2022 Nissan Patrol Ti-L

NISSAN updated its venerable Patrol earlier this year with a bit of a nose job, a couple a technological additions, some new-look wheels and, well, that’s about it.

To be fair, the Patrol wants for very little and represents rather impressive value for money when one considers the breadth of the SUV’s capabilities. However, from behind the ‘wheel, there’s little to disguise the (now 12-year-old) Y62-series Patrol’s age.

From a mechanical point of view, the Patrol remains unaltered. It’s powered by Nissan’s proven 298kW/560Nm 5.6-litre quad-cam V8, which is paired exclusively to a seven-speed automatic transmission (with manual mode and adaptive shift control). The Japanese off-roader’s braked towing capacity is also unchanged (3500kg).

Over and above an Intelligent 4x4 system with electronic mode selection and a rear Helical limited-slip differential, the Patrol comes with an off-road monitor, hill-descent control and hill-start assist.

The seven-seat Patrol Ti-L on test is priced from $95,115 (plus on-road costs), but does not offer simple inclusions such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibilty… and still features the clumsy foot-operated park brake. 

It does, however, offer leather upholstery, a centre console cooler box, heated and cooled front seats, LED headlights, an electrically powered tailgate, DVD-based rear-seat entertainment system, satnav and a 13-speaker BOSE audio system.

The cabin’s first and second rows are properly spacious and feature enough storage cubbies, cup holders and power outlets to facilitate almost any off-road adventure. The third-row seats are best considered a temporary solution (for transporting small children – or people you really don’t like that much), but at least it gets air-conditioning outlets...

There are two top-tether and two ISOFIX child-seat anchorages in the second row and only one top-tether mount in the third row. Nissan’s spec sheet says the curtain airbags cover the third row of seats.

Further back, the Patrol avails 468 litres of cargo space with all three rows deployed, as well as 1413 litres in five-seat mode and a generous 2623 litres in two-seat format.

Of course, all that space means the Patrol is a big unit and by that we mean “American pick-up truck” kind of big. The Ti-L measures 5175mm in length, 1995mm in width and stands 1995mm high. It’s also weighs close-as-makes-no-difference to 2800kg, which means that when it’s fully loaded (or when towing at capacity), the Patrol may require a light truck licence to legally operate in certain states and territories. The GCM is 7000kg.

The Patrol is backed by Nissan’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. Service intervals are pegged at six months or 10,000km (whichever comes first), with the first six services capped at $376, $577, $392, $860, $407 and $624 respectively.