Feel like a king in an SUV? Try this out for size.

Nissan is the king of pickups – if you see a pickup along the road or parked in some industrial area, it’s probably a Nissan. The venerable marque is not one to rest on its laurel though; there is a whole host of first-in-class technologies on the Navara.

Nissan claims the NP300 has the largest cargo space in class, measuring 1,510 (L) x 1,560 (W) x 474 (H) in millimetres. The chassis is stiffened by a full length, fully boxed ladder frame for increased rigidity and stability and is made of impact resilient high tensile steel.

Equipped with a 190PS, 450Nm 2.3L turbo diesel, the Navara is also class leading in fuel consumption and carbon emissions at just 7.0 L /100km and 186g/km respectively. This healthy dose of go is sent to the rear wheels normally but you can activate AWD at just the twist of a knob. In normal urban driving you’ll save plenty of fuel using just two driven wheels but if you go out to a muddy construction site you won’t find yourself stuck in the ground with the AWD.

The Navara is also the only pickup in Singapore to feature a 7 speed automatic transmission, which shifts smoothly and quickly without any hesitation. A manual override is provided if you want to hot-rod the Navara, and proved to be quite a lot of fun when I out ran some expensive German luxury sedans using the low gears at the stop lights effortlessly.

Advanced suspension systems like double wishbone fronts and 5-link rear deliver a pretty smooth ride but also superb cornering in a nearly 2-tonne pickup truck. Going round bends fast is not recommended by the authorities, but try it on an empty and wide road and you’ll find the NP300 responds to your inputs without much body roll and dives into the corner willingly.

So what do we have then? A pickup with a car cabin, which drives pretty much like some of the best SUVs and is large enough to haul your goods allowing you to earn back the money spent buying it. Watch out SUVs, this pickup is set to replace some people’s need to have both a car and a thing-hauler with its do it all credentials.

Credits: Story and Photos by Alvan Sio