First drive of Aussie-engineered full-size off-road SUV proves Premcar-prepped Nissan Patrol will be worth the wait
- How much does the Nissan Patrol Warrior cost?
- What equipment comes with the Nissan Patrol Warrior?
- How safe is the Nissan Patrol Warrior?
- What technology does the 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior feature?
- What powers the Nissan Patrol Warrior?
- How fuel efficient is the Nissan Patrol Warrior?
- What is the Nissan Patrol Warrior like to drive?
- How good is the Nissan Patrol Warrior off-road?
- What is the Nissan Patrol Warrior like inside?
- Should I buy a Nissan Patrol Warrior?
The homegrown 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior is finally on the launch pad after a two-year local development program that was delayed by COVID. Presented to media and dealers in prototype form earlier this month at the Mt Cotton driver training centre in Queensland, now known as the RACQ Mobility Centre, the Patrol Warrior will be officially released later this year as the sister model to the popular Nissan Navara Warrior. The Australian-engineered full-size off-road SUV follows the same adventure-ready formula as the Premcar-modified dual-cab 4×4 ute – with a few key differences – making the hard-core Y62 Patrol the only direct rival for the 300 Series Toyota LandCruiser GR Sport.
How much does the Nissan Patrol Warrior cost?
Pricing for the 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior won’t be announced until closer to its formal launch later this year, but the locally-developed full-size off-road SUV will be positioned as the new Patrol flagship above both the top-shelf Ti-L (from $95,115 plus on-road costs) and the entry-level, eight-seat Ti (from $82,160 plus ORCs) on which it’s based.
Due to its more extensive development program, which was confirmed in September 2022, we expect a bigger price premium than both popular Navara Warrior versions command over their respective variants, so if that increases to 20 per cent you can expect a price tag of around $100,000.
That would still make the Patrol Warrior significantly cheaper than the off-road-oriented GR Sport version of the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series (from $140,481 plus ORCs), which remains the Y62 Patrol’s only direct competitor.
Pre-orders open today for the Patrol Warrior, which was modified by the same Melbourne-based Premcar designers and engineers that created the Navara Warrior, more than 5000 examples of which have now been built since 2019, as well as a series of Toyota TRD and Ford FPV performance models dating back two decades.
Like the Navara Warrior, the Patrol Warrior comes with a carryover engine but is covered by Nissan Australia’s standard five-year/unlimited-kilometre factory warranty including roadside assist.
It’s also eligible for the Patrol’s capped-price service program, which costs an average of $506 for each of the 10,000km/12-month services over the first three years.
The Patrol Warrior will be available in four exterior colours – white, black, silver and grey.
What equipment comes with the Nissan Patrol Warrior?
The 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior follows the same upgrade formula as the Navara Warrior – headlined by increased ground clearance and off-road wheels/tyres – but there are some key differences, as we outlined in our product news story today.
Unlike the Navara Warrior, there is no bull bar and no light bar up front. That’s because the Patrol’s standard headlights are good enough, according to Premcar, which would also have had to develop and validate a bull bar from scratch since no genuine bar is available for the Patrol. Nissan says a low per centage of Patrol buyers fit them anyway.
So the Premcar upgrades here begin with a 50mm suspension lift via new Monroe springs all round – progressive rather than fixed-rate at the rear, to improve initial compliance off-road, towing performance in the mid-range and more control at full bump.
Premcar then retuned the Patrol’s Hydraulic Body Motion Control (HBMC) damping system, which is similar to chassis control systems used by McLaren, Rivian and the new Range Rover Sport SV but is unlike LandCruiser’s KDSS detachable rollbar system in that it effectively replaces anti-roll bars by reacting to pitch and roll.
That allows the Patrol to deliver a high level of wheel articulation by liberating its full suspension travel in challenging off-road terrain, while also firming up the damping action at all four corners of the vehicle to counteract body roll at higher speeds on the road.
