Nissan could soon have an army of Warriors in Australia.
Along with the new Navara PRO-4X Warrior and the as-yet unreleased Patrol Warrior, the brand is looking into other models that could be given the rough, tough treatment.
“Potentially the Warrior treatment could be applied to other models,” said Matt Baily, Nissan senior manager for local product development and enhancement.
“It doesn’t necessarily just stop at Patrol,” he said.
It’s not yet clear which cars could get the treatment.
The Navara and Patrol are both large and off-road-focused in a way the rest of the range isn’t, although the X-Trail and Pathfinder both started life as relatively rugged crossovers before adapting to life in the city in recent generations.
Mr Baily said Nissan is still working out how it should best use the badge, and what’s required of a Warrior product.
“I don’t want to go too much into the realms of speculation, but we are looking at lots of different things,” he told CarExpert.
“What does the Warrior brand name mean, what are the elements to that? All those conversations are going on. We’ve set the bar so high with [Navara] that whatever we do, we need to maintain that DNA in future products.”
Currently, the Navara is built as a PRO-4X by Nissan in Thailand and shipped to Premcar in Epping, Victoria, where it’s upgraded to make it a Warrior.
The Patrol will also be assembled by Premcar at its Epping facility.
It’s not clear if future Warriors will be part of the Premcar partnership, or whether the badge could turn into a trim level like N-Trek in the Nissan range.
Abroad, the Pathfinder is available with a tough-looking off-road package, but it’s not nearly as off-road-ready as the purpose-built Navara Warrior.
Regardless, the Pathfinder shapes as the most likely candidate.
An off-road focused large, family SUV would give Nissan a car to take on the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X in some form, even if it’s not a body-on-frame off-roader like those cars.
Nissan has previously tried to bring the Navara-based Terra to Australia, but it’s not been made available with the safety equipment and engines required to make it a success Down Under.
Beyond the Pathfinder, Nissan is preparing to welcome two more all-new SUVs to its range in the coming months.
The smaller X-Trail doesn’t offer a tougher-looking factory package, while the new Qashqai is a city-focused compact crossover unlikely to ever leave the beaten track.
Which Nissan model would you like to see given the Warrior treatment?
