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2020 Nissan Patrol: biggest update in six years in Australia by end of 2019

The Nissan Patrol has been given a major makeover with a bold new look, advanced safety technology, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto the headline acts.


The 2020 Nissan Patrol was unveiled in the Middle East overnight – its biggest market – and it will be in Australian showrooms by the end of this year.

This is the second facelift since the model went on sale in 2013; the previous update arrived in 2017.

It is expected there will still only be two models – the Ti and Ti-L – when the car arrives in Australia.

However, both are likely to come with the full suite of advanced safety aids, such as autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, as well as blind zone warning and rear cross-traffic alert.

The advanced safety package is currently only available on the Ti-L, and does not include pedestrian detection.

The 2020 Nissan Patrol cabin gains a much larger central infotainment screen that now supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring connectivity.

Nissan claims there are “significant reductions” in noise and vibration being transmitted into the cabin, and the air-conditioning has been optimised for “improved air flow and quicker cooling”.

The newly-designed headlights and tail-lights are distinguished by a new “boomerang” signature LED accent, and help to identify the Patrol from a distance at night.

While there is still no diesel option, the updated Patrol is expected to deliver Nissan another sales boost in Australia. The car's 298kW/560Nm 5.6-litre V8 petrol engine and seven-speed auto remain unchanged.

This generation Nissan Patrol got off to a slow start when it was launched in 2013, but it has hit a sweet spot over the past two years, finding a growing number of buyers.

Sales so far this year are up by a staggering 47 per cent to 1356, while at the same time the Nissan brand overall is down by 12 per cent year-to-date.

And that’s on the back of a 37 per cent sales increase for the Nissan Patrol last year, with the SUV managing 1259 sales in 2018 compared to 916 in 2017.

In other words, Nissan has gone from selling about 100 Patrols a month to about 165 per month in the space of three years.

Now that Toyota has discontinued the petrol V8 LandCruiser, the Nissan Patrol almost has the sub-$100,000 petrol V8 four-wheel-drive market to itself.

The Nissan Patrol outsells the Lexus LX by three-to-one. However, for every Nissan Patrol sold Toyota sells seven LandCruisers.

Nevertheless, the Patrol has a growing fan base. Each model is at least $10,000 cheaper than the equivalent LandCruiser, which buyers justify as being able to buy a lot of petrol.

A 140-litre tank means the Nissan Patrol is capable of travelling more than 1000km between refills when not towing.

Australian details for the 2020 Nissan Patrol are yet to be revealed however chances are prices will rise.

The Nissan Patrol currently costs $72,880 plus on-roads for the Ti and $89,880 for the Ti-L. This calculates out to about $80,000 drive-away and $98,000 drive-away for each model respectively on Nissan's website, although Drive has been told actual transaction prices are much lower than this by the time buyers sign on the dotted line.

But there are warning signs a price rise could be on the way. The cost of the Nissan Patrol has been creeping up since July 2015, when the RRP was slashed by up to $27,500 to $69,990 plus on-roads for the Ti and $86,990 plus on-roads for the Ti-L.

Nissan Australia didn’t offer any extra detail on the new Patrol, but Drive has been told it will be here before the summer holidays.

Nissan has sold 1.9 million Patrol vehicles globally since 1951, compared to 10 million Toyota LandCruisers since 1954, however it still has a loyal fan base.

“The Patrol is one of our longest-standing and most cherished models, with a long and proud heritage,” said Joni Paiva, regional vice president of the Africa, Middle East and India region at Nissan, in a media statement.

“The new Nissan Patrol represents the peak of luxury and ultimate capability and will continue to provide authentic experiences to its loyal customers in the Middle East and around the world.”

Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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