No date for Patrol replacement

Passionate Patrol fans still have some time to wait for news of a replacement for Nissan's serious offroad wagon.

Indeed, while Toyota has already introduced its latest generation offroad wagon, the all-new 200 Series LandCruiser, new Nissan Oz boss, Dan Thompson confirmed the company had no set timeline for the replacement for the current-model Patrol.

"We're always working -- every day on every segment -- we just have to make it [the new Patrol] work [as a business case]," Thompson said.

"The Patrol is still performing in the [local] market and it's still meeting the needs of a fair amount of consumers out there. We will continue to refine it, as we go along within the existing model, and at the same time, as we do with every vehicle, work on the next generation," he said.
 
When pushed if the company had a replacement date for the current model, Thompson said simply: "At this point in time, there is none."

Australia is one of just a handful of markets where the Patrol is sold. Most are developing nations. It has been speculated, therefore, that Patrol will be repositioned to target Toyota's more industrially focused 70 Series LandCruiser. This would potentially leave LandCruiser in clean air.

Alternatively Nissan could choose to globalise one of its US-market SUVs as a heavy-duty all-wheel drive.

Speaking at this week's Nissan 360 , Nissan Senior Vice President Powertrain, Yo Usuba, was non-committal on Nissan's plans for a larger diesel powertrain for the Patrol.

Said Usuba: "The trend to downsizing continues to take place in all segments."

Usuba-san said Nissan would look at "technical solutions" to increase power and torque in vehicles like Patrol, before it sought to increase capacity. Such measures include variable geometry turbochargers and the like.

One potential future base powerplant for a Patrol replacement (and Euro market Infiniti SUVs) is Renault's latest 3.0 V6 turbodiesel. This powerplant is slated for Renault's Laguna as well as an upcoming version of the handsome US market Maxima.

Under the Nissan-Renault alliance, the French carmaker is largely tasked with diesel development. Usuba said Nissan was "still studying" its options for vehicles like Patrol.

Nissan displayed just one Patrol variant at Nissan 360, a short wheelbase 3.0-litre turbodiesel, that sat forlornly for most of the event undriven.

Back in Oz, Thompson did offer some hope for the Patrol faithful, however.

"We will not let the Patrol die, I can assure you that.

"It [Patrol] is an important part of our heritage here and when it comes to four-wheel or offroading, I think the Patrol still demonstrates its abilities."

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