Nissan Patrol vs Toyota HiLux

What's the difference?

The Nissan Patrol Warrior is a very capable 4WD, it’s a refined, comfortable all-rounder with plenty of potential as a touring vehicle.

PremCar’s work here – as on the Navara – has made a good 4WD even better.

All of that conversion work, engineering upgrades and fitment of accessories is the kind of sensible work an experienced 4WDer would apply via the aftermarket. The bonus here is that it’s all factory-backed and covered by a 10-year/300,000km warranty, albeit with conditions. 

If you can cope with the fuel bills, this big V8 4WD remains a refreshingly old-school style of off-roader – relying more on sheer grunt than touchy tech – and the latest round of cabin updates has added more appeal to what is already a very appealing vehicle.

The Toyota HiLux SR5 now feels nicer and more modern inside and out and it no longer lags behind some other utes – even some of the cheaper ones – in terms of comfort, refinement and all-round driveability.

Toyota has in the past been guilty of sometimes doing the bare minimum when it comes to producing a ‘new’ vehicle – especially LandCruisers or HiLuxes – but this time even though this HiLux is definitely not a new model, the exterior revamp and interior refresh have added more than enough to the HiLux package to keep fans and new buyers happy.

This is the best HiLux so far.

The Nissan Patrol Warrior is 5269mm long (with a 3075mm wheelbase), 2079mm wide, 1990mm high and it has a listed kerb weight of 2858kg. It’s 94mm longer and 84mm wider than the Ti.

Though this latest round of range updates have been mostly limited to the multimedia system, that’s a-okay because this Warrior has more than enough heavy-shouldered presence on- and off-road and not simply because it’s a chunky behemoth.

While other large 4WDs, such as the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, have bowed to contemporary-taste pressure and become a bit softer around the edges, the Warrior retains some of the blocky stature of 4WDs past.

Inside, the interior has benefitted from the new bigger multimedia system which sits atop the dash and dominates real estate up front. The interior feels slightly fresher than in previous iterations, but still comfortably familiar.

This HiLux is 5320mm long (with a 3085mm wheelbase), 1885mm wide and 1865mm high. No change there.

It does, however, have a new distinctive front end incorporating a revised design, which includes LED headlights, retro-style ‘Toyota’ brand across the front, and honeycomb-style mesh grille.

Initially I wasn’t keen on the HiLux’s revised front end, but it looks a lot better in the metal than it does in photos and it has grown on me.

This ute’s profile remains the same as before, but the rear end has also been given a sly slap and tickle, giving it a squared-off look.

The interior has also undergone a glow-up – there’s a real 250 Series LandCruiser look and feel to this cabin – and it now has a 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system rather than the old 8.0-inch unit.

It still has plenty of hard plastic surfaces but, overall, the HiLux interior doesn’t look or feel anywhere near as old as it used to.

While it remains definitely a HiLux, the new look brings this Toyota ute closer to its rivals, such as the Ford Ranger, in terms of contemporary styling.

The Warrior cabin is essentially a Ti interior – as such, it’s roomy and plush, with expanses of soft-touch surfaces. Due to plenty of ‘Warrior’ touches and the most recent updates as noted earlier, the cabin feels made-over yet instantly recognisable. 

The centre console is no longer the confusion of buttons, dials and knobs it previously was and 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 everyday carry gear.

Second-row passengers get 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, map pockets in the seat backs and bottle holders in the doors. 

Second-row seats have a top tether point and an ISOFIX point on both outer seats.

Third-row seats are flat and hard compared to the other positions and, in terms of space, are better suited to children or adults for brief stints.

All three rows get air con – there are roof-mounted vents – and there are handy storage spaces in the third row, but no cupholders. 

The third row has one top tether child seat anchorage point. 

The rear cargo area has load 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.

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.

The HiLux cabin is very familiar – you know where everything is and how to use it and that’s reassuring – but besides some minor changes and the introduction of an electric park brake the most noticeable change is that aforementioned new 12.3-inch unit.

Apple CarPlay is easy to get working via the multimedia system, and the screen is now big enough and clear enough to operate with ease.

Beyond that, there are plenty of durable hard plastic surfaces, numerous storage spaces, a reasonable number of charging points up front – two USB ports as well as a wireless charging pad and two 12V sockets and a 240V socket inside the centre console.

The driver’s seat is power-adjustable and comfortable without ever being at risk of being described as “plush”.

The rear seat is on the wrong side of squeezy across the shoulders and is best suited to accommodating three children, three jockeys or two adults.

People seated back there have access to two USB-C ports, bottle holders in each door and a dual cupholder in the fold-down centre armrest.

In terms of packability for touring, the SR5’s tub is 1550mm long (1100mm between the wheel arches), 1520mm wide and the load space itself is 490mm deep. Load height is 830mm.

