For decades, Kiwis and Aussies alike have been modifying their utes with heavy-duty parts, increasing their off-road prowess, and attempting to make their vehicles look tougher than the next.
It seems that manufacturers are finally catching onto this trend, and offering extremely capable off-road packages from the factory, such as Ford's Ranger Raptor, and more recently, Nissan's Navara N-Trek Warrior.
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Unlike Ford, the Nissan worked in conjunction with Premcar (formerly Ford Performance Vehicles) on the N-Trek Warrior, and developed it especially for the harsh Australian terrain, testing the ute on numerous surfaces across the ditch.
Just recently, Nissan announced that this off-road ute will be making its way to New Zealand next year, and will go on sale between February and April 2020.
The Warrior's introduction to both the New Zealand and Australian market means that Ford's Ranger Raptor will have its first serious competitor. NZ pricing for Nissan's off-roader is yet to be announced, but based on the Australian pricing, we can assume it will be significantly cheaper than the Raptor.
Over in Australia, the Warrior will set you back A$62,990 for the six-speed manual, and A$65,490 for the seven-speed auto option. When compared with its competitors over there, it's about A$20,000 cheaper than Ford's Ranger Raptor, and between A$2000 and A$10,000 cheaper than the HSV Colorado SportsCat.
Unlike the Ranger Raptor, which is manufactured overseas, Premcar modifies the Navaras locally, in their factory on the outskirts of Melbourne, before shipping the Warriors around the country, and over to NZ.
According to Nissan, the double shipping process of getting the utes into Australia and then over to New Zealand is a pricey exercise, and will dictate how the Warrior is priced down here.
At this stage, pricing is anyone's guess, but we can imagine that the N-Trek Warrior will comfortably slot in underneath its competitors when it hits showroom floors early 2020.
Stay tuned for the full Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior launch review.