Not to be confused with the Nissan Navara that was rebadged as the ill-fated Mercedes X-Class, the Renault Niagara is a conceptual small truck with an interesting drivetrain. It takes the shape of a double cab pickup with a hybrid setup consisting of a mild-hybrid gasoline engine driving the front wheels and an electric motor powering the rear axle. When the two work together, the ute has four-wheel drive for go-anywhere capabilities.
The French brand points out that the Niagara “can handle half of your everyday drives in full-electric mode,” which means it can be operated as a rear-wheel-drive electric truck after shutting off the ICE. The battery pack isn’t mentioned, but since the pickup appears to be petite and the electric juice lasts for only half a day, the pack must be small.
According to our colleagues from Motor1.com Brazil, the Renault Niagara is 193 inches long, which makes it shorter than the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick. It’s based on the CMF-B platform, so it has a unibody construction like the two compact trucks we just mentioned. It has generous suspension travel and chunky all-terrain tires, with no fewer than three spares – one on the roof and two in the cargo bed.
Don’t expect to see this badged as a Nissan in the United States anytime soon since Renault mentions the Niagara foreshadows an affordable pickup truck for Latin America. In typical concept fashion, it looks a bit over the top, but a closer-to-production variant is going to be unveiled in the first half of 2024. The actual truck is scheduled to go on sale before 2027. It’s likely going to be a follow-up to the Oroch, a small and cheap pickup with Dacia origins.
