The Nissan Patrol is among the few cars that have held to their original form and design. Launched as SUV, the Nissan Patrol has crossed many challenges both on-road and off-road. The Patrol (PatorÅru in Japan) is a series of four-wheel-drive vehicles, currently classed as off-road and full-size SUV, manufactured by Nissan in Japan and sold throughout the world.
Though widely marketed as the Nissan Patrol, this mammoth of a car has come in many names like the Ebro in Spain, the Nissan Safari in Japan, and both Ford Maverick and Nissan Patrol in Australia. The Patrol was so much of a success in Australia that Ford wanted a piece of the pie. The American automaker imported a different version of the Patrol, marketed as the Ford Maverick from 1988 to 1994.
1st Generation: 4W60 4W61 4W70 (1951-1960)
The Patrol first debuted after World War II. At that time, Japan sought to increase its military-grade fleet and tasked top car makers in Japan - Nissan and Toyota - to design off-road utility vehicles for war use. Toyota won the bid and was appointed as Japan's official military automaker. Nissan took this turn of events positively and pushed its consumer-based off-road utility vehicles, which gave birth to the Nissan Patrol.
Named the 4W60, the first version of the Patrol was spartan at worst and minimalist at best. It rode on Nissan's Y61 platform, which was designed for front-engine four-wheel-drive vehicles ideal for a rugged off-road experience. Its success later came when the Irish Army integrated the Patrol as their go-to troop transport vehicle. The Patrol at this time was a mid-size off-road vehicle built 3-door wagons and 2-door pickup trucks. The pickup variant was known for its use as a handy fire truck.
Its powertrain was a standard 3.7-litre NAK or NB inline-6 petrol engine or a 4.0-litre NC or P inline-6 engine that came with a four-speed manual gearbox. It was named the 4W61, which had a one-piece windshield, chrome strips on the hood, and a full passenger seat. The 3.7-litre NB engine made a whopping 69 kW of power, but later, Nissan upgraded to a 4-litre NC engine that made 78 kW of power.
In 1958 the 4W65 replaced the 4W61.
2nd Generation: 60 (1959-1980)
The second generation of the Nissan Patrol was rolled out in 1960. It featured new body styles, including a 3-door hardtop, a 3-door soft-top and a 3-door wagon. Later on, Nissan also added a two-door pickup truck in this generation. The 60 Series ditched the previous generation's multiple powertrains in favour of the 4.0-litre P inline-6 petrol engine, paired with either a 3-speed or 4-speed manual gearbox. This generation saw the first of the Patrol series to land in Australia, becoming the first vehicle ever to cross the Australian Simpson desert. After this historic crossing, the Patrol gained much publicity in Australia.
3rd Generation: 260 (1980-1989)
By the third generation, the Nissan Patrol had gained worldwide fame that now came to integrate production in Iran, South Africa, and Spain. It maintained the previous generation's body styles and featured a front-engine 4-wheel-drive layout and the following newly-integrated powertrains:
- 2.8-litre Z24 inline-4 SOHC
- 2.8-litre L28 inline-6 SOHC
- 2.8-liter L28 E2 inline-6 SOHC
- 4.0-litre P40 inline-6
The release came with new additions like a new 3-speed and 4-speed automatic transmission and newly fitted parts that include leaf spring suspensions. The new-generation Patrol had a H233 standard rear differential, while other trim levels had a limited-slip differential. All these heavy-duty Patrols had specially-made heavy-duty rear differentials.
This third-generation was offered in two models in Australia, the 4X4 SUV and the Ute, both sporting two sets of trims.
SUV
- 4X4 base model - 2-door SUV with 3.2-litre D6 diesel engine (70 kW and 215 Nm), 4-speed manual gearbox
- 4X4 Deluxe - 4-door full-size SUV sporting a similar 3.2-litre D6 diesel engine and 4-speed manual gearbox
Ute
The Ute came as a 2-door 3-seat pickup truck that featured the same powertrain.
4th Generation: Y60 (1987-1997)
In Australia, the Nissan Patrol featured a variety of trim levels like the DX, the GLi, the ST, and the luxury TI trim. The DX featured manually-operated mirrors, a vinyl interior, an optional air conditioner, and manual locking hubs.
SUV
- 4X4 DX- a 2-door SUV sporting a 4.2-litre TD42 inline-6 diesel engine (85 kW with 264 Nm) with a 5-speed manual gearbox
- 4X4 GLi - a 4-door SUV featuring the same 4.2-litre TD42 inline-6 diesel engine with 5-speed manual gearbox
- 4X4 ST - a 2-door SUV sporting the same 4.2-litre TD42 inline-6 diesel engine with a 5-speed manual gearbox
- 4X4 Ti - 4-door SUV having same 4.2-litre TD42 inline-6 diesel engine with 5-speed manual gearbox
Ute
The Patrol also featured the previous generation Ute with one trim that came as a 2-door pickup truck which was powered by the same 4.2-litre TD42 inline-6 diesel engine with an upgraded 5-speed manual gearbox.
A new ute trim model with 1,000-kg load capacity was also released. It used a 4.2-litre TB42S/TB42E petrol engine (125 kW, 325 Nm) coupled to a 5-speed gearbox.
The Ti Trim resurfaced in this generation, equipped with an EFI motor and electric windows, 7-speaker sound system, velour and carpet interior, rear air conditioner, and three-spoke alloy wheels.
In 1995, an RX trim was introduced, featuring new electric mirrors, central locking system, carpeted interior, air conditioning system, and manual locking hubs. A higher-spec ST trim came with electric windows, electric mirrors, central locking, and automatic locking hubs.
