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What's the difference?
A few years back, as part of Nissan Australia’s Warrior program, local automotive engineering company Premcar was given free rein to transform a good 4WD ute – the Navara – into a hard-core beast and the Navara Pro-4X Warrior was the result.
Now, it’s the Patrol’s turn.
The Patrol Warrior is bigger, wider and taller than the Ti spec Patrol on which it’s based and it has upgraded Aussie-tuned suspension, a Warrior-specific wheel-and-tyre package, a bi-modal exhaust system, tough-as-nails underbody protection, a 48kg increase in payload over the Ti (to 736kg), as well as a whole lot of other stuff intended to make the already legendary 4WD wagon into an even more appealing vehicle, on- and off-road.
But if you’re looking for any improvements to power and torque you’ll be disappointed because the Warrior has the same V8 engine as the standard Patrol.
So, is this lifted and loaded Patrol better than the non-Warrior version?
Read on.
Driving a whopping great SUV down the straight on a race track at more than 200km/h sounds like fun, but it actually feels a bit wrong, like entering a baby elephant in a dog show.
These are strange times, of course, and the Maserati Trofeo Levante is a suitably strange vehicle - stylish, classy, expensively appointed family hauler that also has the heart and soul of a race car.
Indeed, while performance SUVs are an increasingly commonplace vehicle, the Levante - which was actually getting along in the tooth as a model before this significant upgrade - has higher performance credibility than most.
That's because it has a big Ferrari V8 driving all four of its wheels and delivering a properly supercar-like 433kW and 730Nm.
It's not what you might call a typical Maserati buyer's car, but then only those who know what the Trofeo badge stands for - shouty insanity, basically - will be interested in this end of town. It is a lot of car, but is it worth the large load of money on the sticker ($330,000)?
The Nissan Patrol Warrior is nice to drive on-road for a big 4WD wagon. It’s refined, it’s comfortable and it’s also a very capable off-road vehicle and retains solid potential as an all-terrain touring platform.
And PremCar’s work has made a damn good 4WD even better.
All of that crucial conversion work, engineering upgrades and fitment of adventure-ready accessories is the kind of sensible and subtle work an experienced 4WDer would usually apply via the aftermarket.
But the difference is, all of that work on the Warrior is factory-backed and covered by a five-year, unlimited km warranty.
Maseratis are built for a fairly specific niche buyer; someone with a lot of money, someone slightly older and certainly someone who likes the finer things in life and appreciates Italian style, quality and heritage.
They are not, typically, the kind of buyers who want to tear around race tracks like fiends in big, shouty SUVs. But apparently there is a niche within the niche of Maserati fans who do, and they are willing to invest big dollars in vehicles wearing the Trofeo badge, like this Levante.
It might seem a slightly strange creation, a track-mad SUV with a screaming Ferrari engine, but surprisingly, it really does work.
The Nissan Patrol Warrior is 5269mm long (with a 3075mm wheelbase), 2079mm wide, 1990mm high, and it has a kerb weight of 2884kg (72kg heavier than the Ti).
It’s 94mm longer than the Ti at 5269mm, and 84mm wider at 2079mm.
The Warrior looks very impressive in the metal. It’s a tough-looking blocky behemoth, like a Patrol on steroids.
While the other two Maseratis to get the Trofeo treatment - the Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans - are undeniably lovely, the Levante is not quite as pretty.
Admittedly, for an SUV, it looks very good, and the Trofeo touches - that big, nostrilled bonnet, the red gills on the sides, the carbon, the badges - really do lift its game to another level.
Overall, though, the Levante has just never felt beautiful enough to me to be a Maserati. These guys really do style well, as you'd expect from a premium Italian brand, but making an SUV sexy is beyond even them.
I'll grant you, it does look good from front on, but at the rear they just seem to have run out of ideas.
Credit is due for feeling properly special inside, however.
All in all, the Nissan Patrol Warrior cabin is quite a practical space, but with a healthy dose of premium feel.
It’s a Ti interior – plush, spacious and very easy to spend time in – with a few ‘Warrior’ touches as mentioned earlier and for this reason it is comfortably familiar, and I like it, but it does feel old.
Up front, a Warrior-specific gloss black centre console and gloss black centre multimedia fascia have replaced the standard Ti Patrol’s 1970s-style woodgrain-look panelling, but the expanses of soft-touch surfaces remain.
There are plenty of storage spaces for driver and front passenger – glove box, cupholders, bottle holders in the doors etc – as well as some concealed spaces (with pop-up lids) for keys, phone and other pocket debris.
The 8.0-inch touchscreen is too small and, as mentioned, there is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, which is very disappointing in this day and age. And I struggled to establish Bluetooth connectivity with my phone, as has happened in the past in standard Patrols.
