When the Nissan Patrol 4W60 was released in Japan in 1951 with its 75 HP bus engine, four wheel drive and folding windshield, it was unapologetically practical. The larger 4W70 was based on the American military Dodge M37. But like most cars that begin this way, it eventually started to move upmarket. Fortunately Nissan decided to keep producing a version for those of us that enjoy a simple work vehicle.
For those of you that are already disappointed at the fact that you can’t get a Patrol in the U.S, don’t be, because you can totally get one. Indeed, for the first time in ages you can get a Patrol without having to jump through hoops and without being afraid that one day Homeland Security will decide that your SUV represents a worse threat that IS and will come to crush it for great justice. However, there’s a catch.
You can get a Nissan Patrol in the U.S of course but it’ll be called Infiniti QX80. If you find the name nonsensical, it’s because it kinda is. Infiniti’s used to have a nice system going along where you had a letter and a number that was indicative of engine size. Now it’s more of an ambiguous scheme where all the names begin with Q for reasons only known to at-the-time CEO Johan de Nysschen, who has gone over to do the same thing at Cadillac.
To see why it’s badged as an Infiniti rather than a Patrol, you only need to look at the interior. This is a Patrol Brougham in every sense of the word. Look at that sumptuous leather covering every single part of the interior that’s not already covered in wood. Under the “Inspired by Buick” hood lives a 5.6L V8 making 400 Horsepower (Out of the NV3500 Bus, so at least some of the heritage is there). Prices start at $63,250. Clearly no longer a car aimed at U.N missions. But if you live in a place where the U.N actually does missions, Nissan will gladly sell you something a bit more…genuine Patrolish.
That’s more in the spirit of the Original. No Portholes to be seen here, no leather either unless you’re hauling some to be treated. Instead of Forward Collision Warning, you get dual fuel tanks. Instead of a 400HP V8, you get either a proven 4.8L inline-6 with 280HP or a 160HP 3.0 Turbo diesel. Not exactly autobahn performance but it’ll go on and on even if you are not particularly fond of those pesky service recommendations.
Having said that, it’s not entirely devoid of luxury. One of the options you can have is a cooler box in the center console. Just the thing to keep your Apollinaris nice and cold in the middle of the desert. It’s more of a necessity really. You can also get a stereo with Bluetooth compatibility and central locking if you want to. Availability of airbags is dependent on the market though, Australia gets one and the Middle East doesn’t. Then again, the Australian Patrol pickup begins at the equivalent of $51,000 USD and the Middle-East one doesn’t.
Also of note is the 6×6 version, the Patrol is a very popular vehicle in the Arab Emirates so something like this was really inevitable. Apart from the bragging factor six-wheel-drive vehicles have a plethora of uses in the dunes of the Middle East. So you can think of it as a sensible alternative to the decidedly not sensible at all Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6. The extended bed is also useful for whatever you want to carry while jumping across the desert: Water, Camels, you name it. The source where I got the pictures from also mentioned a “six-wheel steer mechanism” but I haven’t got the faintest idea about how such a system would work.
There’s no telling how long things like this and the still-in-production 70-series Land Cruiser will last. There will always be a need for a rugged utilitarian vehicle. The question is whether they will just keep updating old designs until the end of time or come up with new vehicles that have practicality as their true purpose, rather than comfort or technological superiority. Either way, the hard-working buyers of these cars will end up winning.
Like many people, I’ve heard of the Nissan Patrol, unfortunately, I’ve never seen one in the USA. It’s too bad. It probably would’ve made an interesting competitor against the Toyota Land Cruiser. If only the Infiniti QX80 looked as attractive as the Nissan Patrol.
“Under the ‘Inspired by Beluga Whale’ hood…”
There, I fixed it for you.
Older Nissan Patrols are here & there ~ there’s a beat up one in a Barrio Garage not far from my shop .
It’s a 1960’s vintage I *think* , I have only ever seen a handful of these in the U.S. .
What part was used from the Mighty Dodge M37 ? .
-Nate
I think the early Land Cruiser style jeep ones were officially imported by Nissan in the 60’s and early 70’s, but they stopped offering it after that. I’ve seen a later Patrol on the road down here in South Florida.
The Chassis. the first update to the patrol had the original engine and drivetrain but it was mounted on the M37’s Chassis. Never would’ve guessed it
They were imported into the US, at least briefly…
Interesting. It’s sold as a Datsun, but the company name refers to Nissan, and the letters on the hood sure look like “NISSAN” to me.
