Nissan NP300 - specifications, owner reviews

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

Russia is a country of continuous off-road. Despite the fact that the 21st century is in the yard, and due to the rapid development of technology, the books of many science fiction writers become outdated even before they are published, everything is not so smooth in Mother Russia.

Ode to Russia

Of course, it cannot be said that our country is absolutely backward and dense. Not at all. For example, the number of iPhone users in Russia is no less than in the US and Europe. Only now, the Russian owner of an "apple" smartphone, in order to get to the village to his granny or to his own personal plot, must overcome obstacles for which Europeans in their countries pay money as for extreme sports.

In cities, roads are even more or less usable. But it is difficult to give any positive definition to suburban, country and rural. And I want to get out of the city! Fishing, hunting, a forest with berries and mushrooms, a dacha in the end… Without all this, many Russians cannot fully relax, switch from exhausting urban workdays.

The agony of choice

Of course, the best solution would be to purchase a car. An off-road car is not a sedan, not a coupe, not a hatchback or even a crossover, but a powerful traction horse! Still, it's a pity to ruin a beautifullacquered parquet. Let such cars ride on asph alt. They belong there.

A good SUV, of course, is expensive. But there is one segment of the automotive market, not sufficiently appreciated by the Russian consumer, which can satisfy the need for an SUV and not hit the pocket hard. We're talking about pickup trucks. Yes, yes, those same pickup trucks that so often flash in American films and TV shows. And for good reason, because it is one of the most popular means of transportation. We can say that this is a calling card, so to speak, the face of an American farmer from the Midwest, his workhorse for all occasions.

Nissan NP300: reviews of car owners to help you choose

Russian dacha residents are somewhat afraid of pickups. How else to explain the strange neglect of such a modification of the car? However, in vain. Indeed, in addition to a lower cost (than "standard" SUVs), they have no other drawbacks. For many decades, these cars have been among the leaders in US sales. Americans can be called whatever you like, but the label of impractical consumers is clearly not possible to hang on them. And pickup trucks - a symbiosis of a truck, an SUV and a sedan - fully meet the Yankee's overstated requirements.

Perhaps Russian buyers are afraid to invest in unknown models? Everything new is scary. It turns out not. For many years now, pickup trucks from Toyota - Toyota Hilux (in the most modest configuration - from 1,177,000 rubles) have been cutting through Russian roads for many years. So it's not about novelty at all, but about the fact thatthe buyer does not see any advantages in buying a "monster" with an open trunk, strange for the Central Russian upland. But there are advantages, and what more! And another Japanese strong man, the Nissan NP300, is capable of fully showing the advantages of pickups in Russia. By the way, the price that hooked so many car owners starts at 943,000 rubles. And it's getting interesting…

Squinted horse

Nissan NP300 Pick Up is a more utilitarian and spartan version of the Nissan Navaro, the first pickup truck model from the Nissan automobile concern on the Russian market. In general, this Japanese company has been developing various types of off-road vehicles for quite a long time, and quite successfully competes in the American market with local manufacturers such as Ford and Dodge.

Scary outside…

Despite the common ancestry with the Navaro, the Nissan NP300 is more similar in appearance to the Patrol, although it does not have such a bright and defiant appearance. It is more modest, because it was created not for beauty, but for effective use. If on the same Navaro and Patrol you don’t really want to climb into the brown mud of a rural country road after rain, then in this car the leg itself asks to press the accelerator pedal. With all this, being inside a pickup truck, on the road, the owner can feel confident, towering over the rest of the road users. Fortunately, 24 centimeters of clearance and some solidity, with all the modesty of the car, allow.

…and tough on the inside

Modesty is not feltonly in the exterior of the Nissan NP300, but also inside. Salon, to put it mildly, is not designed for comfort. Simple plastic, although fitted soundly. From music - radio, cassette. If desired, of course, you can put a CD or MP3. No electricity. No leather or wood. No climate control. Forget about them. The characteristics of the Nissan NP300 indicate that the car is endowed with only the most necessary, and everything superfluous is simply absent.

