NISSAN Motor Corporation has set ambitious goals for its global light-commercial vehicles division under its current mid-term plan, with a minimum 40 per cent increase in sales volume expected by 2022 – largely on the back of its Navara one-tonne pick-up, which is now sold across a whopping 133 markets.

Australia is currently the Japanese manufacturer’s third-biggest market behind Mexico and Thailand, however sales of the new D23 (or NP300) series launched in 2015 have been well behind the previous combined D40/D22 generations, managing only 16,532 new registrations last year – some 9500 units behind where Navara was just five years earlier.

Perhaps surprisingly, Australian-market tuning for its suspension and steering was not conducted before the D23’s launch, and while a Series II update released a year ago went some way to addressing customer concerns – specifically for dual-cab models with the five-link coil-spring rear suspension – further mechanical changes have now been implemented with this Series III update.

Nissan is clearly now listening to Australia as it openly needs to improve Navara’s sales performance here to meet its objectives.

The question is: do we now have the Navara we should have received in 2015?