One night, several summers ago, an automotive inclined friend and I were heading to one of our usual haunts and encountered every traffic light on Jumeirah Beach Road. Sat at one of the traffic lights, as if by telepathy, we both decided to survey the vehicles around us and noticed the scenery was dominated by Nissan Patrols. It seemed no matter where we looked, there was either a Y61 (previous generation) or Y62 (current generation) Patrol staring back at us.
This prompted us to come up with a little game to amuse ourselves; anytime either of us spotted the big Nissan, we’d yell Patrol! The cabin was never quiet thereafter. We continue to play that silly little game every so often and, although it’s been several years, it still reminds both of us just how many Nissan Patrols dot the roads of the UAE, even today. This is impressive when you take into account that the Y61 and Y62 Patrols were introduced in 1997 and 2010, making them 25- and 12-years old respectively.
The Y62 is far different from the Y61 and since its introduction in 2010, there have been a couple of Y62 facelifts, as well as special editions including a 70th Anniversary edition. The subject of this review, the Nissan Patrol NISMO, is potentially the last hurrah for the Y62 platform before it is retired in favor of a new design (already being referred to as Y63). When you consider that almost every other full size SUV in the Middle East market is now a newer generation vehicle, it’s fair to say that an all-new Patrol is long overdue.
NISMO Niceties
Nissan Motorsports International (NISMO) is Nissan’s tuning and racing division and has lavished its expertise on a number of road-going Nissans over the years including the GT-R, 370Z, Juke, Sentra and others. The Patrol NISMO is said to be exclusive to Middle Eastern markets and is a combination of aesthetic and functional upgrades.
Our dressed in ‘grey metallic’ paint Patrol certainly stood out, even parked next to a fully blacked out LE Patrol Platinum at The Dubai Mall, thanks to the significant NISMO upgrades. Up front, the NISMO screams ‘get out of my way’ – the sculpted front bumper and finished in black upper and lower grilles are handsome, and are accented by chrome bits that sharpen the look nicely. And, to make certain that no one mistakes this vehicle for a regular Patrol, there’s a NISMO badge off-centre on the front upper grille, on the rear boot lid, and on each of the massive but striking 22-inch two tone aluminium wheels.
Looking at the rear, there’s a substantial finished in black roof spoiler, which Nissan says enhances the vehicle’s design and aerodynamic performance. The Patrol’s rear bumper also gets a sportier and more aggressive look and is perfectly symmetrical; sitting at the lower centre is a rear fog light comprised of seven LED lights. Nissan claims this light emits the same amount of illumination as the brake lights in adverse conditions. It’s a cool addition and is flanked by sculpted fiberglass and plastic designed to resemble an underside air diffuser. The left and right extremities of the bumper feature what look like chrome encircled exhausts; these are purely aesthetic however, which was a tad disappointing as I thought they were cool up to the point I looked closer and found they were just hollow black space.
Tying the exterior design together is glossy red trim that can be found on both bumpers, under the side steps and even on the wing mirrors. Pop the hood and you’ll find the V8’s typical black engine cover has been swapped for a finished-in-red NISMO engine cover. There’s other NISMO exterior trim as well including dark chrome handles, roof rails and – if you can spot them behind the massive wheels – yellow Bilstein shock absorbers, which Nissan says improve handling.
Climbing into the eight seater’s massive cabin, you’ll find that NISMO has been hard at work here too with some subtle as well as in-your-face tweaks including: NISMO illuminated kick plates; two tone (red/black) leather and alcantara seats with NISMO headrests; tachometre with red NISMO ring; NISMO carbon veneer finish, NISMO dual tone door trim etc.
There’s certainly plenty to visually distinguish the Patrol NISMO from other models in the line-up on the inside, however in terms of overall features and design, the cabin does feel dated. Although competitor full size SUVs have cabins that are less expansive, they offer far more storage space/cubbies, bigger and more responsive displays, a head’s up display, greater number of USB ports, and crazy speaker systems with over 30 speakers in some cases (though the 13 speaker BOSE system does sound brilliant).
On the plus side, the Patrol NISMO does feature wireless phone charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a massive centre coolbox, intelligence cruise control, 360-degrees camera, land departure warning, forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection, so it’s not completely left in the dust with regards to features and technology. There’s even a rear limited slip differential with a locker for when things get choppy off road; I don’t recommend serious offroading however, the low hanging front and rear bumpers will almost certainly be destroyed when attacking or coming off dunes.
