2005 Nissan Patrol ST-S 4.8 litre petrol straight six
Summary:
Built for a purpose, and if you don’t use it for that, you’ve wasted a good car
Faults:
Very little.
Suspension bushes require replacement after 100,000km of use (including off-road through sand and mud), which is expected as part of any 4WD maintenance regime.
Some minor trim items have broken off (e.g. the door pocket fixing broke, but that’s due to wearing boots when 4WD and accidentally hitting it with my feet).
Apart from that, the only items to fail were the battery (old) and some light globes (probably due to corrugated roads).
Seats have sheepskin or canvas covers on them, so they’ll be as good as new.
General Comments:
Don’t buy this vehicle if you don’t want to pay money to service it, or money to run it. This is NOT a supermarket shopper, it’s a tough, full-sized four wheel drive, and therefore it’s in the league of a light truck.
The fuel economy is bad… but of course it is. It has almost 5 litres of petrol engine, an automatic transmission, huge tyres, weighs close to three tonnes, is as aerodynamic as a shipping container, and I’ve added so many accessories to it, none of which improve the fuel economy. BUT … I could drive it across the Sahara Desert tomorrow and it would keep me alive, even if I drove into a camel every day of the trip! In air-conditioned comfort with room for all my creature comforts (beer fridge).
If you want an “affordable 4WD”, go buy a RAV4 and see how rugged it is in the centre of Australia.
The Patrol is big, tough, strong as a house, built to last… but you must maintain it, and you must expect to pay money to do so.
I love it! There’s a reason the emergency services and the rescue services use them. After 100,000km of use, many of those km’s through beach sand, dirt, black soils, mud and corrugations, everything still works, there’s hardly any rattles, and the seats are as comfortable as new ones.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 2nd March, 2011
5th Sep 2014, 23:08
Very straight forward comments, you get what you pay for. If true 4x4 is your thing, the Patrol is your vehicle of choice.