I was understandably excited when I saw the range of Navara models, both single and double cabs, on display as I arrived at Nissan’s Rosslyn plant outside of
Pretoria. Decaled and accessorised, they were ready for an eight-country odyssey starting at the very same plant where the first South African-built Nissan saw the light
60 years ago. The Daring Africa convoy will travel through Africa, covering the inland countries and ending up in Egypt at the Nissan manufacturing plant in Cairo.
With a proud heritage, the Nissan Navara will showcase its footprint over this 21-day long trek across the African continent, starting in South Africa, then on to
Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and finally Egypt.
The media group was first to meet the formidable convoy of Navara bakkies that will undertake this epic trip and during the first leg of this adventure I was again reminded how the Navara is a symbol of Africa, made for Africa, and built by Africans. Rosslyn is the Nissan manufacturing hub of LCV’s for Africa and distributes vehicles across the continent, with new markets in Algeria, Libya, and soon also in Egypt.
It is important to highlight that the Navara is not just tropicalised for the African market, but specifically built for its tough conditions, boasting a reinforced chassis, as well as a vastly different and clever suspension, which adapts to the various loads it can carry.
Add to this the incredible Nissan reliability that the Navara has inherited, and you have a winner! We were allocated vehicles and set off in convoy to our first port
of call: the Motus Nissan dealership in Menlyn. The next stretch took us all the way to Nelspruit, where we stopped off at Produkte Nissan to meet the team, learn more about the dealership and pose for a few photographs.
Sadly, this marked the end of our leg of the journey and the next day we headed home. As we left behind our vehicles for the next group to take them into Mozambique, my main take-away was the quality of the Navara and the incredible smoothness of its suspension. I have no doubt that it is more than up to the task of
conquering this rugged continent of ours and reaching its ultimate destination in Egypt.
Words: Tony Yeo