There is nothing extra-special going on in the SR5’s tub – no marine-grade carpet, LED strip lighting, or hidden storage compartments – but it does have four tie-down points.

In terms of practicality, the HiLux, while it does have a barebones approach, still holds its own against the likes of the Ford Ranger.

The SR5 sits in the middle of the HiLux line-up. This version – with a six-speed manual gearbox – has pricing starting at $63,990 before on-road costs. Our test vehicle has Toyota’s premium interior pack ($2500) and premium paint ($675).

Standard features include a 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system (with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus wireless charging), eight-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Other features include high-grade LED headlights, a “comfort-oriented” leaf-spring rear suspension tune, larger front brake discs, power-folding, heated exterior mirrors, an integrated tow-bar, as well as LED tail-lights and LED rear fog lights.

Exterior paint choices include 'Glacier White', 'Frosted White', 'Ash Slate', 'Eclipse Black', Feverish Red' and 'Sunglow'. Some – like 'Stunning Silver' on our test vehicle – cost $675.

The HiLux offers reasonable value for money when cross-shopped against the likes of Ford Ranger, especially the XLT (approx. $64,000) or Sport (approx. $72,000) variants.

The Warrior has a 5.6-litre V8 petrol engine producing 298kW and 560Nm, matched to a seven-speed automatic transmission.

This solid combination lacks a dynamic edge, but the Warrior produces such a supremely relaxed and assured delivery of power and torque – it feels almost lazy – that you forgive it for not being the zippiest thing around.

The Patrol has full-time four-wheel drive with high- and low-range and a rear diff-lock.

This SR5 has a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, producing 150kW at 3400rpm and 420Nm at 1400-3400rpm and a six-speed manual gearbox; the six-speed auto SR5 gets 500Nm at 1600-2800rpm and auto HiLuxes also have the 48-volt mild-hybrid technology onboard.

This is a proven engine-and-gearbox combination, with plenty of lowdown torque, and it’s more than a match for the likes of Ranger and D-Max/BT-50 in terms of overall performance.

This SR5 has part-time four-wheel drive and a rear diff-lock.

The Nissan Patrol Warrior has an official combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel consumption figure of 14.4L/100km.

I recorded 21.4L/100km on this test. I did a lot of high- and low-range 4WDing – but the Patrol was never working hard.

The Patrol has a 140L fuel tank capacity, so going by our on-test fuel-consumption figure you could reasonably expect a full-tank driving range of about 654km.

Official fuel consumption for the manual is listed as 7.1L/100km on a combined cycle. The auto is 7.4L/100km.

Fuel consumption on this test was 9.1L/100km, which is pretty good because I have done a lot of low-range 4WDing.

The SR5 has a 80-litre fuel tank so, going by that fuel figure, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 879km out of a full tank

This latest update is cabin-centric so it’s brought no powertrain changes or any improvements to 4WD mechanicals or driver-assist tech. And that’s fine because the Warrior is pretty darned impressive, as is.

On-road and on dirt tracks, it’s all smooth sailing. The Patrol Warrior is tighter and more composed than its standard stablemates, and that's mostly due to its upgraded suspension and HBMC system.

HBMC acts as a sway bar and sway bar disconnect equivalent and combines with the Aussie-tuned suspension to rein everything in when you're on bitumen and loosen everything when you're on dirt or off-road. 

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. 

On the open road you have the opportunity to appreciate just how comfortable and refined the Patrol Warrior is. 

And as for 4WDing, well, the Warrior is a Patrol at heart so it has reliable four-wheel drive mechanicals, plenty of torque over a broad rev range and a rear diff lock. 

There's more ground clearance in the Warrior over the Ti at 323mm (+50mm ), so approach (40 degrees) and departure angles (23.3 degrees) are an improvement over the standard Patrol.

The Warrior’s tyres – Yokohama Geolandar 15 All Terrain tyres (295/70R18) – are bigger and offer more grip, so they provide plenty of traction on terrain where a standard Patrol may struggle. 

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.

The HBMC system, which performs so seamlessly on-road, provides more articulation off-road, as well as a bit more wheel travel through difficult terrain.

And, as I’ve noted before on other tests, one of the impressive points about Premcar’s work here – the conversions, the modifications, the engineering upgrades and the fitment of accessories – is that it’s all the kind of common-sense upgrades an experienced 4WDer would apply to their Patrol. 

But, even in something this impressive, the news is not all good.

The Warrior is a big vehicle and at 2858kg you have to drive it with that in mind, all the time. It fills the trail and with its wider wheel track, you have to be focused on wheel placement, even more so than usual.

The bi-modal exhaust is awesome, but those exhaust caps (underneath the Warrior's right-hand side step) are too vulnerable to damage.

