Nissan Patrol GU Y61 used review: 1997-2015

The GU Patrol is a proper alternative to the all-conquering Toyota LandCruiser dynasty. The Nissan is sensational off-road and reliable, provided you buy the right version.

The Nissan is sensational off-road and reliable, provided you buy the right version.

Because the GU Patrol stretched over such a long sales period and also because it was available in a huge range of trim, body, and mechanical layouts, there’s an equally huge range of prices. Fundamentally, there’s a GU Patrol for every budget from about $5000 all the way to $45,000.

It all depends on what you’re looking for from the vehicle. These days, vehicles like the GU Patrol are increasingly used for camping and recreational activities, so upgrading the suspension and tyres is an obvious one. But making the car more suitable for being self-sufficient is a popular move, too, so things like a quality fridge, an awning and drawers in the rear compartment all make sense. Of course, if you have the wallet to cope, the sky’s the limit when it comes to mechanical modifications.

The GU Patrol is increasingly used for camping and recreational activities.

Absolutely! In fact, it’s off-road use for which the vehicle was really designed in the first place. The GU uses a traditional 4 wheel drive system with proper, low-ratio gears for crawling over rocks and a rugged, long-travel suspension for grip in the rough stuff. If you’re not planning to use your Patrol in the scrub, you’re buying the wrong vehicle.

The Nissan Patrol was designed for off-road use.

Despite being a physically large vehicle, even the station-wagon version of the Patrol isn’t exactly huge inside. That’s partly because of the packaging considerations imposed by the four-wheel-drive driveline, but also that the Patrol is a very old-school design these days. And, like a lot of seven-seats, when you have all those seats occupied, there’s not a lot of room left for luggage.

A roof rack adds extra storage space to the Patrol (pictured: Legend Edition).

Many owners fitted a roof rack to add extra storage space and you’ll also see a lot of Patrols at holiday time towing a trailer loaded with the kids’ bikes and camping gear.

If you plan on some remote-area touring (which is where the Patrol shines) a bull bar is a good idea. Some quality all-terrain tyres are another good option and don’t forget a UHF radio and recovery gear such as a set of traction boards, snatch-strap and rated shackles. Extra driving lights are a popular fitment, too, and a snorkel is essential for water crossings. Buying a Patrol with all these accessories already fitted will be cheaper than fitting them yourself.

It sure does. In fact, while there were just two petrol engines offered over the life of the GU, no less than four diesel engines have been available. Of those, three were turbocharged.

This depends entirely on what grade and type of Patrol you buy. The cab-chassis models are work vehicles built to a price and the interior reflects that. There’s lot of plastic and although the gauges and big and clear, it never feels classy. Move up to the wagons, and particularly the Ti models, and suddenly you’re dealing with leather trim, electrically-adjustable driver’s seat (post-2000) lots more soft-touch surfaces and vastly better standard equipment. To be honest, though, a Patrol will only still be looking sharp inside if it’s been really well looked after. Family hacks and weekend warrior versions will probably be looking a bit shabby overall.

The turbo-diesel versions were never speed machines, and the 2.8-litre turbo-diesel has a reputation for being pretty slow with lots of turbo lag. That said, the non-turbo diesel is even slower. If getting form 0-100km in a hurry is your thing, then either of the two petrol versions will be the pick. The 4.8 is especially impressive and is the most relaxed version with a load on the tow-bar as well. Even then, the fastest Patrol won’t see which way a modern hatchback went. Horses for courses.

While some owners saw a need to fit long-range additional fuel tanks, the basic tank set-up in the Patrol allows for 125 litres in the station-wagon version which is generally sufficient for outback touring. The cab-chassis models initially got 90 litre tanks, but this was upgraded to 125 litres as the vehicle was facelifted.

Like all big, heavy off-roaders, the Patrol is not a low-maintenance vehicle nor one that is cheap to keep on the road. The engines need frequent oil changes (particularly the diesels) and if you use the vehicle as Nissan intended, you also need to regularly change things like the differential oil and have the front swivel joints lubricated. Don’t be surprised if a routine service at a specialist runs into many hundreds (if not more) dollars. Vehicles like this one are also hard on tyres, brake pads and suspension components, and none of those are cheap to replace relative to a hatchback.

