Volkswagen Touareg vs Nissan Patrol

What's the difference?

The Touareg is a plush, comfortable SUV which is very nice to drive and, in R-Line guise, it has a welcome bit of saucy sportiness about it.

Let’s be honest: this is not a hard-core off-roading wagon, but to expect it to be such a vehicle is to miss the point entirely. 

The Touareg is more than capable of tackling the large SUV market’s own version of dirt-driving adventures and it does it with aplomb and it does it while the driver and passengers enjoy supreme comfort.

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.

This large SUV is 4878mm long (with a 2899mm wheelbase), 1984mm wide, 1686mm high and has an official kerb weight of 2169kg.

There are nice touches inside and out and surely features like chrome roof rails, highlights and exhaust tips will bring at least a slight sly smile to even the most jaded SUV admirer’s face.

This is a sleek, stylish and so very premium-looking and feeling vehicle that it makes a lowly peasant like me feel more than a little bit uncomfortable.

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.

If you’re considering a Touareg as your next SUV, there’s a good chance that you’re already pretty familiar with all that’s on offer inside, but I’ll give you the drum: this interior manages to succeed at being a nice mix of luxurious and practical. 

While there are leather and soft-touch surfaces seemingly everywhere, there are also plenty of storage spaces, cup-holders, bottle-holders, USB charge points (front and second row), 12-volt power outlets (front and cargo area), temp and air-vent controls (front and second row), bag hooks (on backs of front seats and in cargo area), cargo tie down hooks/rings (cargo area) and a raft of other features that are well suited to real life.

All seats are supportive and comfortable. 

The driver and front passenger seats are power-adjustable and heated and ventilated.

The rear seats are a 40/20/40 split configuration and the row can slide and recliners two separate sections. It has a fold-down centre arm-rest with cupholders.

There is 1800 litres of cargo area volume with the second row folded; 810 litres with it in place.

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.

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).

This diesel Touareg has a 3.0L turbocharged V6 engine – producing 210kW at 4000rpm and 600Nm at 1750 rpm – and it has an eight-speed automatic transmission. 

It has VW’s 4Motion AWD and a variety of driving modes including eco, comfort, normal sport, individual, off-road (auto and expert), and snow, which adjust vehicle characteristics, such as engine performance, throttle response, and damping and steering, to suit your selection.

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.

It has an official fuel-consumption figure of 6.8L/100km on a combined cycle, but on test we recorded 11.7L/100km, measured at the pump.

It’s worth noting here that we did do some low-speed AWDing along a very washed-out track. 

This Touareg has a 90-litre fuel tank so, going by that as-tested fuel-consumption figure, you can reasonably expect a driving range of approximately 719km from a full tank, but that’s factoring in a safe-distance buffer of 50km.

It has a 24-litre Adblue tank.

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. 

Very comfortable. 

For starters, as driver you have the ability in the Touareg cabin to set up your preferred position with almost-pinpoint accuracy via the 18-way powered seat (with memory) and the tilt- and telescopic-adjustable steering wheel/column. The steering wheel is even bloody heated!

The 3.0L V6 is a punchy unit and the Touareg manages to harness its 210kW/600Nm via the eight-speed auto with mostly considered control.

This is a reasonably dynamic vehicle – for a large SUV – and it manages to maintain a commanding stance on-road and on the move, while feeling nimble enough around town and on bush tracks – more about that later – to deftly avoid any criticisms about being a clumsy drive. 

It has a turning circle of 11.19m.

Acceleration is mostly okay from a standing start and while overtaking on the open road, although persistent turbo lag in those scenarios is off-putting. 

Cycle through the driving modes (eco, comfort, normal, sport, individual, off-road (auto and expert), and snow) – via a dial near the auto shifter – to further determine your sweet spot in terms of steer-ability, throttle response, engine performance, damping and steering, among other characteristics, to match your selection.

Speaking of steering, its all-wheel steering is pretty sharp as is and, as mentioned, the auto is generally on-point, but for an even more direct driving experience switch to manual mode and have fun with the paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

Adjustable air suspension with electronic adaptive damping control lends a welcome flexibility to ride and handling, which is generally well sorted. The rotary dial control to adjust the air suspension is to the left of the drive mode dial. 

If you notice an all-wheel drive system actually working then that’s probably not a good sign and if you notice the Touareg’s 4Motion kicking in then you’re more sober than I am: it’s a seamless application, capable of sending up to 70 percent of drive torque to the front axle, or up to 80 percent to the rear axle, depending on driving conditions. It is quietly effective during daily driving and seemingly masterful in traction-compromised circumstances of which we have had many due to recent heavy rainfalls; I’m talking about rain-slicked blacktop through to muddy gravel tracks – again, more about that soon. 

The Touareg’s tyres – Pirelli P Zero (285/45 R20) – are well suited to driving on sealed surfaces and well-maintained and dry gravel and dirt roads, but they’re far from ideal for anything more challenging than that.

It has a "weight and space saving inflatable spare wheel”.

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.

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.

The Touareg has a five year / unlimited kilometre warranty and that includes one year of 24-hour roadside assistance.

This variant requires a service every 12 months or 15,000 km, whichever comes first.

Assured Service Pricing applies to the first five standard scheduled services with listed prices of $539, $886, $539, $1306, and $539.

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.