Combined with bigger 34.4-inch Yokohama Geolandar 15 all-terrain tyres measuring 295/70 R18 (not BFGoodrich KO2s as on the Navara Warrior; Premcar says the Yokos are the biggest possible without major changes and the best compromise between grip and noise) on Premcar-designed 18-inch black alloy wheels, the longer springs and revalved HBMC damping system significantly increase ground clearance, as well as approach, departure and rampover angles, although no exact figures were provided.
Other chassis upgrades include a red front bash plate, two rear 3500kg recovery points and, at the rear, a redesigned tow bar to accommodate the larger full-size spare tyre.
Braked towing capacity remains 3500kg, but GVM increases by 130kg to 3630kg, and payload rises by 58kg to 843kg.
In terms of exterior design, there’s a gloss-black grille and mirror caps, OEM-standard injection-moulded black wheel-arch flares with mud flaps, a Warrior-branded front lower bumper assembly and a rear Warrior badge.
All those new components, 80 per cent of which are Australian-sourced, make the Warrior 50mm higher, 84mm wider and 94mm longer overall than the standard Patrol Ti.
How safe is the Nissan Patrol Warrior?
First launched in 2010, the sixth-generation Y62 Patrol – and therefore the 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior – does not have an ANCAP rating, but safety is well covered with low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert.
There’s no rear AEB or speed sign recognition, but all the basics are here including electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, six airbags, 360-degree and reversing cameras, LED headlights, tyre pressure monitoring, auto headlights/wipers, front fog lights and front/rear parking sensors.
What technology does the 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior feature?
The 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior is based on the entry-level Ti variant rather than the Ti-L flagship because its 2.0-inch suspension lift would have made the roof rails of the seven-seat Ti-L more than two metres tall.
As a result, apart from roof rails, other missing Ti-L equipment includes a coolbox, powered tailgate, sunroof, heated/cooled front seats, rear entertainment system and Bose surround-sound system.
And there’s no sign of the 12.3-inch infotainment touch-screen with wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity, as seen in the Patrol’s US sister model, the Armada.
But the Patrol Ti-based Warrior does come with eight seats, side steps, a carryover touch-screen multimedia system with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, embedded sat-nav, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, voice recognition, multiple USB ports, keyless entry, three-zone climate control and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.
What powers the Nissan Patrol Warrior?
As per its ute sibling, the 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior doesn’t bring an engine upgrade, but nobody’s likely to complain given its carryover 5.6-litre petrol V8 produces a solid 298kW of power and a beefy 560Nm of torque, and is matched as standard with a seven-speed automatic transmission and switchable 4×4 system with low range.
The buxom powertrain is unique in an automotive world turning its back on big-bore petrol power, especially when you consider a petrol V8-powered large German SUV will cost you at least $165,000 these days – and well over $200,000 for a comparably-sized petrol V8 upper-large SUV with a European badge.
And the Patrol Warrior goes one up on the Navara Warrior by adding a bimodal exhaust system with twin outlets tucked under the side steps on the driver’s side. The original exhaust remains intact and the side pipes open only at certain engine speeds and throttle openings.
It might be positioned a bit precariously for serious off-road work, where it’s likely to get snagged or squashed between the side steps and lumpy ground, rocks or logs, but it does sound glorious from the outside and behind the wheel, and – unlike some aftermarket exhausts – it won’t drone on the highway.
How fuel efficient is the Nissan Patrol Warrior?
Premcar says its mods make the 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior only slightly less efficient than the standard Patrol, which is no Prius with ADR combined-cycle fuel consumption of 14.4L/100km and CO2 emissions of 334g/km.
What is the Nissan Patrol Warrior like to drive?
Our first taste test of the 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior took place on the exact same closed bitumen road and rocky trails where we first drove the then-new Y62 Patrol for the first time in 2012.
So although that was a decade ago, it’s clear what a difference the Premcar upgrades have made to Nissan’s trusty tried-and-proven big-rig, both on-road and off.
