smcapstick
Member
- Location
- Kirkby Lonsdale
As title, I thought I'd give you all a bit of a review of the new NP300 Navara I bought. I have had it for two and a half weeks and covered just under 1,500 miles, almost half of which have been with my Ifor Williams LM186G behind.
There has been some speculation (yes, I'm talking about YOU, Duck!) that the rear suspension would not suit heavy towing. This is incorrect. The new coil-spring setup is very good and has a far smoother ride, both with and without load, than it's leaf-sprung predecessor. It does not wallow around like an old Discovery as it has a very, very stiff anti-roll bar (for those that are not sure, this links each side of the suspension, to and uneven load puts pressure on both sides of the vehicle). There is also a very stout panhard rod. The coil springs are not softer than their leaf counterparts - they simply do not have to overcome the squish (lateral friction) that a leaf spring does before it will work. This makes the unladen ride much better, yet does not adversely effect load carrying at all. It does feel different and takes a couple of days to get used to, but it is indeed better. So, no problems at the back.
This is not a biased, absurdly positive glowing review, though. The engine does feel a bit choked, like any other heavily emissionised diesel lump does. Thanks to clever brain stuff, the torque gets a big boost when you're towing or under heavy load which is very nice but for ordinary driving and overtaking, I do miss the extra 41hp of the V6. The NP300 has 190BHP - it feels like slightly less with driving without weight on but feels considerably more under load.
The auto 'box is excellent. Changes are instant and without step. It also holds gears for longer when under load before it downshifts, so you get to really feel the torque coming through. I'm not used to it and it feels weird... but it's a good thing.
The steering lock is much better than the old models, too. That's about all I can comment on that.
The brakes are excellent. Again, that covers that one.
The interior is much jazzier than the old one, with lots of programmable toys. I have not gotten to grips with them all, yet... but the cameras on the front, sides and rear are very good for tight parallel parking - the side cameras especially. It has a USP socket to you can run your iPod, and steering wheel operated Bluetooth handsfree as on the old models. The cruise control is the same as on the old model - very good. It also has a crash prevention gizmo that will brake if it thinks your going to hit the car in front of you on the motorway - I have not tested that yet, as I'm sure you can imagine. It has a very shiny silver bit around the gear selector which always catches the sun, blinding me. Now my eyes don't work. That's a bit annoying. They have still not added a telescoping steering wheel - I really wish they would. Mine does not have rain-sensitive windscreen wipers, either... that feels really stone age. Everything else is very good, though - there's even more room in the back for the baby seat.
Visibility is not quite as good as the old one, thanks to it's big-ass bonnet. The cameras more than make up for it, though - poverty models will lack those.
I'm getting about 26mpg, which isn't too bad considering half the mileage has been towing the trailer and I have a lead foot (I drive everywhere as if my hair is on fire). It does seem to be going up, too - I'll have a better idea of what it's capable of after I've had it for six months or more.
All in all, I'm very happy with it. It's plays with a trailer carrying a 4-cylinder tractor or various other heavy loads, and does not cost a million pounds per mile to do it. I can go 200 miles and back, towing, without feeling tired and that's the key. It's comfortable and it tows well - exactly what I wanted.
There has been some speculation (yes, I'm talking about YOU, Duck!) that the rear suspension would not suit heavy towing. This is incorrect. The new coil-spring setup is very good and has a far smoother ride, both with and without load, than it's leaf-sprung predecessor. It does not wallow around like an old Discovery as it has a very, very stiff anti-roll bar (for those that are not sure, this links each side of the suspension, to and uneven load puts pressure on both sides of the vehicle). There is also a very stout panhard rod. The coil springs are not softer than their leaf counterparts - they simply do not have to overcome the squish (lateral friction) that a leaf spring does before it will work. This makes the unladen ride much better, yet does not adversely effect load carrying at all. It does feel different and takes a couple of days to get used to, but it is indeed better. So, no problems at the back.
This is not a biased, absurdly positive glowing review, though. The engine does feel a bit choked, like any other heavily emissionised diesel lump does. Thanks to clever brain stuff, the torque gets a big boost when you're towing or under heavy load which is very nice but for ordinary driving and overtaking, I do miss the extra 41hp of the V6. The NP300 has 190BHP - it feels like slightly less with driving without weight on but feels considerably more under load.
The auto 'box is excellent. Changes are instant and without step. It also holds gears for longer when under load before it downshifts, so you get to really feel the torque coming through. I'm not used to it and it feels weird... but it's a good thing.
The steering lock is much better than the old models, too. That's about all I can comment on that.
The brakes are excellent. Again, that covers that one.
The interior is much jazzier than the old one, with lots of programmable toys. I have not gotten to grips with them all, yet... but the cameras on the front, sides and rear are very good for tight parallel parking - the side cameras especially. It has a USP socket to you can run your iPod, and steering wheel operated Bluetooth handsfree as on the old models. The cruise control is the same as on the old model - very good. It also has a crash prevention gizmo that will brake if it thinks your going to hit the car in front of you on the motorway - I have not tested that yet, as I'm sure you can imagine. It has a very shiny silver bit around the gear selector which always catches the sun, blinding me. Now my eyes don't work. That's a bit annoying. They have still not added a telescoping steering wheel - I really wish they would. Mine does not have rain-sensitive windscreen wipers, either... that feels really stone age. Everything else is very good, though - there's even more room in the back for the baby seat.
Visibility is not quite as good as the old one, thanks to it's big-ass bonnet. The cameras more than make up for it, though - poverty models will lack those.
I'm getting about 26mpg, which isn't too bad considering half the mileage has been towing the trailer and I have a lead foot (I drive everywhere as if my hair is on fire). It does seem to be going up, too - I'll have a better idea of what it's capable of after I've had it for six months or more.
All in all, I'm very happy with it. It's plays with a trailer carrying a 4-cylinder tractor or various other heavy loads, and does not cost a million pounds per mile to do it. I can go 200 miles and back, towing, without feeling tired and that's the key. It's comfortable and it tows well - exactly what I wanted.