The whole Nissan/Datsun naming history is an interesting one!
The Name Is NISSAN! And It Is AWESOME!!!!!
(at your datsun dealer)
In the old days, a lot of companies didn’t really get branding.
My understanding is that they weren’t sure the small vehicle thing would fly in the US. The Datsun name was to keep from trashing Nissan’s reputation if it didn’t fly. It flew very well and about 1983(?) they became Datsun by Nissan. Then just Nissan.
I owned 79 and 81 Datsun pickups. Then an 87 Hardbody Nissan. Actually the 79 might have been the best as I think the engine was all cast iron and it sure did not have a fragile head gasket like the later models.
Nissan had been using the Datsun brand name (originally Datson) since the early 1930s, well before they ever tried to sell cars in the U.S.; it was an evolution of DAT, which went back to before World War I. Nissan used the Datsun brand name for some JDM models into the early ’80s, as Toyota did with Toyopet.
I was pleased to see this, as I have 50+ year old memories of seeing one of these on display at the San Francisco World Trade Center which was a modest showroom located in the Ferry Building, around 1962 or so. Of course i was just a little kid so it may have been an FJ40 or FJ25 Toyota, but I think it was a Patrol.
In 1962 The Land Cruiser still had those odd looking corrugated steel side panels , if that helps to jog your memory….
-Nate
I’ve seen a prior generation Patrol that was nicely kitted and had BC plates. Looked like a LC.
WHY does Infiniti need alphanumerics at all!? If they were going to rebrand all the models they should’ve just carried over JDM model names – Skyline, Fuga, Patrol etc.
it’s the trendy thing to do, I don’t get it.
Luxo Patrol is the Granroad in JDM.
A legitimate question. “Fuga” doesn’t translate so well, but “Skyline” is really not a bad name even aside from the Gran Turismo factor and “Patrol” sounds suitably butch.
The 160 series (introduced in 1980) was the first Patrol we got in 1983. With the SD33 straight six 3.3 liter diesel, naturally aspirated. Later also the SD33T, so with a turbo.
I drove a lot of miles, as a co-driver, in a long wheelbase 160 series. It looked just like the one below, without all the mud. And always with 4 wheels on the ground.
It looked like a truck, it sounded like a truck and it drove like a truck. That’s exactly why I like this breed of vehicles. Heck, it even had a driver’s seat with suspension.
It was of course a revelation compared to the contemporary Land Rovers when it came to power, build quality and pretty much everything else. Oh yes, Land Rovers. With their little put-put diesels, famous Fordson handling and the fit-and-finish of a soapbox car assembled by boozers.
(Photo courtesy autobild.de)
About 15 years ago I drove a rebadged Y60/GQ Patrol (Ford Maverick) with the TD42 and 5sp, it had done about 350k miles and also drove like a truck but was great. Not fast, not luxurious, but good.
Because the new luxo-Patrol is such a big change, particularly with no diesel available, the Y61 wagon is also still available with the 3.0 diesel only from $54k compared to the new Y62 from $82k – in a much higher trim level. The Patrol is still about $6-8k cheaper than the Landcruiser that has a V8 TD but no automatic version in the ‘commercial’ versions (70-series wagon included). The 200-series LC has a base model that is $4k cheaper than the Patrol, but comparable trim levels are more expensive.
Since a few years Nissan Patrols are no longer officially imported here. The last ones we had were still rugged and capable and always had the 3.0 liter 4 cylinder turbo diesel.
Mitsubishi dealerships are thin on the ground, so not much (new) Pajeros either. That basically leaves the whole market for this type of vehicles to Toyota with their Land Cruiser 150 series (Prado).
It’s exactly the right mixture between a pure workhorse and a luxurious SUV. Jeep Grand Cherokees and the like are of course much too fancy, inside and out, to get dirty.
Yes they sell the Prado/150 here as well (also in the States as a Lexus). They recently released a version without the twin fuel tanks so that the spare tyre could be mounted underneath the car rather than on the rear door. Trim levels range from pure workhorse to luxurious SUV.
The twin fuel tanks are a popular feature among the out back touring & grey nomad sets, 150L or ~39.5 US gal total capacity that gives a highway range of around 1100mi.
I didn’t know they were available with twin fuel tanks, but it sure makes sense in the out back.
