i believe hydraulic pa rin ang steering even for the VL 4x4 variant. Ranger lang ata ang may EPS, not so sure.
early releases of the Navara ay may reports na lagatok sa steering which was replaced by casa for free, wala kaming na experience na ganun. fixed na daw on succeeding models with a new part. ours is a 2018 Q1 Calibre A/T 4x2, before the facelift.
no issues pa naman, i carry with it my enduro motorcycle. it's quite boring

although it is fast in picking up speed kahit 160hp/403nm torque lang
driven the Strada, Ranger, DMax, Hilux.