NISSAN PATROL

NEW 4X4s FROM LAND ROVER, JEEP, NISSAN, ISUZU AND MOST LIKELY TOYOTA AND MAZDA WILL HIT THE SHOWROOMS IN 2020. HERE’S A RUNDOWN ON WHAT TO EXPECT…

NISSAN’S Y62 Patrol has been around a surprising 10 years now (eight in Australia), but somehow still seems new, perhaps because of its still-ahead-of-the-game high-tech suspension.

For 2020, all the Y62 basics, including the trick suspension and thundering V8 remain, but there’s new safety tech galore, especially on the less expensive of the two models, the Ti.

It gains radar cruise, lane-departure warning/intervention, and blind-spot warning/intervention. The Ti and the TI-L then gain automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning and rear cross-traffic alert. New colours, distinctive new front and rear styling, and some seemingly unnecessary fiddling with high-speed damper response complete the 2020 overhaul. And while prices have drifted north by $2000 to $3000, they still remain well south of what Toyota asks for its Landcruiser 200.

What you don’t get with the Patrol is, of course, a diesel engine, but the Patrol’s 5.6-litre petrol V8 is a cracker; energetic, urgent and free revving, it brings performance aplenty despite Patrol’s notable size. And while thirsty if you dip into the power on offer, light-throttle cruising can be surprisingly thrifty. Either way, the 140-litre tank ensures you don’t run out of petrol too often. And all this performance isn’t lost on a chassis that offers near physics-defying on-road handling with flat cornering and a supple ride thanks to fully independent Hydraulic Body Motion Control suspension. Off road, the active hydraulic rams and the lack of suspension-travel restricting swaybars provide excellent wheel articulation, even if a bit more ground clearance would be handy.