While the 2015 arrival of its third generation brought sweeping and wholesale change to everything Navara, the D23 was, is and will remain defined its choice of rear suspension.

While big-name rivals in ute-dom stuck fast to tried and true left-type rear ends, this new replacement for both the larger D40 Nissan and archaic 17-year-old D22, ahem, ‘sprung’ a coil-type five-link rear on a segment bred on load-lugging and off-roading toughness. And boy did it ruffle feathers.

It’s a big deal, particularly cross-shopping used utes of recent vintage. While respectable in payload capacity – between 880kg and 1112kg in original guise – the popular dual-cab variants struggled with washy body control when bearing load limitations as a symptom.

The upshot, though, was an inherently plush ride ideal for comfort and family hauling, a clear benefit for those not lugging around a tonne of payload, which is most owners most of the time.

Between 2015 and the beginning of 2021, the NP300 Navara, as it was known locally, got three series updates, two of which – Series 2 and 3 – almost wholly focused on retuning the suspension (and steering) to better balance load-lugging confidence while retaining class-leading ride.

Still, there’s a lot on the rest of the Navara menu. Size wise, D23 split the size difference between its D22 and D40 forebears, all new if carrying over its ladder frame chassis and crash structure. It launched in 14 different dual-cab guises and by the end of 2015 added single and extended ‘king’ body styles as well as cab-chassis options, making for 27 different variations.

The diesels were two Renault-sourced 2.3-litre oilers, a single-turbo version with 120kW/403Nm for lower-grade (DX and RX) versions and a lustier 140kW twin-turbo with 450Nm (auto) or 420Nm (manual) further up the range (ST and ST-X). A new 122kW/238Nm petrol was also offered, if rarely bought by diesel-loving Aussies.

Six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission choices, as well as 4×4 and dedicated 4×2 drive, was offered widely throughout the range (surely a flagship ST-X dual-cab in manual rear-drive form will be a second-hand unicorn…). Whichever diesel four you chose, braked towing remained a segment-competitive 3500 kilograms.

While Navara lacks the full 500Nm found in key rivals, it was claimed to be one of the most frugal oilers of the ute set, as little as 6.3L/100km in trimmest form.

In flagship ST-X guise, the got nice stuff such as partial leather trim, a 7.0-inch touchscreen with sat-nav, dual-zone climate control, 18-inch alloys, LED exterior lighting, a locking-rear diff and the sort of full-fruit fit-out typical of the tree-topping competitive set. Shopping further down range, the line-up got auto headlights, cruise control, powered windows and six-speaker audio.

Where NP300 didn’t quite measure was in active safety, lacking anything like the sort of active safety assistance offered in Ford Ranger. It does, however, sit seven air-bags and fundamentals such as ABS and stability control. The latest major 2020 facelift rose Navara’s safety game range-wide – it’s the current new line-up that carries the latest five-star ANCAP rating.

The entirety of the gen-3 Navara was a broad range for most budgets, with 2019’s Series 4 update bringing new 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the revised range topping out with bells-and-whistles ST-X N-Trek Warrior for a cool $66k.

What goes wrong with a used Ford Kuga?

• There are reports that the paint can be on the thin side and can be easily susceptible to scratching.
• This can potentially lead to corrosion and rust.
• The rear brake light on the cab side can crack and that tends to leak into the cabin.
• There are reports that the armrests can become loose and the electric windows can fail or get stuck. However, we wouldn’t regard this as a “common” issue as such.
• Oil leaks are know to occur from the gearbox output shaft, timing case seals, the hot pipe/turbo pipes, transmission oil leaks, the rear main oil seal (this can be very common).

• Rear axle seals are known to fail on occasion.
• Twin turbo models bottom radiator hose can rub through on the drive belt pulley. This can result in a coolant leak and therefore, potential engine failure. This is an active recall from Nissan.
• However, most scenarios of engine or transmission failure are due to a lack of maintenance or abuse.
• While Nissan suggest servicing every 20,000kms, we’d suggest every 10,000kms should extend the overall life of the Navara and we’d highly recommend fitting a catch can.

Should you buy a used Ford Kuga?

Buying a Navara depends what you want to do with it.

If you plan on towing very heavy loads on a regular basis or plan to throw hundreds of kilograms of weight in the tray daily or even weekly, or if you’re after an uncompromising off-roading beast, then no, you should not buy a Navara.

There are other 4×4 dual cab Utes that do those things more convincingly than the Navara.

However, if you are after a vehicle more along the lines of a lifestyle ute or pickup that will tackle the vast majority of terrain that most normal humans would attempt to explore, and this vehicle still needs to drive on road with composure and manners, and it needs to at least be able to tow and load a respectable amount of weight, and it has to be reliable and comfortable, then yes, you should buy a Navara and our pick is an STX

Overall, the Nissan Navara after a few years and thousands of kilometres, while it isn’t brilliant at any one thing, it’s just very good, at pretty much everything.