ONE of the most keenly awaited SUVs is finally here.
Nissan’s Y62-series Patrol is significantly bigger and roomier than its 16-year-old predecessor, bringing key refinement and safety advances in a package full of updates and improvements.
But, while there’s no diesel option for now, our concerns centre around a couple of dynamic flaws, while we also question what Nissan is thinking with its 4x4 icon’s pricing structure.
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Y61 GU Patrol Wagon petrol
Released: December 1997
Ended: December 2012
Family Tree: PatrolA BIG improvement over the super-successful Y60/GQ Patrol, the GU was bigger, roomier, more refined and better both on and off the road.
The petrol version – in ST and Ti five-door wagon versions initially – utilised a 145kW/350Nm 4.5-litre in-line six-cylinder unit, mated to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic.
The GU II from April 2000 brought minor specification and model changes, while the GU III facelift from October 2001 heralded a new nose treatment, as well as a new-generation 184kW/420Nm 4.8-litre DOHC inline six-cylinder petrol engine, this time with a five-speed auto option in addition to the standard five-speed manual.
An ST-L wagon petrol variant was added in mid-2003, a year before the revised GU IV materialised in October 2004, while a 180kW/400Nm version of the 4.8-litre powerplant appeared in February 2006.
Another makeover occurred in September 2007 (GU VI – there was no GU V!), with the GU VII surfacing in early 2010 and running until the end of 2012.
While the Y61 turbo-diesel versions continued in a 118kW/354Nm 3.0-litre four-cylinder engine format, the petrol-powered models succumbed to the all-new Y62 in February 2013.
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