All the trims came with a standard sway bar, and wagon models had front and rear disc brakes. Utility vehicles only came with rear drum brakes. The Patrol also featured new technological improvements at the time that included a vacuum solenoid operated manual differential lock in place of a limited-slip differential and a rear sway bar mechanism.
The RD28T and TB42E engines had head gasket problems. Although all Patrols were praised for their strong axles and a robustly-designed limited-slip differential.
Meanwhile, Ford Australia saw the success of the Nissan Patrol and wanted in on profits. Ford integrated a variant of the Nissan Patrol, shipped it in and revised it as the Ford Maverick. It featured a coiled leaf spring suspension that handled well off the road and on tarmac strips. The Y60 Ford Maverick had three-link live axle suspension at the front while the pickup trucks integrated a five-link set up at the back.
The Ford Maverick was available in 4.2-litre diesel and petrol variants that featured a TD42 motor fuel injection system, an EGR valve, and an oil cooler. It had a revised transmission, an improved suspension and bigger brakes with massive wheels and standard limited-slip differentials. It was also soundproofed and included side intrusion bars.
In 1993, Ford was caught in a fix when, in its intention to reduce the weight of the vehicle, it accidentally weakened the engine. This version gained a lot of complaints from the public. The change brought vibrations, especially for the diesel versions. This year marked the last units of Ford Mavericks released in the country.
5th Generation Y61 (1997–present)
The fifth and one of the two final generations of the Patrol rolled out in 1997 and is on up to this year. The full-sized off-road Nissan Patrol is an iterative in 4 styles, a 3-door or 5-door wagon, and a 2-door or 4-door pickup. This new generation has a front-engine layout available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. It also increased its number of diesel engine variants to include the 2.8-litre RD28ETi and 3.0-litre ZD30DDTi units. This new generation has improved continuous variable automatic transmissions (RE4R03A and RE5R05A) and elongated differential housings.
The 5th-generation Patrol received a facelift in 2005. It sported a pair of restyled headlights, a series of flares, and larger taillights. The Y61's production ceased in some areas where its sales didn't hold. At the same time, it also gained a footing in the Middle East due to its customisable tuning. Some of these variants were modified to produce 1,491 kW, capable of running up dunes and out-performing supercars like Lamborghinis. In 2016, the Australian 5th-generation Patrol was no longer featured in the Nissan line-up.
It had the most number of trims, including the following:
SUV
- DX - 4-door full-size SUV with a 3.0-litre ZD30DDTi inline-4 turbocharged diesel engine (118 kW, 354 Nm) with either 4-speed automatic transmission or 5-speed manual gearbox; features AC, cloth trim, limited-slip differential, power steering, radio cassette with two speakers
- ST - 4-door full-size SUV with the same powertrain as the DX but adds CD player, power mirror, power windows, and radio cassette with four speakers
- ST Performance - higher performance version of ST that had a 4.8-litre TB48DE inline-6 petrol engine (180 kW, 400 Nm) with a 5-speed automatic transmission
- ST-L - powered by the 3.0-litre diesel engine with either 4-speed automatic transmission or 5-speed manual gearbox
- ST-L Performance - powered by the 4.8-litre petrol engine with 5-speed automatic transmission
- ST-S - powered by the 3.0-litre diesel engine with either 4-speed automatic transmission or 5-speed manual gearbox
- ST-S Performance - sported the 4.8-litre petrol engine with a 5-speed automatic transmission
- Ti - similar 4-door full-size SUV with the 3.0-litre diesel engine with either 4-speed automatic transmission or 5-speed manual gearbox
- Ti Performance - sported the same 4.8-litre petrol engine tuned with a 5-speed automatic transmission
Ute
- DX - 2-door pickup truck powered by the same 3.0-litre diesel engine used by the SUVs with a 5-speed manual gearbox
- ST - 2-door pickup truck powered by the same 3.0-litre diesel engine with 5-speed manual gearbox but more equipped than the DX trim
6th Generation Y62 (2010–present)
This newest addition is the latest in the Nissan Patrol. Designed by Taiji Toyota in 2007, the 6th generation is coded Y62. It is a 5-door full-size SUV sitting on a Nissan F-Alpha platform with a front-engine layout with either rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive options.
The Y62 is powered by a massive 5.6-litre VK56DE V8 petrol engine that makes a mighty 298 kW of power and 410 Nm of torque. This new powertrain sports a 7-speed automatic transmission with 4X4 drive modes.
This off-road SUV also comes with a Hydraulic Body Motion Control System, an electronic locking rear differential, hill start capability, and hill descent control. The new generation Patrol doesn't feature the utility, which had been discontinued during the fifth generation.
The Patrol received a significant facelift in 2014, including new taillights with red elements, built-in LED headlights, and a globe housing. It further gained a new set of wheels and a tan interior.
In 2019, Nissan gave it another round of enhancements before the release of the 2020 model year. The Patrol now donned a restyled front bumper with a deeper apron and round housing. It now features Nissan's Intelligent Mobility driver-assistive suite that includes automatic emergency braking for front and rear, blind-spot monitoring, forward collision warning, lane-keeping assist, and rear cross-traffic alert.
The Patrol has come a long way as a history-rich performance utility vehicle that continues to have a commanding presence to this day, both on- and off-road. High-utility vehicles like the Patrol require regular servicing and maintenance. If you're repairing one and need replacement parts or accessories, Carpart.com.au can help you by connecting you to reliable auto parts sellers across Australia. Check out what our thousands of sellers have in-store today or send us a car parts request!
-Raykaz