So you want to know what you're missing, huh?Well, take a gander at this Australian review of the current model of the Patrol. While many Nissan enthusiasts here Stateside hunger for these vehicles crying "Why oh, why won't you bring those turbo diesel, solid axle vehicles over here!!", perhaps they are not all they are cracked up to be.
For sure the Patrol is incredible off-road. The review makes no mistake about that but does take issue with its lack of fuel economy and poor engine performance in relation to other, similar offerings such as the LandCruiser, Land Rover and others. And that's where the issue lies given the high cost of the Patrol. You can get a vehicle with the same or more engine performance and reliability plus better mileage plus more fancy schmancy options for the same or less money.
Given how long it has been since the Patrol has been updated this is not surprising. Still, the idea of a solid axle throwback is a tempting one as the Patrol's drivetrains is one of the most enviable in the world of offroading--Nissan Motorsports of South Africa routinely took the axles and differentials out of Patrols and swapped them underneath their Navara (Frontier) race vehicles that they sold around the world for various Dakar and other offroad efforts.
If the Patrol were here in the U.S. it would need to be far less costly and far more "civilized" to be marketable, and thats just not going to happen. So my reccomendation? Save up some coin and buy yourself a mid 60's Patrol...or buy an Xterra and SAS it...either way, its a heck of a lot cheaper and you'll get more out of it...
Australian review of current Patrol...
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