I’ve got a 2002 Land Cruiser 90 series (also called Prado in other parts of the world) with the 3.0 D4D engine. It has a 90 liter tank, enough for 900 km. It does about 11 km per liter on average. Or 26 mpg if you wish.
The big 200 series with the V8 engines (either gasoline or diesel) is also available, but those are rare. People in that price class often go for the European luxurious SUVs.
It’s a shame but when Carlos Ghosen took over, it looked like Nissan might get on track to making money and still (occasionally) building cars that folks really wanted….not just “settled” for. Infiniti seemed to get a second breath and was starting to lose it’s stodginess. Well, that’s all disappeared.
Supposedly, an all new Titan is less than a year away. Can a Frontier re-vamp be far behind? Will they go the way of Infiniti and “drop the ball”?
“…not just “settled” for”
Nissan Versa Note: For when a Honda Fit just isn’t available in the right color.
The Versa (at least the previous generation; I haven’t looked much at the current one) had one useful advantage over the Fit: a lot of rear seat room, including what might well have been the most rear headroom of any passenger car sold in the U.S. (If there were any with more, I couldn’t think of or find them.) The Fit is much more versatile as a cargo carrier, but the Versa had a definite edge in room for rear passengers. Of course, all of them had to be willing to be seen in it…
I’ll take the 6 by. Probably couldn’t justify it because I have no dunes to jump but I have now officially begun to lust for it.
I would love one of those Patrol pickups. Knobs, switches, and buttons controlling most functions? Sign me up.
Sadly, current truck buyers are more concerned with “soft touch” plastics, 20″ chrome wheels and 40″ LCD TVs in the dash of their “trucks”. So we’ll never see it here.
My brother-in-law has a 1984 160 series LWB narrow body low-roof Patrol with the SD33 and manual transmission, looks like the one Johannes pictured above (if the one he pictured is silver with blue stripes underneath the mud!). It’s a JDM model that arrived here in 1988, and being JDM is more nicely trimmed (lovely blue interior and plush carpet throughout) than the ones we got New Zealand-new. He removed the back seats (the carpet even went right underneath them!) and uses it for carrying fencing equipment around his very steep cattle farm.
My BIL bought it 4 years ago from a neighbouring farmer for a dozen beer. It had sat unused for about 6 years after failing its WOF (roadworthiness cert) due to excessive roof rust from living near the ocean. Some diesel and jumper leads saw it fire into life immediately, and other than a dodgy starter solenoid, it’s been reliable since (the rust means its uneconomic to get road legal again, hence being used on the farm only now). I love being in it – its looks, feel and engine note are rather intoxicating, and its so capable on steep land – my BIL has terrified me numerous times with where he’s taken it and me!
My Uncle has a 1994 Y60 SWB wide-body Patrol with the TD42 and manual trans which I’ve also been in and driven several times. It’s also a JDM model (arriving here around 1998 when my Uncle bought it) so has a nice velour interior and electric everything, but under the tinsel it’s just as rugged and capable as the 160. Rustfree too!
In the 1970s and early 80s the Toyota Landcruiser was seen as the king of tough off-roaders here, but in the mid-80s the Patrol took over that mantle. Nowadays though, the sole Patrol we get new is the LWB V8 Infinitiesque one; we don’t get the Y61 that Aussie still gets. There’s a gap in the market for a rugged and tough off-roader though, as Toyota recently re-introduced the 70-series Landcruiser here, and I’ve seen a number around.
Yes, that’s exactly the one you’re describing, 1984 included….And blue striping, with a blue interior. And white rims IIRC. It roared like a big diesel truck.
Indeed, my BIL’s has the white rims – and the engine roar which I love!
These things just ooze character, ruggedness and badassery. Of course I mean the pickups and not that flabby gingerbread laden brougham thing. Ill NEVER understand how barebones rugged rigs like this are so few and far between here in the states. People will pay ridiculous prices for classic 4×4 iron thats simple and capable and yet the mfgs seem to only want to crank out pussified CUVs only fit for soccer moms. Hey, soccer moms need cars so Im not saying to NOT build what theyll buy. But there is a smaller yet more stable market that wants REAL 4×4’s…just because its a smaller pool doesnt mean it isnt profitable and worth serving. Hey Jeep: THIS is what you should be developing instead of more wimp mobiles that are retreads of what everyone else is already doing!
Rugged minimalism is a niche market, though, and by its nature is not one with fat profit margins (unless you’re in a position to do the Porsche GT2/GT3 trick of charging extra for stripped-down semi-race versions).
