Nissan Patrol LWB test drive since 2004 SUV

Professional

The Nissan Patrol test coincided with that incredible January thaw that broke all the temperature records in one hundred and twenty years. In the world of Patrol, there is also a thaw - the sixth generation of the legendary SUV was noticeably younger, but the professional roots remained the same.

Yes, yes, we have already introduced you to the updated Nissan Patrol after a trip to his European presentation. But it is one thing - half a day culturally ride the slopes of Vesuvius and quite another - slowly to test the novelty in the conditions of Russian reality. Yes, we have more off-road within the MKAD than in all of Europe combined! And if you drive to the region a little ... However, you yourself know everything.

In essence, Nissan Patrol is a representative of the glorious cohort of professional classic classic SUVs, very rare in our time. Well, remember serial all-wheel drive cars with a pair of indestructible unreasonable bridges, the Part-Time transmission, tightly closed with a special clip with hub couplings, the absence of electronics interfering in the control of ABS, and the presence of mechanical blocking of the rear axle differential. Something does not come to mind! Even the brutal Defender surrendered to the mercy of the anti -boom systems ... So our Patrol in the host of synthetic SUVs looks like a dinosaur in a herd of mammals.

And they chuckle at him, and overtake - but only until the smooth path will end. So under our wheels, asphalt stopped rustling. Now only sand, stones and blocking the rear differential. However, before the assault on the off -road, while everything is whole and clean, we will bypass Patrol, look under his belly, under the hood and crawl along the cabin. Both the body and the interior have decisively changed. Restyling affected all the body panel without exception, except for the roof. The most catchy of the new features were clearly selected extensors of wheel arches, a proprietary false radiator recess and original horseshoe-shaped blocks of headlight. The configuration of the swing fifth door was preserved, as well as the spare wheel suspended on it, is in its place. On two less noticeable body details, I would like to stop especially. Rather, not on the details, but on the elements of an external body kit: these are rapids and a front bumper. The former are interesting in that, being quite functional, they do not advocate the dimensions of the body and at the same time create sufficient protection when traveling in narrow places, say, in the forest. And the front bumper is marked by its modular structure.

The lower central part is made removable, which means, having damaged it, you do not have to change the element entirely. Like everything in Nissan Patrol, these solutions are simple and functional. If, in the case of the appearance, the designers managed to maintain continuity, then the interior design does not resemble the previous Patrol. Following the current trend towards the visual increase in the cost of the interior, Nissan resolutely discarded the stereotypes that make the Patrol salon more functional than stylish and rich. However, the designers approached the renewal of a window with a fair amount of healthy conservatism, which in itself is very good. What is appropriate on frivolous X-Trail and Primera is unacceptable for serious and in its own elegant Patrol. Therefore, in the cabin you will not find futurism and cheap materials, but there is no doubt to doubt the quality and balanced of style solutions. One thing is bad - cars with a built -in multifunctional display, which is the center of information and entertainment life on board the SUV, still do not receive us. The branded navigation of Bird-View is worth a lot, but, alas, there is no. Yes, and acoustics frankly do not pull on Hi-Fi, although the six-disc CD changer is great. However, the radio is best voiced ... Cassettes, but a tuner with a rather high degree of selectivity is not sensitive enough even for the Moscow Region. But the climatic installation with a simple and understandable control algorithm turned out to be simply a nuclear reactor, warming up the salon in a few minutes and completely excluding the fogging of the windows so characteristic of large SUV in the cold.

The driver’s and navigational chairs were a surprise. They look quite sports with obvious side support of the back and hips, and in fact it turned out that with ordinary straightforward movement they seem American, even more American than, for example, on Chevy Tahoe. However, it is worth going into a turn, how lateral support is detected - it just does not put it off unobtrusively and without need for the ribs ... In addition, judging by the size of the seats, they were sewn with the calculation of the Sumo team - to the best of the well -fed man in the prime of life and The down jacket will not be crowded. The driver’s landing is not too vertical, but the hood dimensions are visible well. There are enough adjustments to the chair on three planes, the steering column, however, can only change the slope. I heard complaints that the steering wheel blocks the readings of the devices, but no matter how he turned it down, I did not find a single position in which a section of any scale would not be visible.

