Nissan Patrol to sell in "hundreds" a month

William Peffer Jr, managing director of Nissan Australia, acknowledges that the job of marketing the new Y62 Patrol in Australia has been made harder by the lack of a diesel engine.

But he remains confident the new SUV will find its target market here and buyers will front up to Nissan dealers in the right sort of numbers.

"We'll sell hundreds a month," Mr Peffer said of the Y62 model in an address to local media last night. Typical buyers for the new Patrol, according to Nissan, are expected to be male professionals aged between 35 and 64 years of age. "We know we won't get the die-hard, off-road... diesel owners... but we'll get some of them," Mr Peffer said.

Nissan is gunning for Toyota's LandCruiser 200 Series with the Y62 Patrol and two of the three levels of trim undercut the LC200 equivalents. As we reported back in October, the 5.6-litre V8-engined Patrol is priced from $82,200 for the entry-level ST-L variant. The mid-range Ti variant is priced at $92,850 and the flagship Ti-L – the one Patrol variant that is priced higher than a LandCruiser counterpart – tops the range at $113,900.

Boasting a 3.5-tonne towing capacity, the new Patrol produces as much as 90 per cent of its peak torque (560Nm) from as low as 1600rpm. The V8, which develops 298kW thanks to its direct injection and VVEL (Variable Valve Event & Lift), drives through a seven-speed automatic transmission and is rated at 14.5L/100km in combined-cycle fuel consumption testing.

The new Patrol comes with high-tech features along the lines of hill descent control, Intelligent Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning, Intelligent Brake Assist, Tyre Pressure Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Departure Prevention and Around View Monitor.

These features and Patrol's larger engine, the seven-speed transmission and the sophisticated Hydraulic Body Motion Control suspension provide it with a nominal edge over the LandCruiser 200, and Nissan execs believe the Ti and Ti-L variants will be the volume sellers in the range, although neither Mr Peffer nor the company's General Manager of Marketing, Peter Clissold, was prepared to forecast sales for the new model.

"We'll be taking things one step at a time," Mr Clissold said. The marketing exec observed that the Patrol might go up against more expensive vehicles like the Lexus LX 570 and the Mercedes-Benz GL.

"That's part of the territory; no question about it."

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