Skip advert
Advertisement
Long term tests

Nissan Navara

Take a simple Nissan Navara, cover it in dramatic trackday graphics and leave to stand. Result? The world wants to talk to you

Nissan Navara

Looks good, doesn’t it? The new livery is the work of the fevered mind of evo’s Welsh design wizard Neil C. Based loosely on Nissan’s own Paris-Dakar raider, our Navara certainly turns heads now – I’ve never spent so much time talking to people at petrol stations, in car parks and even at traffic lights. Everyone, it seems, wants to know about our trackdays or the magazine itself. But then that’s the idea…

Advertisement - Article continues below

The rest of the credit for the new look goes to Alan Eveleigh, father of our sub editor Ian. Alan happens to specialise in vehicle graphics (see www.aesigns.co.uk), so he landed the unenviable task of turning Neil’s Photoshop renderings into a 3D reality. I can only imagine it must have been a nightmare job, but the result is stunning.

As you’ve probably noticed, the trackday season is now well underway, so the truck is finally being pressed into the service we had in mind for it – transporting magazines, banners, cones, signs and all the other odds and ends needed to run a successful trackday. And the Navara is proving to be a terrific tool for lugging our kit the length and breadth of the country. As I’ve said before, it’s hardly cutting-edge when it comes to suspension and handling, but it rides well enough and when cruising it’s quiet enough to utilise the integrated Bluetooth phone system (essential for the discerning pick-up driver) and enjoy the rather fine stereo. Overall, it’s a fun place to be.

Running Costs

Date acquiredDecember 2006
Total mileage5,684
Costs this month£380 (graphics)
Mileage this month927
MPG this month25.9mpg
Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

VW Golf GTI Edition 50 v Toyota GR Yaris Aero v Honda Civic Type R: hot hatch stars go head-to-head
Golf GTI v GR Yaris Aero v Civic Type R
Group tests

VW Golf GTI Edition 50 v Toyota GR Yaris Aero v Honda Civic Type R: hot hatch stars go head-to-head

Volkswagen and Toyota have just released the best versions yet of the GR Yaris and Mk8 Golf GTI. Does either have what it takes to overcome the brilli…
2 Aug 2026
A week in a Porsche 911 GT3: why the world’s best sports car isn’t quite perfect
Porsche 911 GT3 Touring
Long term tests

A week in a Porsche 911 GT3: why the world’s best sports car isn’t quite perfect

A week in the Porsche 911 GT3 reveals why even the world’s best sports car can’t get it all right
3 Aug 2026
I put budget tyres to the test in the wet, and the results were terrifying
Cheap tyres
Opinion

I put budget tyres to the test in the wet, and the results were terrifying

Skimping on tyres may save you a few pounds, but at what cost, ponders Barker
30 Jul 2026