There are three rows of seats in the cabin, but if the second is quite comfortable, especially for two passengers, then the third, as often happens, is children. You can fold both rows, and the back is cleaned up and to the side and literally hung up to the ceiling. The result is a rather voluminous cargo platform - alas, not even, with a step in the doors area. The loading height is not large, and the absence of a folding side completely reduces manipulations with baggage to the category of pleasant entertainment. By the way, Nissan calculated that up to 40 percent of Patrol, which are sold in the world, are three -door. The new generation will also receive a short version, but it will most likely not be supplied to Russia.

On the asphalt, Nissan Patrol can only please a lover of classic cars. Its heavy unreasonable bridges convey thorough tremors to the body, although small irregularities are not able to shake them. The energy intensity of the suspension deserves the highest points, but I do not advise anyone to repeat our experiments with an obstacle to a la lying policeman at different speeds. After 50 km/h, it throws the stern so that it becomes scary for the safety of a beer box lying in the trunk. Of course, we did not have it, but it could have been. Very quickly Patrol teaches discipline on slippery coating. It’s easy to provoke a skid, but then it’s hard to catch a heavy car. Fast turns is also not the strongest feature of this Nissan. On long, fast bends, the car does not demonstrate frightening rolls, but the irregularities falling under the wheels cause an attempt to embarking. Alas, there are no miracles - in handling the professional conqueror of off -road, far to SUVs with an independent suspension and rack steering. However, we must pay tribute to him - under ordinary driving in normal conditions, Patrol demonstrates a completely flexible character. As for braking and acceleration, this is all right. A six-cylinder in a 4.8-liter engine with a capacity of 245 liters. With. And the torque of 400 Nm easily accelerates Nissan to hundreds in a dozen seconds. In the city stream, you can stay in the forefront, but you will have to pay for this fuel consumption, reaching a level of 25 liters per hundred kilometers in the city mode. The maximum speed according to factory data is 190 km/h, but in fact, after 150 km/h, it is uncomfortable to go to Patrol.

A completely different matter is off -road. Although, of course, the standard Nissan Patrol has a lot of restrictions on off -road use. He is heavy, quite large, he has a long wheelbase, a rear overhang ... However, speaking of Nissan and off-road, one cannot help but recall his triumphal performances on the rally-marathons of Paris-Dakar, where he won his first victory back in 1984 year and just in the category of serial cars. Having decided to feel ourselves with Pescarolls, we got out to the sandy open quarry and gave ourselves and the car. You know, I have not received such pleasure for a long time, worn in ruts, hillocks and pits in the brown Desert. At times, all four wheels fell from the surface, but control, according to my sensations, was not lost for a second. The rigidly connected front bridge gave Nissan obviously insufficient rotation, so it was necessary to twist the steering wheel. The amplifier is very powerful, the steering wheel itself is covered with good skin and does not glide in the hands at all. The number of rulings of the steering wheel from the end of the end of about 3.4, but this does not even prevent the car from driving off -road. Our personal dakar ended with the fact that I flew with the right front wheel into the hole and was baptized. I had to put a spare wheel, which was completely simple. The hardest thing was to find what to put under a standard screw jack and remove the protective cover of the spare wheel, not torn. The hard cover is blazed in the grooves of the sidewalls, and in order to open it, you need to turn the outer part several degrees relative to the internal. And the surface is perfectly smooth, there is absolutely nothing to seize for, except for small stamping with sloping edges. In a word, half of the time that had gone to replace the wheel had to be spent on an unfortunate cover.