Reseeding from a European sedan to the 300th Japanese, after a while you can realize that, it turns out, many things in the car are not needed. For trips, only the steering wheel, pedals and seat are enough. And that's all … In general, the salon can be described in one word - severely. This is such a hello from the nineties, when the car was just a means of transportation, and not a status accessory.

The driver's seat can be adjusted to suit you - adjust the seat forward / backward, the backrest in angle, and the steering column in height. Mirrors provide good visibility. Many different compartments for small things and as many as two ashtrays. It is for small things, because enough voluminous things do not fit in the cabin. The gear knob is set back, but not too far away.

Passengers in the back seat will not feel as comfortable as the driver of the "horse". Thanks to the Double Cab, the pickup truck can accommodate 5 passengers, but there is quite a bit of space. Nissan NP300 is, figuratively speaking, a transport for a platoon of soldiers in full gear. They will fit both in the back and in the back, and they will not complain.

The main thing in pickups

Pickups are not designed for high speeds and feel more stable when loaded. After all, this is what they are imprisoned for - to transport heavy loads. Can any car take on more than a ton? Of course not. What can not be said about the Nissan NP300 Pick Up. Reviews of car owners who managed to test this iron horse in action say that the weight of 1050 kg is not at all a burden to him. After all, this is its carrying capacity according to technical characteristics. At the same time, in some cases, a car can drag even more without harm to its he alth. Thanks to such endurance, "Nissan" is able to transport a whole dacha. Which, by the way, many did, especially if you first carried out a number of works with the Nissan NP300 - tuning, customizing, and so on. At the same time, a lot of money is saved on renting a Gazelle or similar carriers. The tailgate is located high enough, and the door is held on fairly strong cables.

The empty Nissan wobbles a bit on the highway. 300 kg in the body add a smooth ride, like a sedan. But this is another reason not to drive away and use the horse for its intended purpose - to transport goods. For recklessness, and Nissan too, there is a separate category of cars. And it’s not solid to play checkers on the road on such a car.

Under the hood of a pickup truck is a fiery 2.5-liter turbodiesel. It is his 133 "horses" and 304 Nm of torque that pull the pickup truck on and off the roads. The diesel has two batteries. In winter, this option helps many owners. Frosts up to -25 are not for startnuisance.

And yet he's an SUV

Naturally, the SUV frame, with a low center of gravity, which allows you to roll up to 48 degrees across. The front suspension is independent, and the rear axle is archaic - on springs.

But it is its simplicity and proven reliability for decades, as well as other qualities of SUVs, such as: a plug-in front-wheel drive, a 5-speed manual, a reduction gear and a limited-slip differential that allows the NP300 to compete on equal terms with other "rogues". Not including ABS and ventilated disc brakes.

Give me two

In the wild, the Nissan NP300 pickup feels free - it plows half-meter fords, climbs hills at 39 degrees. The city is not his environment. The large turning radius of six meters makes it a bit awkward. The rigid suspension shakes on potholes, and empty, as already mentioned, the Nissan wobbles noticeably. At the same time, the steering wheel is rather sluggish and uninformative. The only thing that pleases in the city is the brakes. They, together with ABS and EBD, work out 100%. But it's better not to rely on the brakes. Because the car is not for fun.

If you need a real hard worker with off-road qualities, functionally tuned and sharpened for certain types of work, then the Nissan NP300 will be an excellent choice. The reviews of numerous buyers proudly call this car a crossover, striving to show itself as a sedan, and a hatchback, and an SUV. No, to perform the functions of a pickup truck, manufacturerssacrificed external beauty, interior decoration and passenger comfort. But … None of the above is useful in the forest, fishing, hunting, in the country, at a construction site, in mud and swamps. And the high-torque, large tank and Japanese quality of the car will be useful there. Especially for such relatively small money - 943,000 rubles.