They compromise the vehicle's ramp-over angle, so you have to drive with careful consideration, especially if the Warrior rocks 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 steps, dirt or a tree stump. 

The Patrol is a towing platform of note and 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.

As mentioned, there have been no major mechanical upgrades to the HiLux, but it does now have electric power steering (rather than the hydraulic assistance it’s had in the past). Result? There’s a smoother, more precise feeling to the steering, with a nice weight and balance to it, on sealed and unsealed surfaces.

The HiLux, with a listed kerb weight of 2215kg and a turning circle of 12.6m, is not an insubstantial vehicle but, at the same time, it’s not unwieldy either and manages to feel quite nimble on and off the road.

On sealed surfaces it yields a surprisingly high level of ride and comfort. It’s actually quite compliant, controlled and somewhat refined. That’s largely because this SR5 has multi-purpose suspension on board rather than the heavy-duty suspension, which is on lower-spec, work-focussed HiLux variants for load-carrying duties.

This set-up is intended to offer a softer ride on road – and it does – but off-road it's a different story. Even on minor imperfections (small potholes, minor corrugations and the like) on dirt tracks it tends to thump and bump in and out and it doesn't offer such a comfortable all-round ride as you might be hoping.

I didn’t have much weight onboard – vehicle-recovery gear, a first-aid kit, four Maxtrax and an air compressor – and it will, of course, settle down with more of a load but I was expecting the multi-purpose suspension to be better than it was at soaking up a track’s lumps and bumps – it’s not terrible, but it is noticeable.

However, in terms of pure off-road effectiveness, the HiLux is impressive.

It's never been an underperforming 4WD, it’s simply never been as refined or as comfortably capable as others, such as the Ranger, but it is much more comfortably capable now than it used to be.

There is plenty of power and torque in this HiLux and while this six-speed manual version has 80Nm less than the auto version, it uses what it has really well. The 2.8-litre is a tractable engine and works well as part of an effective powertrain that is well suited to low-range 4WDing. There is a heap of torque at low revs, which is great for low-speed, technical off-roading.

Low-speed throttle response is also impressive, offering nice control when you need it.

I have driven auto HiLuxes in the past and the auto is very clever and it may be your better bet, but I like the manual.

Ground clearance is listed as 224mm and while the HiLux doesn’t have any trouble clearing most jagged rock steps or tree roots you’ll likely encounter on a weekend trip, I didn’t have the opportunity to seriously scrutinise the 700mm wading depth because our testing area was pretty dry. Next time.

Off-road angles – 29-degree approach and 26-degree departure (no rampover is listed) – all check out, even though they are a little shallower than the Rugged or the Rogue variants, they are fine for light-to-moderate 4WDing.

The off-road traction control system in this HiLux is well calibrated and if you do need more dirt-grabbing ability, then this ute does have a rear diff lock.

The only real off-roading weaknesses in the HiLux package are the tyres (Dunlop Grandtrek A/T 31, 265/60R18 110H). They’re not well suited for anything more than light to moderate 4WDing. If you’re planning anything rougher than a well-maintained dirt road in dry weather then consider replacing the showroom tyres with a set of decent all-terrain tires, light-truck construction preferably and away you go.

In terms of towing capacity the SR5 is rated to tow 750kg unbraked, and 3500kg braked.

Payload is a listed 900kg, Gross Vehicle Mass is 3090kg and Gross Combined Mass is 6300kg (a 450kg increase).

While nothing mechanical has changed onboard this vehicle, the combination of 4WD set-up, driver-assist tech, rear diff lock, as well as structural modifications (such as thicker steel in the ladder-frame chassis, a stiffer roll-bar, and reinforced side rails) and suspension tweaks (including retuned dampers and re-rated coil springs at the front, and new dampers and softer spring rates on the live-axle rear) all works well together in this current HiLux package.

The HiLux has now drawn closer to the Ranger in terms of comfortable capability, if not matched it.

The Toyota HiLux SR5 has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, as a result of testing in 2025.

As standard, it has eight airbags (now with a front-centre airbag) and an upgraded suite of driver-assist tech including improved auto emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring.

All new Patrols have a 10-year/300,000km warranty when the vehicle is serviced with Nissan and the Premcar work is covered for the same amount of time – with the same conditions applied.

Five years of roadside assistance also applies – with the same conditions.

Servicing is scheduled at 12 month/10,000km intervals, and capped price service rates apply for five years. That means each of the first five services will cost you $499.

The HiLux has a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Service intervals are scheduled for every six months or 10,000km and cost $395 per service.

Toyota Australia has about 300 dealerships across the country.

This type of warranty is pretty standard among the HiLux's rivals so the Toyota ute does remain competitive, in terms of these ownership costs.