Buying a used Nissan Patrol Y61/Y62 (2013-2017)

The Nissan Patrol has existed for as long as people in urban areas have wanted to own 4WDs.

The first ones that arrived in 1951 were rough and rowdy, and even 1970s versions at 100km/h on the highway were hard on engines and the ears.

As the 21st century loomed, the Nissan Patrol was changing too as the fifth-generation Y61 model arrived in 1997.

First came the 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine to partner Nissan’s long-serving 4.2-litre six, then expansion of the petrol-fed six from 4.5 to 4.8 litres.

In 2004, a significant overhaul brought a modernised body design, updated interior and suspension tweaks.

The 3.0-litre engine was modified to address durability issues and given a minor boost to power and torque. It would need both because within a couple of years the 4.2-litre diesel would be gone.

From 2010, when a new Y62 model was announced, the design underwent further change which Nissan claimed would reflect the preferences of its global, but primarily Middle Eastern market.

The sixth-generation Y62 Patrol finally arrived in Australia in 2013, but came as a shock to owners who preferred a relatively frugal turbo-diesel. The new range had no diesel engine at all and instead was headlined by a 298kW 5.6-litre petrol V8.

Perhaps in defiance of HQ in Japan, Nissan Australia would continue selling the previous Y61 model in 3.0-litre turbo-diesel form for as long as it could, ending an epic run in 2017 with the limited-run Legend Edition .

Buying Used: Nissan Patrol Y61/Y62 (2013-17) – Quick Checklist
• 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engines suffered a litany of problems and not all will have been cured. Ensure servicing is up to date and oil has been changed more frequently than is recommended.
• Look for inner-edge tyre wear and cuts to tyre walls caused by impact with sharp rocks.
• Operate the cargo area doors and occasional seats to ensure everything moves freely and the seats lock into position without extreme force.

The Y62 Nissan Patrol was displayed to an awed Australia in late 2010, having been shown to Middle Eastern buyers almost a year earlier.

But not all was rosy in Patrol Land.

During its local debut at the 2010 Sydney motor show, commentators were disappointed to learn that right-hand drive versions were stuck somewhere in the developmental pipeline and at least a year away.

Even when the Y62 model did finally appear in 2013, the earlier Y61 didn’t die and 3.0-litre turbo-diesels would sell in tandem with the 5.6-litre petrol V8 until stocks finally ran dry in 2017.

At the bottom of the post-2010 Patrol pack was the DX model. Available as a cab-chassis or wagon, the entry-level model came in diesel only, with five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission and dual-range.

The seats were cloth, the floor coverings plastic and you wound your own windows down, but at least the DX did include power steering, air-conditioning and a pair of airbags.

Next in line and by far the most common version to be found in used vehicle listings was the ST. Later versions have the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine with manual or auto transmission, but looking prior to 2013 you might find an ST with the 4.8-litre petrol engine.

STs on the inside conveyed more plushness than in a DX. Features include carpets, power windows, a dash display and cluster of buttons on the steering wheel to run the cruise control.

The wheels were alloy, with a spare hanging off the rear door, and inside the upright doors a pair of occasional seats were stowed out of the way until needed.

The ST N-Trek and ST-Plus were low-volume models with additional features at ‘come get me’ pricing. Given the age of the Patrol’s design when compared with others in the full-size 4WD segment, it did regularly require some marketing activity to remind buyers what was still available.

Those with scads of money to pump into a 4x4 off-roader were prime targets for the Patrol Ti with its flash cabin, leather trim and upgraded electronics. The even more costly Ti-L brought a range of other comfort and safety features including parking sensors and a reversing camera.

BIG. In the Nissan Patrol, you look down on almost every other vehicle from a considerable height.

The Y61/Y62 Patrol is also very wide and drivers need to be constantly aware of their position in a lane so that you don’t inadvertently drift too far. Some versions have lane departure warnings to constantly beep at you.

Also, before buying a Nissan Patrol, consider where you are going to keep it. At 1855mm tall in Y62 guise, these will barely scrape under a standard-height roller door and won’t make it with a roof rack fitted.

Once comfortable with the amount of metal surrounding you, consider just how much gear and/or human cargo one of these will carry and how accessible everything is.

