The Nissan Navara and the Maxus T60 are just two of today’s popular pickup trucks. One model boasts an esteemed badge and a nameplate with a long-standing history while the other offers a value-laden ride that doesn’t break the bank.

Interested to find out which among these pickup trucks best suits your budget and your needs? Join us to see which comes out on top in this pickup truck parry.

Exterior

At a glance, the Maxus T60 looks slightly longer and wider than the Nissan Navara. However, the segment veteran becomes taller when you choose a higher variant that the range-topping Navara towers over the newcomer by 46mm.

Wheelbase-wise, both pickup trucks are neck and neck, although the Nissan Navara has a higher ground clearance than the Maxus T6. Surprisingly though, when it comes to their water wading capabilities, Nissan’s segment entry can tolerate water 23 inches deep while the Maxus T60 can power through over 31 inches of water. Just wow!

With seemingly better dimensions and impressive water wading potential, we’re giving this round to the Maxus T60.

Interior

Inside, the Nissan Navara is equipped with uber-comfortable zero-gravity seats that come in either fabric or leather — depending on the variant of course. Likewise, the center console armrest can come with fabric padding or leather padding. A leather steering wheel is made standard across the board.

Past the leather-wrapped reigns is a high-contrast seven-inch instrument cluster with an advanced drive-assist display as well as an eight-inch infotainment system sitting squarely at the dashboard’s center.

On the other hand, the Maxus T60 offers more modest interior amenities with decent fabric or leather seats, a urethane steering wheel, and a dashboard lined with hard plastic.

The utilitarian truck packs an analog instrument cluster with a small digital screen plus, depending on the variant, either a seven-inch or a 10-inch infotainment screen.

With more upscale interior features, this round clearly goes to the Nissan Navara.

Engine

Beating under the hood of the Nissan Navara is a 2.5-liter engine mated to either a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed gearbox with manual mode. This setup gives the variants fitted with a manual transmission with 161 horses and 403Nm of torque while those equipped with an automatic tranny make 187hp and 450Nm of maximum torque.

The Maxus T60 comes with a less complicated setup with a 2.8-liter turbo-diesel powerplant available across the board. It can be married with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic shifter. However, it makes only 148 horses and 360Nm of peak torque.

That said, this round goes to the Nissan Navara.

Safety

Nissan has made clear that it's a company that’s big on safety. Standard features found on the Nissan Navara include a set of seatbelts and airbags, ABS with EBD and BA, vehicle dynamic control with four-wheel active brake limited slip (ABLS) and trailer stability assist (TSA), as well as a high-mount stop lamp, an alarm, and an immobilizer.

Range-topping variants get the added benefit of Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility suite which comes with the intelligent around-view monitor (IAVM), intelligent emergency braking (IEB), intelligent forward collision warning (IFCW), blind-spot warning (BSW), rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA), and lane departure warning (LDW), among others.

Meanwhile, the Maxus T60 offers a slew of airbags and seatbelts, an electronic stabilization program, ANS and EBD, a reverse sensor with a camera, a tire pressure monitoring system, and an immobilizer.

With significantly better safety features, this round goes to the Nissan Navara.

Variants and pricing

Nissan Navara

Navara 2.5 EL 4X2 MT – P1,026,000
Navara 2.5 VE 4X2 MT – P1,246,000
Navara 2.5 VE 4X2 AT – P1,336,000
Navara 2.5 VE 4X4 MT – P1,376,000
Navara 2.5 VL 4X2 AT – P1,476,000
Navara 2.5 VL 4X4 MT – P1,576,000
Navara 2.5 VL 4X4 AT – P1,656,000
Navara 2.5 PRO-4X 4X4 AT – P1,746,000

Maxus T60

T60 Pro 4X2 MT – P998,000
T60 Pro 4X2 AT – P1,078,000
T60 Elite 4X4 AT – P1,328,000

Verdict

Thanks to its better interior, engine, and safety features, the segment staple Nissan Navara wins the battle of the pickup trucks. The Maxus T60 did put up a good fight and can surely attract those looking for a practical pickup truck.

Photos from Nissan and Maxus

Also read: 

The inside story: Checking out the interior of the Nissan Navara

Nissan Navara: Comparing the pre- and post-facelift versions

Picking up the pace: The pros and cons of the Maxus T60