‘Subtle’ is of course a relative term, and in reality this truck is as understated as a bull-bar bedecked Bentley.
For the AT32, Arctic Trucks takes the top-spec Navara Tekna and fits a Safari snorkel whose watertight air intakes increase the wading depth from 600mm to 800mm. The next most noticeable element is the 20mm increase in ride height, courtesy of AT’s Performance suspension, which increases ground clearance from 223mm to 243mm and meaningfully raises both the maximum approach and breakover angles.
Beneath the thuggish wheel arch extensions are the 32in Nokian 275/70 tyres that give the car its name. And ensconced within all that rubber are the least kerb-able wheels in existence: attractive, black 17in items of AT’s own design. Crawl underneath and you’ll notice further modifications – a branded skid-plate and other protective underbody measures to help bat off boulders that threaten to puncture the engine, transmission, propshaft and fuel tank.
Along with a locking front differential to complement similar, existing hardware in the rear axle, the AT32 is the most capable Navara ever offered through official Nissan sales channels.
And you feel the effects of that – the AT32’s latent ability to ford considerable tracts of water, negotiate impossibly rutted trails and develop unbreakable traction in snowy climes – out on the road. The third-generation Navara might have the most sophisticated suspension in this class but the knobbly tyres undermine that by generating an endlessly busy ride.
Likewise, the raised ride height might build on already imperious forward visibility but does nothing to reign in pitch and yaw movements. To say the AT32 pogoes its way down a road would be grossly unfair, but its manners are sufficiently less refined than the standard car to give serious pause for thought. The vast majority of drivers in this country would be better off with the smoother, quieter qualities of the normal Navara.
The powertrain is unchanged, with a 187bhp 2.3-litre, four-cylinder dCi twin-turbodiesel mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. With the rack-and-pinion steering, the driving controls hang together well enough to make driving the AT32 easy enough to stroke along but no more. Direction changes are indirect rather than imprecise, and while the engine note is a touch agricultural, it isn’t aggravating.
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Lukewarm review
This conversion has created a specialised off-road biased vehicle with compromised road manners, so Autocar was never going to award a higher score (unless it was a JLR product). I suspect the Ford Ranger Raptor due in the UK next year will be a superior pickup, with foreign reviews claiming it has a very supple ride, using special Fox shocks, an 850mm wading depth and a price that may be similar to the £45k of the Navara tested. It also has even greater ground clearance and should retain a better residual value.
Wading depth
Why is the wading depth 800mm when the snorkel is at least 1500mm above ground level? I wonder what the limiting factor is, window seals? Smart looking truck but £45k for an off-roader is a lot if you actually intend to take it off-road. I'd take a base Navara, fit a small lift kit, better tyres and a locking front diff and be less worried about the odd bump.
Will86 wrote:
I suppose you pay for the brand. Appearing in Top Gear probably boosted these guys tremendously. As you suggest, there are loads of companies who could do similar mods for much less.