When Nissan challenged us to put the new PRO-4X Navara to a real-world off-road test, we knew where to go
Let’s be frank. It’s been a pretty crappy 18 months or so for many of us. Pandemics, lockdowns, border closures. It’s a smorgasbord of interconnecting bad news.
If there’s been one positive out of all this, it’s been the decision by some of us to get out and see Australia.
Even better, in some cases, it’s been a case of buy a 4×4 and get out and see parts of Australia far from the main highway.
And that brings us to this little project and a bloke called Greg Crick.
The plan
If you’re into Aussie motorsport then you’ll know about Cricky. If you’ve met him you’ll know the Targa Tasmania and Bathurst 12-hour winner is a likeable larrikin of a bloke too.
We got to talking a few years ago about the merits of his home state and how cool it would be to see as much of the island as we could on its back roads.
It was a conversation topic that resurfaced more than once in the years since, without quite gelling together.
But when Nissan Australia was launching the new 2021 Nissan Navara PRO-4X and challenged us to come up with a story idea worthy of its ‘travel the whole world of Australia’ advertising message, the dots connected and a plan was born.
Joining us on the adventure were photographer Rene and videographer Cam to capture all the highlights.
Timetables and commitments defined the experience as follows: Four days, four distinct parts of Tasmania, all of them the sort of places 4×4 dual-cab utes were made to explore.
Think of it as an off-road adventure in concentrate.
The vehicles
We were loaned two different Nissan Navara 4×4 dual-cabs for this trip: a standard PRO-4X and a slightly modified ST-X.
In terms of mechanical specification there is no difference between them: same 2.3-litre turbo-diesel engine, same seven-speed auto, same high/low part-time 4×4 system with locking diff, same double wishbone front suspension and coil-spring rear-end.
The PRO-4X is differentiated by its black pack exterior and Yokohama Geolandar 17-inch all-terrain rubber. We came to love these tyres, by the way.
The ST-X traded in its 18-inch highway rubber for Geolandars and from the Nissan accessories list added a hoop-less bull bar, LED light bar, electric winch, smoked bonnet protector and fender flares.
Into their rear seats and trays were loaded swags and other camping gear and essential retrieval gear such as Maxtrax recovery tracks and, of course, a shovel.
We won’t go too much further into the MY21 Navara spec. After all, we’ve devoted a lot of space to it at carsales in the past few months. See the details and links at the bottom of this story.
Day 1
You may not know this but Tassie has wonderful unspoiled beaches. And you’re allowed to drive on lots of them.
Like the track that links Bellingham and Bridport on the north coast. Maybe an hour’s drive from Launceston, this 22km mapped route rolls over giant sand dunes and down onto hard-pack, skirting (in turn) the edge of Noland Bay, St Albans Bay and Anderson Bay.
The view from up on the dunes along the coast and out to Bass Strait is spectacular. It’s just as cool dawdling along the water’s edge, windows down, the flat turquoise sea shimmering under an autumn sun. Bliss.
Drop the tyre pressures and the Navaras cope well with this, despite the sat-nav warning us randomly and often we’re on an unsealed road. That’s the point of the exercise, sat-nav!
Cricky’s been coming here since he was a kid and knows it inside out. That doesn’t stop him getting bogged twice, but a bit of spade work and the ST-X was released.
Getting stuck becomes the theme of the day after we exit the beach and head inland toward South Mount Cameron and a back road route to the Blue Lake, another of Greg’s favourite haunts.
It’s a beautiful Aussie bushland drive, a sandy track with plenty of bite for the Geolandars. We find the remnants of an old tin mine and then a muddy swamp. Yep, Cricky’s stuck again! Thankfully, that winch makes short work of the situation.
We don’t get where we’re trying to go but we do cop an awesome sunset across the range to our north-west. A warm, weak light wanders across the landscape, removing any harshness from the greens and brown. It’s so lush and soft you could swim around it; a golden lake rather than a blue one.
Departing southward, we drive through logged areas. The bush has been torn up and tortured. Such a contrast to where we have just been.
The drive back to Launceston in the dark is fraught. The wallabies and wombats are wandering and the low-beam LED headlight is too truncated. We back off from the ST-X because we need to run on high beam.
Day 2
There are some map dramas. I had ordered and was supposed to collect HEMA maps on the way to Melbourne airport. I forgot. Rene then saved the day and located some in Launceston.
