The Nissan Navara has gotten yet another little brother. Nissan’s alternative to cars like the Toyota Hilux is already offered by various brands. Today the Navara bloodline in China is broadened with a new SUV: the Dongfeng Palaso.
Nissan has now been teasing for the arrival of a facelifted Navara. The current generation of the pick-up, presented in 2014, is going under the knife and that will undoubtedly have consequences for the Navara’s sister models. There are quite a few. Do we still remember the now-defunct Mercedes-Benz X-Class? Or the Renault Alaskan never delivered in the Netherlands? We haven’t even mentioned them all with that. For example, the Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng in China supplies the Rich 6, a retrofitted Navara of which there is even an electric version. It’s that Chinese Rich 6 that today’s Navara news is all about. Dongfeng comes with an SUV version of its license-built modified Navara. We present: the Palaso.
With the Palaso, Dongfeng has chosen a relatively simple way to turn the Rich 6 into an SUV. At various companies you can opt for a dense construction for the body, but the body of this Palaso actually consists of ‘one whole’ and is therefore not separable. Almost nothing changes to the rest of the coach, so things like the doors are simply interchangeable with those of the Navara. It delivers a special whole, especially because the rear windows are a lot higher than the side windows. The Palaso is 5.23 meters long, which makes it several inches shorter than its Rich 6 brother. The carriage is 1.99 meters high in total, making it just under 20 centimeters higher than the original. On the engine list no 2.3 dCi diesel machine like that of the Navara and also no electric powertrain like the Rich 6. The Dongfeng Palaso is only available with a 231 hp and 300 Nm strong blown 1.8, a petrol engine that is linked to a manual six-speed . Basically, the Palaso is a rear wheel drive. Those who pay extra can also get a four-wheel drive version.
Prefer a different SUV based on the Navara? Then you can search in the Netherlands until you weigh an ounce. However, the Chinese consumer can still opt for the Nissan Terra, an SUV developed by Nissan with Navara genes. Based on the first generation Navara (D22) – of which Peugeot also supplied a version through its Chinese partner Dongfeng – an SUV-like version also existed in China. That striking creation was produced by the Zhengzhou Nissan partnership.
Nissan Navara (Zhengzhou Nissan)