I love mine to bits, has everything i need for our lifestyle...boating/surfing/fishing. One tiny pointer would be the standard height of the vehicle, but that with any new vehicle these days. There perfect for the sand but once you start to go into rocky sort of areas you might find that when you lower your tyre pressure the vehicles clearance can be a lil low. But all in all id give it a solid 8.5/10

My mate bought a Navara about 6 months back - I think it was about 4 years old. Good ute - solid, reliable and goes really well offroad. Also the write-ups in 4x4 Australia over the last 6 months of so have all been really positive.

Pretty sure they are the most popular ute in Aus at the moment?

they are a good 4x4 but from what i have heard from a couple of people the stx arent quite as good as the previous models but have more leg room in the back seats

Yup all the reviews etc do look very positive - I'm looking at a new ST-X however availability is a big issue no stock in WA, although one of the dealers has tracked one down.

Cheers

Hi Paul,

I had a look at the ST-X too and ended up buying a Hilux for a few reasons, but mainly because I have had many Toyotas (L/cruisers and Hilux) and have had a good run out of them, and because I got a great deal on my latest one (2008 3.0L TD) through a family connection.  The ST-X look like a pretty good unit and they get good reviews in the magazines, but I was a bit put off by comments about clutches going in as little as 20,000km.  The power in the turbo diesel model I was interested in comes in at high revs, so maybe people are slipping the clutch to get moving when towing.  I'd check out the comments on the site at the link below, plus other Aussie 4WD forums, and I personaly value the comments of everyday owners and users (as distinct from magazine articles - but I do read those too).  Whilst there seems to be plenty of negative comments about the ST-X on the link below, many are related to dealers and warranty service - still, if you are buying new, that matters too. And just to balance things up, there are plenty of criticms of the TD Hilux too, mostly relating to issues arising from getting water in the diesel.  Better make sure I only buy good diesel!

http://www.motorsm.com/complaints/latest.asp 

Good luch with whatever you buy.  Peter

just reading what makai has put up and would agree with it to an extent. i feel most of the 4x4's these days would be on much of a par as each other, it would come down to how they are driven and back up service.he mentioned about the clutch after 20k on the navara, i have also read about the same prob on the hilux , so to me it looks to be the individual driver how he works the 4x4

me... my brother.... and my old man... all own the new TD stx navara if that gives you an idea of how happy we are with them.

my brother has just hit 48000 k's and hasent had a fault with it.

i would suggest a body lift of some sort for clearance purposes but other than that theyve been bulletproof.

My old man has 1 of the new model navara's. has done 100 000km's and hasnt missed a beat. Only problem that he has found with it is that it lacks a bit of under body protection which is only a problem if ur taking it off road. He smashed his sump in on a rock. Other wise he thinks its great.

im hitting 149000ks and no probs apart from the usual service. And i take it everywhere, through the rockiest country etc. But all 4x4 these days i do agree that they are on par.

depends on wat u want from it, if u want a once in a while down the beach long week end or general offroading then go for it, but after a long time of me and my mates getting to gether once a month to watch 4x4 monthly DVD sold at newsagencies (look for a guy named roothy and a green troopy named milo) if you want alot more from it look at a patrol or landcriuser these 4x4 are proven to be the pic of the bunch, but how ever dont let me or any one else tell you wat to buy its at the end off the day your money.

p.s my mate has a $2000 nissan terrano with 2inch lift and 32inch cooper STT and its more capable then my 2001 xj cherokee with hercules ATR (at the moment, lol) and my other mates 2002 Landrover Dicover TD5 with a 2inch lift and Bridgestone ATR.

I know a guy who had two different Navarra's and reckons they're underpowered. He's now got a Ranger which he reckons craps allover the Navarra. Ive been running my new Triton for a couple of weeks and it's superb on power etc I tow a work trailer constantly and as someone said the only downside of the turbos is you need to ride the clutch slightly to get the power up. 

We have a patrol that we use for serious off road etc the Navara would be predominatley for work and boat pull etc

Currently driving a borrowed Triton that has done around 100k kms and its terrible practically falling to pieces...  and only two years old

 thanks for all the comments guys

I am picking my new Navara up this week. I got the ST as I don't need the pretty stuff. Ordered it early December, so it has been a wait.

I got the 6 speed manual, but everyone who has one raves about the auto.

go the manual. more controll. with my navara all i had to do to pull the boat out of the water is put in low 4 and ease the clutch out with minimal revs and the car just pulled it out , no riding of clutch or high revs were needed. but that was in a 2004 model so things may have changed but i wouldnt think so.

I have a pathfinder which has all the same running gear as a navara bar the live axle rear.

I have heard talk about the clutch but i tow a 6.5 ali and had the clutch replaced under warranty at 80k, probably not had they know what i was towing.

The diesel engine packs a lot of punch and the power comes in at 1800 - 2000rpm so i'm not sure how makia got his info but the rev range is a lot higher than a cruiser or 4.2 patrol, red line is like 5500 or something like that, not that you need to go any where near that. It's very rare that my car has seen over 3000 rpm except for operator error.

They were 4wd ute of the year for a couple of years for good reason.

I've got a petrol ST-X manual, and after having 2 of the previous Hiluxes (the 1st of the 3.4L V6, then the 4.0 SR5); I've been really happy with the navara - just clocked 40,000Km and no problems so far. I had major problems with the hilux clutch - went through warranty replacements of the clutch bearing - one after only 1000Km.

I reckon the Navara handles better on-road, and is great on the sand - also does ok on the occasional mundaring power line run - though the side steps get a bit of a hiding ! :)

really versatile with the rear seat split/fold down, as well as the tie-down system in the tray

 Overall - very satisfied

Thanks for all the help everyone.

 Decided to go with the Navara - the hilux is just to  over priced at the moment.

So its a Navara ST-X Diesel Auto with a few options should have it in a couple of weeks.

Cheers

Paul J 

Pick the new Navara up on Thursday - counting the hours.

Only the second brand new vehicle that I have ever bought.................

good choice!

You've done well to get it that quick!!

It was already here - but fell over in finance at the last minute.........

Well had the Navara since last Thursday done about 600 k since then  - its an awesome vehicle overall

Can see that ground clearance could be an issue - may address this in the future

 Can't tow until its done a thousand K's apart from that its all good - runs on a smell of fuel.......

Cheers

Paul J