But as we meet up in Longford to start the drive south, Cricky realises they’re still on his kitchen bench! He organises for them to be posted to Strahan, where we’ll be on day three. Today we’ll have to rely on less detailed maps. Hopefully it won’t be an issue.
Ahead of us, the Central Highlands rise monolithically out of the lush coastal plain. The climb is steep and winding, but the lightly laden PRO-4X handles the swerves and curves really well. We know those coils can struggle with a heavy load or towing job, but no such issues today.
But not for the first time since the D23 launched in 2015 we’re wishing for some V6 grunt… Might have mentioned that a couple of dozen times before.
The moment we reached the top of the plateau the bush becomes alpine, bleached and rugged. The cloud comes in and the temperature drops to single digits. It snows up here, but not today thankfully.
The highlands is renowned for its plethora of lakes and lagoons and we regularly see water through the trees.
We’re soon back on dirt headed directly south on the hunt for Tasmania’s first hydro-electric power station at Waddamana. Established in 1910, closed in 1995 and now a museum, it is deep in a valley, deep in the bush.
Behind its impressive facade is a fascinating display, including the giant generators that produced close to 100 megawatts of power.
On the hill above the power station is a forest of wind turbines that forms part of a private renewable energy project. Old and new juxtaposed.
We wend and wind through a khaki landscape on a flowing gravel road, alternating between farmland, bush, lakes and even some rainforest. There’s a peaceful rhythm to it; no towns, no traffic, no bitumen, no phone connection.
We’re a couple of hours and a couple of decades from Launceston.
We pass the occasional farmhouse. Old vehicles sit beside weather-beaten sheds being slowly consumed by weed and rust. It’s hard to resist turning up those driveways to see what they are.
Instead, we navigate more gravel, comfortably handled in high-range rear-wheel drive, to arrive at Bradys Lake.
On this grey afternoon the colour gradient seeps through a muted palette, from sky to clear reflective water interrupted only by a thin green line of mountains and bush. It’s so still the trout coming to the surface to feed create obvious ripples.
Not far away, those following the white line down the Lyell Highway will give this vista only a cursory glance.
Day 3
We start with a foggy visit to Lake St Clair national park and the headwaters of the Derwent River. It flows from here to the Tassie capital Hobart, but we’re headed in the opposite direction.
First off is the challenging 86km run from Derwent Bridge to Queenstown. This is the legendary Mount Arrowsmith stage of Targa Tasmania, although we’re actually driving it in reverse.
Cricky’s enjoying himself. He’s effortlessly quick in everything he drives and it’s fun to follow, albeit at an increasing distance. The Navara’s good manners are enjoyable. As the fog clears away and day warms up, verdant south-west Tassie is revealed in all its glory.
Once in Queenstown, we refuel ourselves and the Navaras. After about 340km the ST-X is averaging 10.63L/100km and the PRO-4X 11.17L/100km. I’ve been in the latter most of the time and no doubt lead-footing to try and keep up.
And we score a big win: HEMA maps at the service station! Cricky’s delighted.
From here it’s southward and properly off-road on a track up the slopes of Mount Huxley. We’d plucked it out before the trip as a route worth doing and a local had assured us as we refuelled it was doable in standard 4x4s.
Queenstown is renowned for its scarred hills. Mining, pollution and logging have inflicted enormous damage on the environment. But as we climb we’re enclosed in a canopy of bush and tress. Mother Nature endlessly fighting back.
For all the reassurances the track still has its challenges. Cricky strips to his undies to establish the depth of one creek crossing. It’s fine.
There’s a rutted, clay climb that requires a few goes to get the right line. There’s lots of loose rock and rocky steps. Both low-range and the locked rear diff are required at times.
The Navaras handle it almost without complaint. Applying hard right lock in the ST-X also prompts the tyre to foul on a plastic shroud. It sounds worse than it is.
But climbing or descending they have substantial articulation, appropriate low-range gearing and decent grip. There is nothing so extreme they could end up pancaked on their bellies, although the undersides do touch down more than once.
The reward for 90 minutes’ climbing is panoramic views. There’s a little too much haze to see the ocean (Southern or Indian, depending on which definition you adhere to) to the west and Queenstown is eventually swallowed up below us.
Mount Huxley rears up behind us in rocky magnificence.
Day 4
The saga of the maps continues. We drop by the Strahan post office to collect them as we leave town, but it doesn’t open till 10am. Next time…
It’s the last day of the trip and our objective is to reach The Edge of the World. It’s a dot on the map just south of Arthur River on Tassie’s north-west coast. It seems an appropriately symbolic end point.