The centre console is a confusion of buttons, dials and knobs, and if you haven’t spent much time in a Patrol then, initially, it’s not quite clear what you should press or twirl to operate things. But if you are familiar with a Patrol’s in-cabin machinations you’ll easily work it out.
Second-row passengers get very comfortable seats, as well as two USB charge points, and temperature and fan controls in the back of the centre console. Those in this row also have access to the back of the centre console.
There are cupholders in the fold-down armrest, and map pockets in the seat backs and bottle holders in the doors.
The second-row seats have a top tether point and an ISOFIX point on both outer seats.
The third-row seats are flat and hard compared to the other seats and, in terms of space, are really only for kids, or adults for very brief stints.
All three rows get air con – there are roof-mounted vents – and there are a few handy storage spaces in the third row, but no cupholders.
The third row has one top tether anchorage point.
The rear cargo area has cargo tie-down points and a 12V socket, as well as tyre-changing tools under the floor. The new full-sized spare tyre is underslung at the rear.
The Patrol has a solid reputation as a touring platform and in terms of packability, nothing has changed.
With the third-row seats in use, boot space is listed as 467L. With the third row stowed away, there’s a claimed 1413L of cargo space. With the second and third rows stowed, there’s a claimed 2623L.
If you've got to move five people in a genuine hurry, the Levante is a pleasant way to go about it.
There's plenty of head and shoulder room, the seats, while firm in the front, are pleasant to the touch and supportive and there's a 580-litre boot with an electric tailgate and split-folding seats.
The boot feels properly spacious, too, with a 12-volt power outlet and four tie-down points. You won't, however, find a spare wheel out there, so serious off-roading is out (although it probably was already if you look at those expensive wheels).
There are huge door pockets with room for bottles and two big cup holders in the front. The centre-console bin looks lovely, it's all carbon fibre, but is quite small.
There are also three USB points, one in the front and two in the rear, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
The Nissan Patrol Warrior is an eight-seat 4WD wagon with a price-tag of $101,160, excluding on-road costs.
Standard features include a 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system (without Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto), three-zone climate-control, front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera and a tyre-pressure monitoring system.
Warrior-specific interior touches include an Alcantara Warrior embossed garnish, clear-coated gloss black centre console and centre multimedia fascia as well as leather-accented and Alcantara door trim.
Warrior-specific suspension modifications include Warrior-tuned 'Hydraulic Body Motion Control' suspension (front and rear), front Warrior red springs, rear Warrior multi-rate red springs, and Warrior rear bump-stop.
Exterior changes include a red bash plate with Warrior branding, front Warrior-embossed bumper valance, black grille, Patrol Warrior decals, black side mirror caps, an upgraded exhaust system with bi-modal valve and exhaust tip, black flare kit with grained finish, Warrior towbar (towbar cross member, tongue, harness only, all modified to fit the new, bigger full-size spare), two rear recovery points, Warrior rear bumper valance with grained finish, and black chrome tailgate Warrior badge.
The Warrior wheel-and-tyre package is the Yokohama Geolandar 15 All Terrain tyres (295/70R18) on 18 x 9 J cast-aluminium Patrol Warrior black machined-face alloy wheels.
The Patrol Warrior has a specially modified space for the new full-size alloy spare wheel.
Exterior paint choices include the no-extra-cost 'Gun Metallic', or premium paint jobs such as 'Brilliant Silver', 'Black Obsidian' and 'Moonstone White'.
But the big news is the more than $15,000 worth of crucial conversion work, engineering upgrades and fitment of adventure-ready accessories brought onboard to turn the Patrol into a Warrior.
And as such the Warrior wagon has a re-engineered version of Nissan’s Hydraulic Body Motion Control system, a 50mm total suspension lift with new springs front and rear (increasing vehicle height to 1990mm, +50mm over the Ti), and increased ground clearance (323mm, +50mm) and wheel track (1735mm front and rear, +40mm).
I'm sorry, but $330,000 for an SUV, of any kind? Personally I can't see the value, but then personally, as we'll discuss below in the Design section, I can't see the attraction.
This is one of the most expensive SUVs money can buy, well above things like Range Rover Sport SVR ($239,187) or even Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe ($254,000), although a pricier Ferrari one is surely on the way.
You'd want a lot for that, and the way it drives and sounds, thanks to that Ferrari engine, accounts for quite a few dollars.
There's also an undeniably high-quality feel to everything you touch on the car, inside and out, and a vast quantity of carbon fibre everywhere as well.
Other highlights include the 21-inch machine polished wheels, an 8.4-inch touchscreen with Navigation and DAB radio, full matrix LED headlights, and incredible Pieno Fiore natural leather, “the best the world has ever seen”, as Maserati says.
The lovely if firm front seats are heated and ventilated, sporty and 12-way adjustable, with Trofeo logos stitched into the headrests. The rooflining is lovely Alcantara, the steering wheel is sporty and features carbon-fibre shift paddles, ad the stereo system is Harman Kardon Premium and has 14 speakers.