The good news is that many workshops specialise in Nissan Patrols, so there’s a lot of knowledge on what goes wrong and what needs fettling when. That saves time, and time is money.

Fiddling around with the fuel system on a diesel of fuel-injected petrol engine is not a job for somebody who doesn’t know what they’re doing. The chances of creating a leak or allowing air into the system of a diesel engine is high, so you need to crimp off the feed line before the removing the fuel to and from the filter to avoid fuel running back into the tank and creating an air bubble. From there, it’s a matter of unplugging the wiring for the water-trap alarm and removing the filter element, either in situ or by removing the entire filter assembly. Retrace those steps with a new filter and you should be done.

The fuel filter on a petrol-engined Patrol is a bit simpler, but harder to access as the filter is under the vehicle, near the fuel tank. Unscrewing two jubilee clamps should allow you to remove the old filter and fit the new one. Make sure the clamps are done up tight and always check for leaks after starting the car. And if you don’t know what you’re up to, don’t try this stuff at home.

Vehicles like the Patrol with part-time four-wheel-drive often use automatic locking hubs as a convenient way to lock the front hubs in when four-wheel-drive is selected without forcing the driver (or passenger) to leave their seat to manually lock the hubs in. The idea is that when not needed, the front hubs can free-wheel and save fuel, while only engaging when needed. Some owners, however, prefer the old manually-locking type of hub as the standard auto hubs have the potential to disengage when, for instance, rocking back and forth to free a stuck vehicle.

In some cases, the front hub can be disassembled and the automatic locking ring discarded, but a better way is to fit a manual-hub kit that is switched from free-wheel to engaged by hand. A professional workshop will have no problem fitting such a kit and will inspect and lubricate the rest of the front axle assembly at the same time.

This is neither easier nor more difficult than for any other vehicle with disc brakes. Once you’ve removed the caliper from its mount, the old pads can be removed and new ones fitted in their place. Don’t forget to replace the anti-rattle clips, grease the caliper slides and give the whole unit a once over to make sure there’s no damage. You may have to force the pistons back in the calipers to make room for the fatter (more material) new brake pads. Never let the caliper hang from its hydraulic line (make a wire hanger that leaves some slack in the line) and be aware that any work on a car’s brake system is not for amateurs, given the importance of its correct operation.

This is an interesting question, because the body-on-chassis construction means there’s not the usual crumple-zones we associate with modern designs. Also, the high centre of gravity, large kerb mass and compromise tyres all mean the Patrol is not as dynamic as many other cars.

When launched, the ST model had just a single (driver’s) air-bag, and only the Ti model had a passenger’s air-bag and anti-lock brakes. The DX entry-level car had no airbags at all. That changed for the first facelift in 2000 when the DX model got a driver’s air-bag and, the next year, the Ti got side-front air-bags (inside the front seats) as well. It wasn’t until 2004 that the ST model got a passenger’s front air-bag and dual air-bags did not become standard on the entire Patrol range until 2007 at which point there was still no anti-lock braking on the base-model DX.

The Patrol wasn’t independently crash tested in Australia, but the accepted ratings system gives the second-hand Patrol a four-star (out of five) safety rating as a used-car. The GU Patrol was not fitted with ISOFIX child-restraint mounting points.

Later Patrols have held up quite well in the retained value stakes, mainly because the vehicle that replaced the GU Patrol, The Y62, was petrol-powered only and, therefore, didn’t really appeal to Australian four-wheel-drive buyers. For that reason, many buyers looked to a new-ish second-hand Patrol, and that kept GU values buoyant for a while. Beyond that, older examples are worth more if they have a full service record and present in good condition. Many of them don’t. Carefully chosen, quality accessories can help with resale value, and buying a vehicle with the accessories you want already fitted is usually cheaper than buying them yourself after you’ve bought the vehicle.

Later Patrols have held up quite well in the retained value stakes (pictured: Legend Edition).