On the way we’ll explore the culturally and environmentally important Tarkine.
But first there’s a dawn photo shoot beachside near Strahan. Due west, Durban in South Africa is the next landfall, a mere 9558km away.
The sunrise is spectacular, all gold and purple suffusing the cloud bank. It gradually spreads from the east to illuminate the entire sky before peeling away into daylight.
For the hell of it we go for a drive along the concrete-hard beach, the surf pounding into shore on our left. It’s a very different sea to the one we found at Anderson Bay.
Then it’s onto the bitumen for the run to Zeehan. Another memorable road, another memorable drive.
It’s apparent now the two Navaras have some minor differences. The ST-X has a more obvious bonnet vibration; the PRO-4X seems to generate more mirror noise.
Back on dirt, our first stop is the Pieman River at Corinna. We buzz for ‘The Fat Man Ferry’ and minutes later it chugs into life and makes the short crossing. It takes two vehicles at a time, so both Navaras fit perfectly.
A few kays north we turn left onto what becomes the Western Explorer Road. The sign says no phone service and no petrol for 120km. Cool.
This was a controversial stretch of dirt when it was constructed in the 1990s, opposed by environmentalists because of its potential impact on this remote and delicate wilderness. In 2008 there was a failed attempt to have it closed.
It’s understandable why there is controversy and worry. The Tarkine is the greatest expanse of cool temperate rainforest left in Australia and the second-largest in the world.
Within its 477,000 hectares are ecological links back to Gondwanaland, the ancient super-continent that included Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and even Patagonia in South America. It’s also an incredibly important Indigenous cultural site.
This is also home to the Tasmanian Devil and, hopefully, the Tasmanian Tiger, which is officially extinct. We didn’t see either, sadly.
Putting other issues to one side, the Western Explorer Road turns out to be a pretty cool rollercoaster – up, down and sometimes literally sideways.
The occasional strip of bitumen for steep descents and ascents hints at how greasy it would get in the wet.
In the dry, two-wheel drive and caravans are both fine here. But 4×4 and a bit of extra suspension does help, because there are some big ruts and potholes to negotiate. Catch one the wrong way and the shudder through the frame can be horrible.
Heading north we emerge from a deep tunnel of foliage into wide expanses of button-grass plains.
Cricky’s doing his usual effortless thing, turning into a dot in the distance on a winding road that follows a ridgeline. It would be great fun as a rally road, let alone for accessing this remote and beautiful place.
Civilisation is calling and that’s where we’re headed. First to Couta Rocks, a tiny windswept fishing village that clings to the coast. The sea gets so rough here the fishermen have to haul their boats out of the water onto slips to avoid them being dashed to pieces on the rocks.
The finish
The end comes quite uneventfully. We spot the sign for The Edge of the World and turn on to one more dirt road. It leads to one more amazing sea view and one more killer sunset.
We’re just south of the mouth of the Arthur River. Driftwood is cast indiscriminately along the beach and rocks like a giant’s matchsticks. They’ve floated down the river, having either been felled or naturally fallen into the water.
The Navaras remain unbowed. They have completed their task without anything more than a few minor annoyances being revealed. They have proved to us they really do have the ability to visit places far from the orthodox and well-travelled.
In doing so, across about 1050km of driving, the ST-X averaged 10.94L/100km and the PRO-4X a near-identical 10.92L/100km.
So all up, we drove for about 1000km over four days, going from seashore to mountain-top and back again. Small in size and yet hugely diverse, Tassie is a stunner.
Our trip merely hinted at what a 4×4 and sense of adventure can do for you in Australia. If you can get out there, it’s a great way to leave bad news behind.
How much does the 2021 Nissan Navara PRO-4X cost?Price: $60,630 (plus on-road costs)Available: NowEngine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-dieselOutput: 140kW/450NmTransmission: Seven-speed automaticFuel: 8.1L/100km (ADR Combined); 10.92L/100km (on test)CO2: 213g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2015)
How much does the 2021 Nissan Navara ST-X dual-cab 4×4 auto cost?Price: $58,270 (plus on-road costs)Available: NowEngine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-dieselOutput: 140kW/450NmTransmission: Seven-speed automaticFuel: 7.3L/100km (ADR Combined); 10.94L/100km (on test)CO2: 192g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2015)
Keyword: Taking the new Nissan Navara off the beaten track