2023 Nissan Patrol Warrior off-road review

Nissan and Premcar have launched the third vehicle in their Warrior collaboration, and this time they have turned their talents to the venerable Y62 Patrol.

Following on from the Navara Pro-4X and Navara SL Warrior utes, the Patrol represents the partners’ first foray into a 4x4 wagon, and what a wagon it is!

The Y62 Patrol might be getting long in the tooth, and after almost 13 years on the market an all-new model is apparently just around the corner; so this Patrol Warrior could be seen as a last hurrah for the big, capable 4x4.

It comes at a time when the Patrol is selling in record numbers in Australia, with August 2023 representing the highest sales of the iconic model here.

111

Nissan Australia has seen this growth year-on-year, as well as the things its customers are doing with their Patrols in terms of aftermarket enhancements. So they commissioned Premcar to come up with a Patrol Warrior that reflects the more common aftermarket modifications in a factory-backed package.

Items like all-terrain tyres, a suspension upgrade, and chrome and woodgrain delete were all seen as upgrades that owners were regularly fitting to their Patrols and have been included in the Warrior package.

Starting with a Patrol Ti – the lower of the two model grades available in the current Patrol range – the vehicles undergo the Warrior transformation at Premcar’s Melbourne manufacturing facility on a new production line set up alongside the Navara Warrior line. The entire conversion, from the suspension and exhaust upgrades to the decal fitment and road testing, is done in-house at Premcar.

111

Standard equipment

The Ti might be the lower grade in the Patrol range, but it is still well-equipped for a sub-$100,000 4x4 wagon.

What the Warrior gets

The Warrior enhancements start with the suspension upgrade, with new springs and dampers raising the vehicle 29mm over the standard height. A further 21mm in height comes from the bigger all-terrain tyres fitted, to make the Warrior ride 50mm higher than the original vehicle.

The Patrol Warrior retains the car’s original and excellent hydraulic body motion control (HBMC) system and, unlike most aftermarket suspension changes, Premcar was able to recalibrate the HBMC to suit the taller ride height and modified ride and handling characteristics. This was done by re-valving the HBMC’s control units.

111

Get behind the wheel of the Patrol Warrior and straight away you feel the taller ride height. You look down across the massive bonnet to the road ahead with a commanding view of your surroundings.

Hit the starter button and the naturally aspirated VK56 V8 engine barks into life. The Warrior gets a bespoke exhaust system, from the catalytic converters back to the tail pipes and unique side-exit exhaust tips. The exhaust system is bi-modal and opens up to the side exit under load, or when you flick the transmission shifter across to the manual mode to deliver a bellow that is raucous without being offensive or annoying.

Premcar’s engineers went to great lengths to get the exhaust sound right and not have it droning when under constant loads such as when you might be towing a heavy trailer, and they certainly hit the mark with this system.

111

Aside from the smile-inducing tone, the Warrior’s exhaust system doesn’t offer any performance improvements and the outputs of the 5.6-litre VK56 V8 remain the standard 298kW @ 5800rpm and 560Nm @ 4000rpm. Further down the driveline, the OEM seven-speed automatic transmission and dual-range 4x4 system remain unchanged from the donor car.

Nissan is quoting the same 14.4L/100km fuel consumption for the Patrol Warrior as it does for the standard Patrol Ti, but the bigger and heavier tyres, extra weight and added ride height would have to add to that figure in the real world.

We did ask if Premcar considered supercharging the Nissan V8 engine as it is another popular modification, and Premcar’s Bernie Quinn told us he did drive Harrop’s supercharged Patrol but surmised, “Does it really need it?”

111

Quinn added there would have been a lot more testing and development needed, and added expense, if they were to supercharge the VK56 and still be able to warrant the driveline, pointing to the company’s previous supercharged offering when they developed the supercharged ‘Miami’ V8 for Ford/FPV.

Premcar warrants all of its enhancements to the Nissan Warrior vehicles, while the car itself maintains its factory Nissan warranty. Should anything go wrong with any part of your Patrol Warrior, you can take it back to the Nissan dealer for any warranty work.

This is one of the key advantages of buying a vehicle that has been enhanced as part of a factory-backed collaboration. Another is the fact that Premcar gets access to all the Nissan IP for the vehicle, so that any and all modifications they do are fully integrated into the vehicle and its operating systems.

Safety features

On-road performance

Tasmania’s winding mountain roads delivered the perfect platform on which to appreciate the Patrol Warrior’s exemplary road-holding ability.

It does feel the extra ride height, making it a tad more ‘tippy’ than the standard Patrol, but the full independent suspension with HBMC delivers dynamic handling and roadholding that hide the big wagon’s 2884kg and tall stature. It’s an on-road performance that no other off-road-capable large 4x4 wagon can come near and rewards the enthusiastic driver like no other.

111

Incidentally, the Warrior transformation adds 72kg to the weight of the Ti Patrol but the suspension upgrades allow for a 120kg increase in GVM, so the payload is not compromised and is actually better than on the standard car.

Interestingly, Premcar didn’t develop and install a steel front bumper for the Patrol Warrior like it did for the Navara Warrior models. This was because the Y62 Patrol has never been tested and homologated for a heavy steel front bumper anywhere in the world, and this would be required to retain the factory warranty and standards of the vehicle. Doing such testing would have added considerable expense to the Warrior.

Off-road performance

To take the Warrior to the other end of its limitations, Nissan chose one of the toughest 4x4 tracks in Tasmania to demonstrate its abilities.

Due to time limitations we only drove a few hours into Climies Track and turned back out again, but the rutted condition of the terrain here is no place for production vehicles.

Straight away the extra 50mm of ride height and ground clearance was appreciated and saved the Warriors from certain body damage and loss of side steps, while the front bash plate did its thing to protect the undercarriage.

111

The fully independent suspension does have a surprising amount of wheel travel, but even that couldn’t keep the Yokies on the ground when climbing out of these ruts. The standard electronic traction control was a bit slow to react to spinning wheels, but employing the standard rear differential lock quickly took care of any deficiencies here.

The strong off-road performance of the Warrior was expected, but what makes it even more impressive – after reinflating the tyres – is its excellent dynamics on-road when hitting the twisty roads up towards Cradle Mountain. It’s the sort of breadth of on- and off-road abilities that Land Rover has always prided itself on.

Off-road specs

VERDICT

As the Warrior takes the Patrol back over the $100,000 threshold, the Land Rover Defender would be firmly up against it in terms of competition. But, just like a LandCruiser 300 with similar spec, you’ll be paying considerably more than the entry price to Patrol Warrior ownership.

The Ineos Grenadier could also be considered in this field, but we expect it to be more agricultural and unable to match the Nissan in terms of dynamics and refinement.

Despite its age the Y62 Patrol is still an exceptional vehicle and one that is truly a joy to drive both on- and off-road . The Warrior package by Premcar only enhances its ability and allows the driver to do even more with it.

111

Sure you could fit bigger and maybe better gear to a Patrol from the aftermarket, but this is a transformation that is completed to OE standard and specifications, allowing the Warrior to retain all of Nissan’s factory warranty and service.

If Nissan were to fit an updated interior to the Patrol with a bigger and better A/V screen and system, there would be nothing else most buyers would ask for.

The rumoured and expected change to a turbocharged V6 engine in lieu of the naturally aspirated V8 for the next Patrol model might bring fuel savings that could attract even more buyers to the big Patrol, but on the other hand it would lose the brawny sound and feeling that only a V8 can deliver and has always been a hallmark of the Y62.

Time will tell what way Nissan goes with its next generation of Patrol, but for now, the Warrior by Premcar is the icing on the cake for the current model.