September 14, 2016 – The Nissan Patrol has always been a star in Nissan’s SUV line-up. 65 year of reliable heritage and selling in more than 90 countries around the world, the Patrol remains one of the favorite SUVs in the region; the GCC market share being the highest. But what do you do when the economy is shifting and your main competitor is releasing smaller engines to conquer every existing segment in the market? Being one of the smartest existing automotive companies, Nissan answered back loud and clear: a V6 version of their cash cow.
We got the chance to test drive the Patrol V6 in one of the most beautiful settings in Oman, and what we discovered was that Nissan went all in with the new V6 model, replacing the 318-horsepower V8 engine with a smaller V6 without compromising from its royal V8 aspect.
Aesthetically, the only difference between the V6 and the V8, is a small V8 badge on the side fenders. Every extravagant option that ever existed on the discontinued V8, still exists on the V6, including the option to upgrade to the desert edition Patrol.
With its 7-speed automatic transmission, 394 Nm of torque at 4000 RPM and 275 horsepower under the hood, the V6 is quieter than its predecessor. The Patrol V6 uses the same engine as the Nissan XTERRA, with minor internal modifications.
But how reliable is a V6 engine on a 2.5-ton SUV? According to Nissan, they have been testing the Patrol V6 for 4 years, with at least 2 years in extreme weather conditions before they gave it the green light. The V6 has better fuel economy, better power to weight ratio and better torque to weight ratio than its V8 brother, and it’s bigger in size and wider than its direct Japanese competitors.
The New Patrol V6 is as practical and luxurious as every other Patrol. It’s an everyday SUV that fits up to a family of 7 and it spearheads Nissan’s plan to increase its sales by 20% in the next 2 years. Nissan’s move into the V6 realm is not downsizing, it’s “right sizing”, picking the right engine, the right options for the right car, at the right time.
Well played Nissan.