And even the rear seats are heated. It feels expensive, and it should. But still, $330K?
The Warrior has the Patrol line-up’s 5.6-litre V8 petrol engine – producing 298kW at 5800rpm and 560Nm at 4000rpm – and that’s matched to a seven-speed automatic transmission.
This is a solid combination, but it lacks a dynamic edge, which is fine with me because it yields a driving experience that’s equal parts relaxed, assured and undemanding.
The Patrol has full-time four-wheel drive with high- and low-range modes.
This will be the last time Maserati gets a proper Ferrari engine like this a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 shouty monster, which is good for 433kW and 730Nm.
The future, as is the case everywhere, is going to be more electric and less noisy. For now, anyone who can should enjoy this V8 masterpiece, which drives all four wheels through Maserati's Q4 on-demand all-wheel drive system via a limited-slip rear differential and uses an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Its claimed 0 to 100km/h time is 3.9 seconds, which puts it in what used to be super-car territory, and is still very quick indeed, while top speed is an unimaginable 304km/h.
The Nissan Patrol Warrior has an official fuel consumption figure of 14.4L/100km (on a combined cycle).
I recorded 23.2L/100km on this test. I did a lot of high- and low-range 4WDing but the Warrior never seemed to be working too hard.
The Patrol has a 140L fuel tank capacity, so, using our on-test consumption figure you could reasonably expect a full-tank driving range of about 603km.
The official claimed fuel economy for the Maserati Levante Trofeo is 13.5 litres per 100km, but good luck with that.
A more realistic number would probably sit somewhere above 17 litres per 100km, and we would have easily exceeded 20 litres while driving it like lunatics around a track.
But you just paid $330K for an SUV, what do you care about fuel economy?
At its Patrol heart the Warrior has all the solid reliable four-wheel drive mechanicals, plenty of torque over a wide rev range and it has a rear diff lock.
So, you are pretty much covered for anything you want to tackle.
On road and on dirt tracks, the Patrol Warrior is a bit tighter, more controlled and more composed than its standard stablemates.
And that's largely due to its upgraded suspension and Hydraulic Body Motion Control (HBMC) system.
HBMC essentially acts as a sway bar and sway bar disconnect equivalent and combines with the Aussie-tweaked suspension to rein everything in when you're on bitumen and loosen everything when you're on dirt or off-road.
And out on the open road or a quiet back country road you get the opportunity to appreciate how comfortable and refined the Patrol Warrior is.
The Warrior’s fully independent suspension features springs specifically designed for this vehicle all around. They're longer at the front, softer at the back and offer various rates - soft, firm and extra soft.
And, while that's not such a big deal when you are low-range 4WDing, it really comes into play when you're on a dirt track travelling at speed.
Especially if there are light to moderate, even extreme corrugations and you're trying to fly across the top of that stuff without ruining your spine.
The Patrol as standard is a nice wagon to drive, but the Premcar work undertaken to create the Warrior – all the conversions and upgrades – have made it that much better.
There's more ground clearance in the Warrior (323mm, +50mm over the Ti), so approach (40 degrees) and departure angles (23.3 degrees) are an improvement over the standard Patrol.
Ramp-over angle is not listed, neither is wading depth but I reckon the latter is about 700mm.
The tyres – Yokohama Geolandar 15 All Terrain tyres (295/70R18) – are bigger and offer more grip, so they provide the Warrior with plenty of traction on terrain where a standard Patrol may struggle.
The HBMC system, which works so well on-road, provides more articulation off-road as well as a little bit more wheel travel through difficult sections of ground that require highly technical low-range 4WDing.
And the cluey thing about Premcar’s work here – the conversions, the modifications, the engineering upgrades and the fitment of accessories – is it’s all the kind of stuff a sensible experience 4WDer would have done to their Patrol if there wasn't the option to climb into something like the Patrol Warrior straight out of the showroom.
What Premcar has done is that clever.
But while all of these Warrior-specific changes are so clever and so welcome, it doesn't make this vehicle a perfect four-wheel drive.
For one thing, it's still a big vehicle and at 2884kg you have to drive it with that in mind, all the time.
It fills the track off-road and with its wider wheel track, you have to be mindful of wheel placement.
The Patrol’s off-road traction control doesn't feel as dialled in, as sharply tuned as, for example, the system in the 300 Series Toyota LandCruiser.
It's not atrocious, in fact, it’s very effective, but it just doesn't feel as dialled-in as other systems.
When you get into a Patrol Warrior, make sure you appreciate that bi-modal exhaust with two exhaust tips underneath the right-hand side step.
It’s nice and quiet during general driving but opens up in audio terms if you flip to manual on the auto shifter or give it a heavy right boot. You hear that engine growl. It’s unreal.
