IT’S no great secret that the buyer profile for the dual-cab ute has changed in recent years. Once the domain of the primary sector buyer, where cabin comfort and extra features made way for ease of serviceability and longevity, the dual-cab now plays a dual-purpose role as a tool of trade from Monday to Friday, and a recreational vehicle on the weekend.

As such, the demands on modern dual-cab utes are greater than they’ve ever been. Buyers are now accustomed to five-star safety, comfort and extras from a new car, regardless of its origins, and the average ute has to work hard to keep up.

As the category refreshes itself in one of its biggest years in recent memory – new or updated versions of the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Mitsubishi Triton launch in 2015 – Nissan is wiping the slate clean and offering up an all-new Navara.

No more will customers be faced with the dilemma of having to choose a D22 or a D40 – instead, the newly-named NP300 debuts in June with 14 dual-cab variants on offer initially, and another 13 single- and king-cab models to come on stream later this year.

The Navara is Nissan’s strongest nameplate, and management knows it has to kick some goals to take it to the other established players in the ever-more competitive sector – and with a very unique offering, it might just be able to pull it off.

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