Living with the Patrol NISMO
Cars and SUVs tend to get larger with each subsequent generation but although the Y62 Patrol is over 12 years old, it is still king of the hill when compared to modern rivals. Here are some stats to digest it’s nearly 17.5-feet from end-to-end, 6.7-feet wide and tips the scales at a little over 2.8 tons – in a game of Top Trumps, there’s not many vehicles on the market that will challenge this Nissan.
Despite its immense size and weight, the Patrol NISMO was as easy to drive and live with as my considerably smaller and lighter R50 Pathfinder. On the first evening I had the Patrol, I had to get to Mall of the Emirates during rush hour for a couple of errands and, surprisingly, I got in and out of the mall in what felt like record time.
On the road, the Patrol NISMO’s high (and I do mean high) driving position means you can see what’s going on hundreds of metres ahead of you, while the rest of the glasshouse provides good visibility for shoulder checks and general visibility (useful in tight spaces/busy streets). That said, it is possible to lose other vehicles in the Patrol’s chunky pillars but, thankfully, the blind spot warning and intervention systems did a good job of keeping me in the clear.
When I reached the mall, it was rammed with people rediscovering their horns, however the reasonably well insulated cabin, ice cold air conditioning (despite being about 42-degrees Celsius), and comfortable seats had me feeling quite relaxed through it all. On top of that, people seemed to immediately give me priority the minute I switched the indicators on, while the 360-degree camera made getting the NISMO into and out of the angled parking slots a piece of cake. After that first experience, I looked forward to going everywhere with the big Patrol as my steed.
The NISMO’s 5.6 litre V8 puts out 428hp at 5,800rpm and 413lb-ft of torque between 3,600rpm to 4,800rpm – while the torque figure is the same as other V8 powered Patrols, you get 28hp more. The horsepower difference isn’t substantial given the vehicle’s size and weight (Nissan notes the Patrol NISMO is 4.5kg lighter overall…). The V8 (first introduced in 2010) doesn’t have cylinder deactivation technology and there’s no trick hybrid system here for better fuel efficiency, however it continues to be a potent motivator paired with the also dated but quick shifting seven-speed automatic gearbox.
Stomp the loud pedal from a standstill and the Patrol shoves you into your seat while surging forward – the monster will do 0-97km/h in about 6.9-seconds. This means it’s faster getting up to highway speeds than a number of current generation mid-size SUVs, and isn’t far off its recently refreshed chief Japanese rival with a twin turbo V6. Though the V8’s peak torque come up higher in the rev range than modern turbo or supercharged engines, the amount of shove you feel every time you go near the throttle, indicates that a chunk of the V8’s torque is developed under 2,000rpm. Overtaking at highway speeds also demonstrates the powertrain’s flexibility and, unlike most modern V8s or boosted V6s, you get a Nascar-like soundtrack when the V8’s doing its business.
Where the NISMO’s older powertrain will have you wishing for something newer is when it comes to running costs. Drive aggressively and the V8 is thirsty but, even if you’re being docile with your throttle inputs or relying on cruise control, you’re never going to be blown away by this vehicle’s fuel economy. Over the four day test period, the best I managed was 10.7km/l while cruising E311 at 109km/h, while city driving with start/stop traffic was significantly lower. The Patrol’s 140-litre fuel tank, at the time of going to press, cost about AED 550 to fill up (US $150) – while I didn’t manage to empty the tank during my test, I’d make an educated guess that you’d get approximately 800km in terms of range (on average).
With regards to handling, taking into account the vehicle’s size, height and weight, and its lack of air suspension, the Patrol NISMO was never going to be an agile steer. With that said, the Nismo tuned suspension and Bilstein shock absorbers did a good job of keeping body motions in check, though sharp, quick inputs on small roundabouts and turns will expose the Patrol’s significant size and mass. On the plus side, as the vehicle still uses a hydraulic steering rather than an electric system, steering feel is reasonable for an SUV. And although this is a heavy vehicle, Nissan’s done a good job of balancing steering performance and feel at low and high speeds – I never exited the Patrol feeling like the drive tired me out.
VERDICT
With a starting price of AED 385,000 ($105,000), the Patrol NISMO sits in a space crowded by full size competition that is more modern and offers better fuel efficiency – the latter is particularly pertinent given the astronomical rises we’ve seen in pump prices over the last few months. That said, despite its shortcomings, the Patrol NISMO still manages to charm with its aggressive looks, comfortable and expansive cabin, and characterful V8. There’s a reason you still see so many of them on the roads even today and given the long term reliability associated with these vehicles, we’ll likely see them for a long time to come.
