Nissan is working to give its first new Navara in a decade – based on Mitsubishi's Triton – a unique driving character, tuned by the team behind the Warrior off-road editions.
The engineering firm formerly responsible for Ford Performance Vehicles is helping the 2026 Nissan Navara stand apart from its Mitsubishi Triton sibling from behind the wheel.
The new Navara ute has been tuned and tested locally by Premcar, the Melbourne-based creator of Nissan's current Warrior series of Australian-developed off-road Patrol and Navara models, and the brains behind FPV.
Nissan says Premcar was enlisted to "develop and test the new Navara's suspension," indicating changes have been made to the way the ute drives, rather than simply evaluating its performance but not making any adjustments.
It may give the Navara a different edge on and off-road compared to its donor car, the latest Mitsubishi Triton, which was the lead vehicle in the joint-development project.
As previously reported by Drive, the Navara will share the vast majority of its components with the Triton, and the latest teaser does little to hide the shared body structure, doors and footprint.
The Nissan will differ in its front fascia design, with a unique shape to the grille, lower bumper, and headlights expected, as well as a distinct sports bar and wheel design not shared with the Mitsubishi.
Video footage of the Navara testing off-road lends weight to Drive's illustration of a front fascia drawing inspiration from the US-market Frontier pick-up.
The video offers a brief look at the interior, and while it is covered, elements such as the steering wheel design – barring what's likely to be a Nissan logo on the centre hub – and touchscreen size look to be shared with the Triton.
The Navara is expected to inherit the Triton's 2.4-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine, sending 150kW and 470Nm to all four wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission.
"In Australia and New Zealand, the ute is just part of life – the weekday workhorse, the weekend adventurer, even the school drop-off," Tim Davis, Nissan Australia's Senior Manager of Local Product Development and Enhancement, said in a media statement.
"So we can't just take a ute from another market and assume it'll fit. It has to be fine-tuned because the conditions we face are totally unique to this part of the world.
"We were cooperating with Premcar to make sure all the ride and handling performance we want from the new Navara is delivered."
The 2026 Nissan Navara is due to be revealed next Wednesday, November 19, 2025, ahead of showroom arrivals in the first half of next year.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
