Adventure advice
Nissan RB30 engine: Your guide to the petrol six-cylinder motor
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By David Morley · 27 Oct 2020
Nissan’s RB30, 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine has gone down in history as one of the best straight sixes of all time. Part of the RB family of inline engines (built in Japan from 1985 to 1991) that ranged from two to three litres, the RB30 in various guises has powered Australian cars ranging from all-wheel-drive supercars to butch off-roaders and every kind of taxi, police car and family w
RD28 engine: Your guide to the Nissan Patrol motor
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By David Morley · 22 Oct 2020
It seems very odd, but Nissan’s 2.8-litre turbo-diesel six-cylinder as seen in Australian-delivered Patrols, actually began its development journey as a petrol engine. What’s strange about that is that petrol and diesel engines usually have vastly different design parameters to account for their differing characteristics.
TD42 engine: Your guide to the Nissan turbo diesel motor
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By David Morley · 19 Oct 2020
Nissan’s TD42 engine as seen in the GQ and GU Patrols of the late 1980s and right up to 2007, was kind of the black sheep of the TD engine clan.
G60 Patrol: Your guide to the Nissan 4WD
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By David Morley · 16 Oct 2020
Like other Japanese car makers post WW2, Nissan decided to take a Willys Jeep, reverse engineer it and come up with its own take on an off-road 4X4. The 4W series of vehicles from 1951 was the result of that process and, by 1958, Nissan had progressed with the concept to the point of adding Patrol badges to their rugged little puddle-jumper.
MQ Patrol: Your guide to the Nissan 4WD
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By David Morley · 15 Oct 2020
The MQ Patrol was a real watershed model for Nissan (or Datsun as it was still known here). It singlehandedly dragged the Patrol station-wagon concept from a military-styled, tool of the trade into a brave new world where families would increasingly use vehicles like it not just for everyday transport, but also as a bona fide recreational lifestyle accessory.
Series 4 Patrol: Your guide to the Nissan 4WD
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By David Morley · 09 Oct 2020
Nissan’s GU (Y61) Patrol was on sale for an awfully long time even by the lengthy standards of four-wheel-drives which are generally renewed far less frequently than passenger cars. Even so, the GU’s innings from 1997 to 2016 when it was finally pensioned off, saw it live on past even the model that was supposed to supersede it (the Y62).
SWB Patrol: Your guide to the Nissan 4WD
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By David Morley · 09 Oct 2020
Long-wheelbase Nissan Patrols weren't always the dominant species. The was a time when Shorty ruled the jungle.
What is a grey nomad?
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By Marcus Craft · 08 Oct 2020
For a fair few years now, grey nomads have been doing their Big Lap (driving around Australia), or criss-crossing the country in their motorhome, SUV or 4WD, often with a caravan or camper-trailer in tow.
Top five luxury utes
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By Marcus Craft · 07 Oct 2020
'Luxury' and 'ute' are two words that, in the past, never spent any time in the same sentence together - and if they did there was always an uncomfortable silence between the two.
Top five most practical utes
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By Marcus Craft · 14 Jul 2020
Using a vehicle every day - driving it, parking it, and packing it with groceries and kids - you get a real sense of its strengths and weaknesses.