

Anyway the thing is powerful, surprisingly so and very adept at overtaking for what is a 2 ton pickup truck. I had an old shape Audi TT following me today and we both went to overtake a lorry obviously correct gear choice for me but the Audi just disappeared in the mirror. He came storming by on the next straight looking a little confused! Low gears and 332lbfit produces some interesting pull!

Deep pockets and short arms! Its up to 8500 miles now, average about 35mpg over all which isnt to bad. Overall its brilliant, the infotainment thing is a bit crap but its standard nissan parts bin. To be fair the window switches are pretty much the same design as a Z32! Typical parts bin vehicle but they are pretty cheap for the amount of metal.

 

Anyway the thing is powerful, surprisingly so and very adept at overtaking for what is a 2 ton pickup truck. I had an old shape Audi TT following me today and we both went to overtake a lorry obviously correct gear choice for me but the Audi just disappeared in the mirror. He came storming by on the next straight looking a little confused! Low gears and 332lbfit produces some interesting pull!

 

Glad to see a two-tonne truck showed a glorified Beetle a clean pair of rear tyres Chris.....:rofl:

Glad to see a two-tonne truck showed a glorified Beetle a clean pair of rear tyres Chris.....:rofl:

 

It was a good day for amusement! I'm not sure if you know the A66... but a little earlier I had caught up to a 12 plate Honda Crv thing. its a 60 limit, he was doing 55 but no problem. Anyway there is a steep hill mid way along which goes to two lanes, the CRV and its 1.6 oil burner started to suffer badly on. No such problem for the mighty NP300, clicked resume on the cruise back to 60 and it just roared by in 6th. He looked heart broken.

One of the very first trips in this truck for work was over to a customer in the IOM. Of course its a lovely place so I took the opportunity to extend my stay for a few days and took my other half and little boy. I managed to find a little water splash on the last day. Much to my surprise my OH announced she would like to take some pictures. I'm sure this will make any past or present Z32 owner cringe inside (just think of that air filter and MAF...!) however the truck makes it look pretty cool.

 

So to add a little update to this, mainly for Znut.

 

Truck is now up to about 23,000 miles. All going well, had its first service a couple of months ago for about £115 at a local garage. Tyres still like new, brakes have not needed any attention. Its done a genuine average of about 34mpg I think. Its fairly bad when cold and on short trips as to be expected, tends to reach into the late 30's at a steady 65-70mph motorway cruise. Its only costs so far have been the service, lots of diesel and some screen wash.

 

Essentially its not put a foot wrong apart from a couple of minor quirks, the first is the Inoftainment thing is a bit scatty, its started to occasionally forget a route if I stop to get a coffee etc and the other is the forward emergency braking sensor is extremly vulnerable to any bad weather. So basically, emergency auto braking works when its a nice sunny day, rain/snow etc it fails. So that's really useful. Last thing the automatic lights CANNOT be turned off, and activate at as little as passing a tree on the other side of the village.

Fabulous looking truck Chris, I'd love it if they had a new Pathfinder styled similar to this one, currently modding my '08 Pathie :thumbup1:

Fabulous looking truck Chris, I'd love it if they had a new Pathfinder styled similar to this one, currently modding my '08 Pathie :thumbup1:

 

Cheers its been good so far and I still think they are the best looking truck on the market. As fora new Pathfinder, I believe its coming!

 

http://www.carscoops.com/2016/05/nissan-spied-testing-new-2018-suv-based.html

Cheers its been good so far and I still think they are the best looking truck on the market. As fora new Pathfinder, I believe its coming!

 

http://www.carscoops.com/2016/05/nissan-spied-testing-new-2018-suv-based.html

 

Cool!! although it looks like they're being a little lazy, seems they've just changed the front end! :innocent: Hopefully they'll reduce the emissions on them as over here in Ireland there are no passenger Pathies after '08, mine being one of the last, due to our car tax, mine costs 1050 euro for the year, after that they went to 2,500 Euro!!!:scared: It basically killed off the passenger Pathfinder over here.