2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L Review

The Y62 generation of the Nissan Patrol is something of an legendary automotive product. It’s been on sale in Australia for 10 years now, and yet, its 2022 sales Down Under were its best with 5,724 sales – that made it the third best-selling Nissan, proving that there is still healthy demand for both the Patrol and large off-roaders like it despite its huge size and relative age. The key to the Patrol’s sales locally – in our opinion – is above all else, is its good value for money. While it’s not cheap, getting an equivalent Toyota LandCruiser (the Sahara) will cost a good $40,000 more. Should you do that, or will the 2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L satisfy your large off-road SUV needs? Let’s find out.

Large 4×4 SUVs are becoming even more popular at the moment with the release of the Toyota LandCruiser 300-Series and various ute-based SUVs like the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X helping the case. The Nissan Patrol seems to offer all that anyone needs for that weekend away off the beaten track but it is missing some key features. Does it still have what it takes to be a hit?

Price & Equipment: 7.5/10

The 2023 Nissan Patrol range kicks off with the entry-level Ti, which is priced from $82,160 plus on-road costs but the model we tested is the range-topping Patrol Ti-L, which raises the price to $95,115 plus on-road costs (or around $103,500 drive away).

Standard equipment across the Patrol range includes 18-inch alloy wheels with a full-sized alloy spare, automatic LED headlights with LED front fog lights, automatic wipers, heated and power-folding exterior mirrors, tri-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry with push button start, a 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat and an eight-way power adjustable passenger seat, leather upholstery, a six-speaker sound-system, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with satellite navigation, Bluetooth phone connectivity and streaming, multiple USB ports and an eight-seat seat layout.

Safety features across the range include front and rear parking sensors with a 360-degree surround view camera, moving object detection, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, forward collision assist, low speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, rear-cross traffic alert, hill descent control, tyre pressure monitoring and six airbags. The Patrol is unrated by ANCAP.

Stepping up to the 2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L adds two-person memory to the driver’s seat, mirrors and steering wheel, a centre console cool box fridge, a 13-speaker Bose sound system, two second row entertainment screens, a digital rear mirror, puddle lights, a power tailgate, roof rails, an electric sunroof, heated and cooled front seats, a power adjustable steering column and a slightly different body kit – though it reduces the seating capacity to seven. It is a lot of equipment but is it worth the extra $12,955 spend over the Ti? While the extra features of the Ti-L are desirable, we think that much of a price gap between the two models is steep.

The addition of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a wireless smartphone charger, a digital speedo and digital radio would go miles in making the Patrol feel fresher in the current market. In comparison, the Toyota LandCruiser GXL can be had from $100,981 plus on-road costs but includes a larger 9.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, 10 airbags (instead of six in the Nissan), driver attention detection, trailer sway control, auto high beam, a digital driver’s display and speed sign recognition to the Patrol, though the Toyota misses out on a lot of luxury touches that the Patrol includes.

The standard colour available on the 2023 Nissan Patrol is ‘Gun Metallic’ (grey) whereas ‘Black Obsidian’, ‘Hermosa Blue’, ‘Champagne Quartz’, ‘Moonstone White’ and our test cars ‘Brilliant Silver’ will set you back an additional $650. The option of ‘light tan’ leather over the standard black is a no cost option.

Engine & Performance: 8.5/10

Powering the huge 2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L is a 5.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol V8, which pumps out 298kW of power (at 5,800rpm) and 560Nm of torque (at 4,000rpm). It has to propel 2,750kg of mass and yet, can enable it to sprint from 0-100km/h in just over 7.0 seconds. Apart from the impressive numbers that the Patrol puts out the engine is lovely to use. It is buttery smooth and doesn’t break a sweat when more is asked of it. We love a nice V8 here at DiscoverAuto and the Patrol’s ‘VK56’ unit is one of the best V8’s we’ve tested. It has a very linear power band and pulls hard when asked.

The standard and only transmission option is a seven-speed torque converter automatic. Just like the engine, the transmission is silky smooth and is barely felt when accelerating as it changes ratios seamlessly. There is manual shift ability via the gear selector which can come in handy when off roading. Speaking of off-road bits, the Patrol has quite a bit of them. There is a dual-range transfer case, high sidewall tyres, a rear differential lock, drive mode selection (suited for rock, sand or snow use) and a hydraulic suspension system. The Patrol has a braked towing capacity of 3,500kg and an unbraked capacity of 750kg.

The claimed average fuel consumption for the 2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L is 14.4L/100km, which is expected for a near three-tonne vehicle with a petrol V8 engine. In our week spent steering the Patrol with a mixture of both urban and motorway driving we saw an average fuel consumption figure of 15.2L/100km, which is not far from the claim but still not efficient. The Patrol requires 95RON premium unleaded fuel, has CO2 emissions of 334g/km and has a big 140-litre fuel tank for long range driving.

