6th Generation Nissan Patrol 4X4: Is it still worth buying one in 2020?
You could argue that Nissan has done the minimum required to refresh the ‘old girl’ - and pumped up the price, again. But on economic grounds, the case for Patrol remains compelling…
Want to listen instead? Here’s the podcast.
Nissan has done the absolute minimum to refresh the 2020 Patrol, and pumped up the price, again. And yet, the new Patrol might still be actually worth buying - full details here.
The new, sixth-generation Nissan Patrol lobbed here in Shitsville recently, and a lot of people have asked me about buying it. Should they upgrade? Or buy in? It’s likely the last Patrol - or the very last Patrol of this nature - the hardcore off-roading tank.
Separated at birth?
Patrol is like kinda Joan Rivers - ongoing exterior upgrades, but same old bones. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. They’ve been quite durable. And so also with the Patrol. It’s pretty tough too.
This time around, all you get is: new lights, new bumpers and some bolt-on safety tech. Ugliness has gone up at least one order of magnitude - almost to elite LX 570 visual abomination levels. Especially the Ti-L. It’s bean beaten with the ugly stick, and left for dead. Well done there.
Patrol Ti (left) and the even uglier Ti-L (right)
No fundamental changes, however - same powertrain, same body. Significant price-hike.
Nissan Shitsville is simply milking Patrol for all it’s worth before phasing the old girl out, basically. We’re told an incredible 52 LEDs are in the headlamps now - that’s not even including the fog lamps. And 44 LEDs in the rear. (You know it’s dire when they have to start bullshitting about the ‘innovative’ number of LED bulbs in a one-page press release heralding the latest model…)
They’ve also changed the wheels - but they’re still 18s; just a different design - and added all the borderline-annoying safety features that the car industry is yet to think through properly. Like auto emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring.
About the only worthwhile inclusion there is adaptive cruise control on the low-spec Patrol Ti. (Previous Ti-L already had that.) But brace for impact on the price, because it has ramped up again, for the third time in two years.
Download the Nissan Patrol specs (PDF)
Patrol V Landcruiser
Let’s look at the economics, though, because that’s actually still pretty strong.
Top-spec Toyota Landcruiser Sahara diesel is a more or less direct competitor that costs $133,000, drive-away, and the latest Patrol Ti-L is $103,000.
Diesel Landcruisers offer more range on a full tank, and diesel is safer for refuelling at the roadside from portable containers, if you’re a proper outback adventurer beating the desert into submission, or something.
The diesel is also better for towing, obviously, with more peak torque, but the Patrol has more peak power, so it’s better for highway overtaking. And this ‘dusting’ issue does hang, like a cloud, over the Landcruiser.
Based on the official fuel tests, Landcruiser drinks 9.5 L/100km combined cycle, while the Patrol is 14.4. The $30,000 price difference and the consumption difference are interesting: Out there, in the future, there’s a point on the odometer where the Patrol buyer and the Landcruiser buyer reach fuel and capital cost equivalence.
The Patrol starts out cheaper and then the higher cost of fuel kicks in, while the Cruiser starts out expensive, but, kay-for-kay, you pay less for fuel. Have a guess how far you have to drive for those costs to become coincident? I just calculated it out.
It’s about 400,000 kays. So, ballpark estimate, for the first 10 laps of the planet, the Patrol buyer remains in front on price. This is a powerful incentive to prefer the Patrol, I must say. When you run the numbers.
Obviously there’s a few variables in play there - fluctuations in fuel price, driving style and conditions, etc. But if you’re equivocating between the pair, the fuel for the big, petrol engine Patrol is probably going to seem expensive. But I would not put too much emphasis on that.
(Also, if you can afford to pay upwards of $90,000 for a vehicle, you can afford the fuel at pretty much any price. So there’s that.)
But fuel remains the ultimate grudge purchase for many people, so perhaps you can take some comfort from the fact that if you buy the Patrol you’ll be ahead of the Landcruiser owner, on cost, for the first 400,000 kays. Both vehicles will be near-death by the time he’s in front. And that’s certainly something.
After something a little more civilised and refined around town - also cheaper and less aimed at ultra-heavy towing and extreme off-road? Try Hyundai Santa Fe
2020 Nissan Patrol Image Gallery
(Click to enlarge, below.)
More reports
The CX-60 combines performance, batteries and SUV-luxury to beat Lexus, Mercedes and BMW while Mazda refuses to go fully electric in favour of big inline six-cylinder engines. If your family needs lots of legroom, a big boot, and grunt, the CX-60 needs to go on your shortlist.