The upgraded rubber’s bigger contact patch provides more cornering grip without being much noisier on the tarmac and, despite this and the extra ride height, the retuned HBMC system keeps the full-size SUV flatter in corners and under braking, reducing roll and pitch and enabling it to change direction more quickly and with greater body control.
Like the Navara Warrior, all that makes the higher-riding Patrol Warrior, which offers a far more commanding view of the road but requires a bigger step up into the cabin via the standard side steps, less cumbersome and more confidence inspiring to throw at bends and to negotiate urban traffic and car parks in.
And the side-exit exhaust outlets – positioned within about a metre from the driver’s window – are the icing on the cake, liberating the full aural effect of this glorious naturally-aspirated bent-eight and telegraphing the fact to both occupants and bystanders that this is no ordinary SUV.
How good is the Nissan Patrol Warrior off-road?
Similarly, the revised HBMC system combines with the beefier springs and extra ground clearance to deliver far more capability with the 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior in hard-core off-road situations, and not just because of the more generous approach, departure and rampover angles.
The improved initial compliance of the progressive-rate rear springs reduces head-toss on lumpy ground, improving occupant comfort, and combines with the extra grip of the Yokohama A/Ts to generate more traction in low-speed, low-grip situations such as those at Mt Cotton, where we climbed many of the loose and steep trails without even engaging the rear diff lock or low range – let alone the Sand, Snow or Rock driving modes.
The Patrol has no clever KDSS detachable rollbar technology as seen in the Toyota LandCruiser, but its HBMC system effectively replaces stabiliser bars to deliver similar levels of off-road wheel articulation and on-road wheel stability as the LC300 – and the Premcar upgrades bring genuine improvements in both off-road capability and on-road dynamics.
What is the Nissan Patrol Warrior like inside?
The 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior isn’t very different to the standard Patrol Ti inside, where there’s now an all-black interior featuring Alcantara trim inserts on the doors and upper dash – with Warrior badging – and glossy piano-black instead of woodgrain trim on the centre stack and console.
That gets rid of the most dated part of its cabin and makes the Patrol Warrior look more sporty inside, where two generously sized front seats offer plenty of comfort and a pair of three-row benches deliver oodles of stretching room in the rear.
Should I buy a Nissan Patrol Warrior?
The 2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior breathes new life into an iconic off-roader that may be nearing the end of its current model cycle but still attracts enormous demand in Australia, where Nissan has sold almost a quarter of a million Patrols including the previous Y61/GU and Y60/GQ, many of which are still on local roads.
Indeed, combined with improved supplies from Japan, the Y62 Patrol found a record 5200-plus Aussie homes in the Japanese car-maker’s 2022 financial year and looks set to break that record again in 2023, making this one of the world’s biggest markets for not only the LandCruiser but its only real remaining rival in the mainstream upper-large SUV market.
Nissan won’t reveal the sales forecast on which the business case for its biggest collaboration with Premcar so far was based but, like the Patrol itself, the Warrior will attract a younger audience and remain far more exclusive – and subject to shorter delivery wait times – than Toyota’s all-conquering 300 Series.
But after our brief first drive it’s clear that Nissan and Premcar have hit their target of delivering a wider bandwidth of ride and handling, both on road and off, in a fully integrated, durability-tested and 100 per cent street-legal off-road family wagon that’s backed by a five-year factory warranty and cheaper than any other full-size go-anywhere family wagon.
What’s also certain is that although it won’t be cheap to own or run, Nissan is likely to sell every Warrior that Premcar can build between about September this year and around mid-2025, when the last V8 Patrol is expected to be replaced by an all-new, seventh-generation Y63 powered by a downsized petrol V6 powertrain.
2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior at a glance:
Price: $100,000 estimated (plus on-road costs)
Available: Later in 2023
Engine: 5.6-litre V8 petrol
Output: 298kW/560Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel: 14.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 334g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested
Keyword: Nissan Patrol Warrior Prototype 2023 Review