It also gets into some really challenging questions about what constitutes rugged and basic and how achievable that is in the modern regulatory environment. For instance, there’s no getting around the need for airbags anymore. Electronic stability control systems are now required (and even if they weren’t, past rollover scandals would probably make manufacturers very reluctant to go without them on tall, top-heavy vehicles), which generally means you also need ABS and EBD, since most stability control systems need to be able to modulate the brakes. There’s no way a carbureted engine of any size is going to pass current federal, Euro, or Japanese emissions standards, so you need electronic fuel injection (if not direct injection) and may well need distributorless ignition and the usual digital engine management suite. If you’re planning on offering power windows at all, making them optional means you’ll have to do side impact testing with and without, which is expensive (that’s a major reason power windows are now virtually standard).
Then you get into the 4WD hardware. Should a real 4×4 mean getting out in the mud to manually lock the front hubs? (There used to be some hardcore 4×4 people who would strenuously argue that.) If not, should it mean having to stop and back up to disengage the hubs? Is an automatic dashboard control for shifting from 2WD to 4WD an unreasonable indulgence? How about on-road 4WD use? Can hardcore encompass a center differential? Should you just go ahead and make it permanent 4WD? And while you’re at it, should you have a manual transmission or an automatic? (There is something to be said for torque converter creep rather than having to slip the clutch in tricky conditions.)
So, having answered those questions, you have a fairly expensive vehicle that is no longer especially basic. You could leave it that way, but then we’re back to profit margins.
I do agree that it would be nice to be able to draw the line somewhere — I appreciate modern safety features and stuff like steering wheel stereo controls, but I would rather not be obliged to buy a car that looks like a big box electronics store threw up in the middle of a leather convention. (I loathe touchscreens and dearly hope that at some point people will get over the “Ooh, it’s like Star Trek!” factor and remember that buttons and knobs were invented for a reason.)
Still, all of these things are why the truly basic car or truck is pretty much an endangered species.
Very spartan old-school 4x4s are great. As a hobby vehicle or if you have to work under extremely harsh (road) conditions all the time.
Otherwise do yourself a favor with a decent level of comfort and handling. I drove a Land Rover Defender diesel about 10 years ago. At that time it was their latest model. It was great fun ! For about 5 minutes….
Imagine you’ll have to drive it for your work every day, say 25,000 miles or more per year. Trying to keep that noisy barge on the road, no thanks.
I’m sure the Russians still build this breed of 4x4s.
I still like the old tech hard as buckboard 4X4’s .
You’re supposed to drive ’em slow when the going gets rough .
A few years ago I got a practice lap in The Parker 400 , in a modern car with pneumatic suspension that was simply _amazing_ ! we flew over boulders and logs at speed , I thought we were going to wad it .
Super soft , nice but not my cuppa tea .
What was the Russian 4X4 car covered here ? a Niva ? that’s what I want .
-Nate
UAZ is another renowned Russian manufacturer of “buckboard” off-roaders. Here’s a UAZ 469. (Source: carrental.mn)
That’s one of the ones I was thinking of .
In the 80’s & 90’s they must have been cheap or nearly FREE as all those shoot ’em up movies set in Europe had dozens of them getting crashed , blown up , run off cliffs , roads , bridges etc. at full speed…
What was the tiny two door 4X4 Automobile featured here a while back ? I remember there was an amusing T.V. advert with some big brawler tough guy showing how you’re _supposed_ to drive it .
I love my Russian Ural Motocycles and I expect I’d like a Russian Automobile or light truck too .
-Nate
This one ? The Lada Niva.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/cc-capsule-lada-niva-for-sale/
Yes that’s it , THANX .
-Nate
A neighbor has a QX80. For the life of me, I can’t think of a more aesthetically challenged vehicle, not an Aztek, not a Marlin, not even a Datsun F-10. Thankfully, the Patrol seems to bear no resemblance to a QX80.
I owned two Patrol R models,(84 and 86) both the older versions in 24 volt, and a newer 1993 GR, all used as daily driver. With one R we actually went to Spain and Italy, both around 5000 km trips, and yes, it is more or less torture…..but when driving snowy mountain passes in winter, a Patrol is the vehicle you want!
Did a lot of towing and off-roading, best 4×4’s on the market, if you ask me.
Mine always had the 3.3 liter 6 line engines, all non-turbo models, you have to roll them from a mountain to do any damage.