Nissan

Patrol

The big bruiser that is the Nissan Patrol will never win many awards for agility, but when it comes to safety, performance and general true grit, it will take on any challengers. Packed with first class advanced technical features this is the perfect workhorse of a vehicle.

The good

Big, beefy and ready for anything Mother Nature throws at it

The bad

Steep running costs

Tech Specs

Price from

£24,395

Combined Fuel up to

26.0mpg

0-62 from

14.7 seconds

max speed up to

160mph

co2 from

288g/km

Test Drive

Nissan Patrol 3.0 D S 5dr

Sometimes what’s wrong just seems to be right no matter how you look at it.

I was test driving a Nissan Patrol recently and whilst I could imagine the banner-waving, save-our-planet brigade waiting for me at every corner protesting about the damage I was doing to the environment, I somehow didn’t care and seemed oblivious to the reasoning.

It’s not that I don’t believe we should do everything we can to protect our environment, it’s just it was snowing and I wanted to feel safe, and inside the mighty Patrol I did feel safe… very safe, almost invincible in fact.

From the outside, the Patrol has a real I-mean-business rugged appeal with chunky lines and a truly gritty exterior right down to the side steps provided to help you into the cabin area.

And although it’s never going to leave many vehicles standing at the lights, it is a vehicle built for a marathon not a sprint. And after a week behind the wheel, I can confidently say that I believe the Patrol would finish any course no matter what Mother Nature throws in its path.

That’s because it has outstanding 4×4 credentials which are boosted by an array of quality technical features and the fact that the vehicle has a very high ground clearance too.

Then back on the Tarmac, the Patrol can easily be switched to two-wheel-drive to save fuel and improve performance figures.

Inside, the cabin is crammed with creature comforts including a very efficient air con system, heated door mirrors, a CD player and even a map lamp so you can plot your cross country course to Farmer Giles’ place!

As one would expect, Nissan has fitted a plethora of top notch safety features to the Patrol, including anti-lock brakes and plenty of airbags.

All in all, not a vehicle for the faint-hearted, but certainly one for those who have to get on with life no matter what the weather says.