The front compartment offers plentiful legroom, shoulder-room and especially headroom, however the steering column doesn’t telescope which means shorter drivers need to be belly rubbing the wheel in order to have a good relationship with the foot pedals.

I am not a supporter of side steps on off-road vehicles but anyone shorter than 1.8 metres will struggle to board a Patrol without using the step plus a grab handle.

The rear barn doors don’t have the convenience of a lay-down tailgate or power window but still provide excellent access. The spare wheel attaches to the door and doesn’t need to be fished out from under the car.

Performance from the 3.0-litre diesel is okay (with five-speed manual or four-speed automatic options), and better from the 5.6-litre V8 that arrived with Y62 paired solely with a seven-speed auto. All Patrols have an excellent selectable 4WD system.

Under most circumstances you wouldn’t want to drive a vehicle with a ladder chassis and solid (truck-type) axles at both ends, but in Nissan’s judgement this combination remained the best compromise for sealed and unsealed surfaces.

Coil springs and long-travel shock absorbers helped deliver excellent wheel articulation in rough going, ensuring that the Patrol’s tyres would stay in contact with the surface and providing traction for longer than more stiffly-sprung 4WDs.

You won’t get to test drive in really rough stuff but online videos of Patrols slugging their way up rutted tracks and bouncing across loose rocks demonstrate without leaving your chair just how effective an off-roader these vehicles can be.

The compromise comes on bitumen where a tall body, terrible tyres and wafty steering combine to make for leisurely progress. Probably just as well too, because pushing a V8 hard would send already appalling fuel consumption figures to new heights.

Fuel use is one aspect of the Patrol’s design that proponents prefer to ignore; the other is secondary safety.

Dealing with the fuel issue first we find official consumption for the 3.0-litre diesel automatic averaging a decent 11.8L/100km and blowing out to 15-16L/100km when towing a decent weight.

Now to the petrol V8. For those who bought once the diesels were delisted it was the only choice and official usage is 14.5L/100km. In city traffic that can blow out to 18L/100km or above and at current fuel prices, you could be spending around $200 on premium for every 500km travelled in a V8 Patrol.

Safety is an unavoidable problem, with the age of the basic Patrol design putting limits on how much can feasibly be done to meet tougher safety demands.

In a frontal offset test that we suspect might only have caused minimal damage to more modern designs of the time, the Y61 cabin had significant deformation and overall the Patrol received a poor three-star rating from ANCAP when tested in 2011. The Y62 has not been rated.

If you are someone who travels big distances to inhospitable places, the Nissan Patrol will tick a lot of boxes.

The occasional seats are best reserved for junior members of the family or removed altogether, but regular seats in all but the rudimentary versions are comfortably shaped and the air-conditioning is excellent.

Patrols are commonly seen hauling camper trailers and even full-sized caravans along rough tracks and those beaches gazetted as roads, but don’t get overly confident in their off-road abilities on your own.

A Patrol full of people with a big van behind grosses somewhere around five tonnes and that’s a lot to be getting out of shape on gravel or bogged to its belly on a sand track.

Nissan Patrol Y61/Y62 (2013-17) – What to check when buying used
• Overheating can cause catastrophic damage to the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel. Failures are said to mostly affect vehicles that tow or have been used for extended periods at high engine speeds. Contaminated oil has been blamed for some failures, so be wary of 3.0-litre versions set up for heavy towing and with patchy service histories.
• Look underneath for damage caused by careless use on rough roads and also for oil leaking from damaged differential seals. You do not want to be responsible for the cost of fixing those.
• All 4WD suspensions suffer wear but check that any Patrol you consider is sitting squarely on its springs and doesn’t have one or more collapsed coils.
• Owners report various noises including creaks, groans and thumps from the power steering. These can signal internal steering box problems, loose mounts or worn suspension bushes. Uprated power steering units are available from aftermarket suppliers.

Used vehicle grading for Nissan Patrol Y61/Y62 (2013-17)
Design & Function: 12/20
Safety: 10/20
Practicality: 12/20
Value for Money: 12/20
Wow Factor: 10/20
Score: 56/100

Also consider: Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Land Rover Discovery