The bi-modal exhaust is awesome, but those little exhaust caps that stick out underneath the Warrior's right-hand side step are a too vulnerable to potential damage for my liking.
They compromise the vehicle's ramp-over angle, so you have to drive with careful consideration, especially if the Warrior tips even slightly to the right-hand side going up or down a steep rocky hill, because there’s a risk of grinding those exhaust tips against rock, dirt or a tree stump.
The Patrol is a well-respected towing platform and the Warrior’s towing capacities remain as 750kg (unbraked) and 3500kg (braked).
The Warrior's GVM (gross vehicle mass) at 3620kg is 120kg more than the Ti Patrol’s.
Premcar has modified the towbar position to accommodate the new bigger full-size spare wheel and tyre.
Another good thing is the fact the Patrol Warrior has two recovery points at the rear.
But unfortunately when our videographer’s HiLux became bogged in a mudhole I discovered my stamped 4.0-tonne bow shackles were too big for those points.
So, I had to do a snatch-strap recovery of his vehicle using the tow bar hitch pin, which is not ideal, but still effective.
The lesson here? Recovery points are great, but make sure you have the correct bow shackles – at least stamped 3.25 tonne bow shackles – in your vehicle-recovery kit.
We got to drive all three Trofeo-fettled Maseratis on track at Sydney Motorsport Park, and before that on the road, where the Levante felt very pleasant, and pleasantly expensive at all times.
As you might expect, a vehicle with 433kW is difficult to fully appreciate on public roads, although there was the occasional and exciting change to give it a quick, loud blat between gears.
It only takes hearing that engine note, and feeling that torque surge, a few times to see why someone might fall in love with this car, or at least this engine.
Out on the track, the rear-driven Ghibli and Quattroporte, which share the Levante's engine, were surely the more fun and frenetic things to drive, but there were those who chose the Levante as their best of the three, even for circuit driving.
There's no doubt that its on-demand all-wheel-drive system, which is biased towards the rear but asks the front wheels for help when required, made it feel the most planted, and the safest, through fast and slow bends.
There's a definite sense that its engine is being asked to work the hardest, though, to push all that bulk through the air (although its brakes never seemed to fade, which is impressive with more than two tonnes of SUV to stop).
While the big, deafening V8 is willing and keen to rev all the way to 7000rpm (where it bangs on the redline waiting for your upshift, if you're driving in manual mode - I do like that), it started to make large sucking sounds towards the top of each gear, as if it was desperately trying to get more oxygen in.
It genuinely sounded different to the other two Trofeo cars, which is odd, but perhaps they just weren't as near their limits. That bulk also slowed it slightly in terms of top speed down the straight, but it still exceeded 220km/h with ease.
What should be said is that I was genuinely shocked at how good the Levante Trofeo was around a track. So much so I asked to have a second go, just to make sure I wasn't going mad.
Sure, it makes no sense to me personally, and I don't know why anyone needs an SUV that's good on a track, but if you do, I can recommend the Levante for sure.
That hugely enjoyable engine is just too much fun, although it's even better in a sedan like the Ghibli...
The Nissan Patrol range does not have an ANCAP safety rating because it has not been tested.
As standard it has dual front airbags, front-side and curtain airbags that cover all three rows, as well as two ISOFIX points and two top tether points in the second row.
Driver-assist tech includes AEB, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning/intervention, blind-spot warning/intervention, adaptive cruise control and more.
Maserati's safety offering on the Levante includes six airbags, a reversing camera and 360-degree overhead camera, parking sensors front and rear, adaptive cruise control and Blind Spot Detection, Forward Collision Warning Plus, Pedestrian Detection, Lane Keep Assist, Active Driver Assist and Traffic Sign Recognition.
There is no ANCAP rating for the Levante as it's not been crash tested here.
The Nissan Patrol Warrior has a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, and comes with five years of roadside assistance.
Servicing is scheduled at 12 month/10,000km intervals, and capped price service rates apply, averaging about $626 a year over the warranty term.
A five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty also applies to all of Premcar’s work.
Maserati offers a three-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, but you can choose to buy 12-month or two-year warranty extensions, and even a sixth or seventh-year drive-train warranty extension.
When much, much cheaper Japanese and Korean cars are offering seven and even 10-year warranties, this is so far off the pace that such a fast vehicle should be embarrassed. And if you're buying something Italian, a better, longer warranty would seem like a must. I'd be negotiating at sale for them to throw the longer warranty offer in.
Maserati says servicing for the Ghibli has a "ball park costing of $2700.00 for the first three years of ownership" with a service schedule of every 20,000km or 12 months (whichever occurs first)
Also, "please note that the above is indicative only of the manufacturers basic routine service maintenance schedule and does not include any consumable items such as tyres, brakes etc or additional dealership charges such as environmental levies etc."