In comparison, the Toyota LandCruiser has a 3.3-litre twin-turbo diesel V6 which makes 227kW of power and 700Nm of torque with a claimed average fuel consumption figure of 8.9L/100km – and in our testing, a real world average of around 10L/100km. While we love the V8 in the Patrol, the LandCruiser’s new V6 diesel unit is more suited to a vehicle of this application – it has superior torque for off-roading and towing, while it’s far more fuel efficient as well.

Ride & Handling: 8/10

The current shape Patrol wasn’t the most dynamic car upon its release, but it was very comfortable and quite capable when travelling off-road and while the facelifted model has seen some changes, they aren’t drastic. It has fully independent suspension at all corners which aids in off road ability though there is another benefit to it: it is exceptionally comfortable in a day to day setting. The Patrol is unfazed by uneven roads, drive ways or speed bumps as it simply glides over them.

Being the type of vehicle that is it the Patrol is no race car when it comes to its handling ability. It is rather wallowy and can feel unsteady if cornering hard. Though when taking things at a leisurely pace it is more than acceptable but we would say that the LandCruiser is definitely a more dynamically capable vehicle. The steering in the Patrol is very light and vague, and it’s also quite slow too, with even smaller manoeuvres using more steering effort than expected.

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

One aspect of the 2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L that shows its age is the interior, it is rather traditional in shape and still shows signs that it has not progressed into 2023. The materials used are mostly pretty good – though the woodgrain is definitely a personal matter – but it misses some key modern touches. The Patrol’s materials feature nice soft plastics and leathers, though the front seats are quite flat and are definitely suited to larger bodies.

There’s plenty of storage in the Patrol. There is a cool box fridge in the centre console that can be accessed by the first and second row passengers, two large cup holders, a space behind the cupholders for keys, a cubby behind the gear selector, large door bins and a decently sized glovebox.

Sitting in the middle of the Patrol’s dashboard is an 8.0-inch touchscreen that runs the rather dated infotainment system from Nissan products of yesteryear. There is satellite navigation, though it misses out on features such as digital radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The screen quality is a little grainy and it is not the fastest system we’ve used but it gets the job done. Frustratingly, the left-hand drive version of the Patrol sold in markets like the Middle East and North America gets a more modern dashboard with all of these features in a new 12.3-inch touchscreen that would make the cabin of our version far more modern, but Nissan just hasn’t bothered to engineer them for right-hand drive. It has to be said that the 13-speaker Bose sound system is rather good.

There are a few things in the interior that the Patrol misses that we feel should be included on any car of this price point: a digital speedometer, a heads-up display, a digital driver’s display, and wireless smartphone charger.

Sitting in the second row of the 2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L is arguably more luxurious than sitting in the first row. The seats are plush and very comfortable with more than enough room for three people. There is two screens that come with remotes and headphones, a centre armrest with cup holders, access to the centre console cool box, a third climate zone, three USB-A ports, a HDMI input, map pockets and door pockets. The third row of seating is also reasonably spacious and offers air vents to keep passengers cool and four cup holders, while the seats are also easy to fold and access to them from the second row is excellent as the one-touch button folds and tumbles the second row seats forward for easy access.

Opening the power tailgate of the Patrol reveals a huge 467-litres of cargo space with all seats in place, drop the third row of seating and this opens the boot up to 1,413L and folding the second row down will allow for a massive 2,623L of capacity, trumping the LandCruiser 300-Series, which offers 175L/1,004L/1,967L of cargo space in comparison.

Service & Warranty: 8/10

Like all other Nissan models in Australia the Patrol comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is on par with what is offered on the LandCruiser (though the Toyota features up to seven years of mechanical warranty if serviced at a Toyota dealer). The Patrol also comes with five years of roadside assistance and the LandCruiser comes with no roadside assistance at all.

Servicing the Patrol comes around every 12 months or 10,000km, which is twice as often as the LandCruiser. The cost to service it over the span of five years or 50,000km is $2,594 ($518.80 per year) – this is more affordable than the LandCruiser’s $3,750 equivalent cost ($750 per year).

2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L 4×4 DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.0/10

With a cult following, a comfortable interior, an excellent engine, relatively great value for money and great practicality, there’s no wonder why Aussies scooped up nearly 6,000 Nissan Patrols in 2022. Yes, the 2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L has its downsides: it’s a behemoth, it feels dated inside thanks to it lacking some interior features and isn’t as sophisticated as other cars in this price bracket, but for what the Patrol was designed to do, it excels.

Would we add a Nissan Patrol to our garage? Well if it came time to drive around our vast country in a large comfy SUV that can also tow a decent sized caravan then the Patrol would be on our list of potential candidates. We would however consider the Toyota LandCruiser as it is ultimately a better car, but is it worth almost $40,000 more in an equivalent specification? Not in our opinion – but be sure to check out both if you’re after a large off-road SUV.