Surveying on stones and crossed terrain is not a problem if you feel well the dimensions of the car and the bonding limits of the wheels. The strict bond of bridges and blocking the rear differential allow you not to think about the probability of loss of any of the hard support wheels. Nevertheless, the disconnected rear suspension stabilizer in most cases is a useful option, and not only on a highly crossed area. Even just on a tuberous road, where an ordinary SUV is shaking and chatting, Patrol can go quite smoothly, it is worth turning off the stabilizer. It should only be remembered that upon reaching a speed of 20 km/h, it will become closed again. The disconnected stabilizer not only adds comfort on the off -road, but together with the lock helps not to get stuck on the slightly carrying surfaces, where uniform contact of the wheels with the ground is extremely important. Our car, shod in winter tires, willingly climbed the stones, while at least two wheels were able to row. The slowness with which the differential was blocked a little annoyed. Moving with constantly blocked backs on stones with snowballs of snow is an extra load on the transmission, so I had to turn it on immediately before a difficult obstacle. And sometimes he refused to click, he had to put the car back to a relatively even place, and there to activate the mechanism. In any case, during such a ride, the need for the navigator is obvious, and desired, but experienced. The heavy Patrol, confidently and gently passing through boulders and plates, creates a feeling of permissiveness from the driver, relaxes ... And there it is not far to the tugboat. However, this is also not a problem - all the eyes are in sight, and the back is completely mounted in the center of the bumper, even there is no need to climb under the car. In addition, they are large enough to climb and shackle of any size, and a rope.

At the end of the test day, the snow went and began to darken. This allowed us to evaluate the work of headlights and washers. I must say that the Nissan Patrol head light is constantly working in the neighboring mode, even when the rotary switch is in the OFF position. Perhaps this is not bad - and you are better visible, and you do not need to think about turning on the light, say, in the tunnel and in the underground parking. Presumably, this is a kind of specificity of configuration for gloomy northern countries like ours. The headlights are equipped with washer with a switch separate from the washers of the windshield - again, a very successful solution. I upset the review back in bad weather through the rear view mirror. The swing door and so does not improve it, and when it is thrown with dirt and you turn on the janitor, it turns out that it is able to clear only a small sector. As a result, you have to navigate the side mirrors, but most jeepers, of course, are familiar.

When preparing the Patrol update project, many owners of the previous versions of the SUV and potential buyers of the car were interviewed. Based on these data, changes were made to the design of the model. And, as you can see, the mechanical part suits almost everyone, it was required only to make adjustments to the appearance and design of the salon. It should also be noted that the Nissan Patrol is one of the few modern SUVs that professionals and various special services willingly use, by the nature of activity, dealing with difficult operating conditions of service cars. No wonder there are so many Patrol, working in hot spots and in the crisis areas of the planet, painted in the colors of the UN and UNESCO. At the same time, the SUV is quite convenient for everyday use. But on the off -road, which can be very serious, a person who has skills and off -road driving skills and experience should be controlled. If he does not have one, it is worth it to practice, and then this classic SUV will deliver you a lot of pleasant minutes.

HISTORY REFERENCE

The first roar of in-line gasoline six, coming from under the hood of Nissan Patrol, the world heard the world in 1981 in the country of the rising sun. Nissan SUVs produced to Patrol, but they received a sonorous name with the advent of cars of the 160th series, which after a couple of years gave way to the 260th. The most significant year in the fate of our hero was 1988, when the GR (Grand Raid) index was added to the name, and the suspension became a spring. These cars of the Y60 series are highly appreciated by enthusiasts of the brand, and they value both in the direct and figurative sense - today the cost of these used machines inspires respect. The survivability of Patrol GR is outside the rational, and if it weren’t for corrosion, which does not spare the body, they would also run. The penultimate generation, Y61, appeared in 1997. The motto under which it was created is evolution instead of the revolution. Two versions were offered: three- and five-door, three engine options, of which the most popular was a 2.9-liter, in-line six-cylinder turbodiesel with an intercooler with a capacity of 130 liters. With. A hundred cubes of volume were added to him by marketing, but in fact it was the same old familiar, painful, economical and hardy. In 2000, a 3.0-liter 4-cylinder turbodiesel appeared in the motor range. It was a much more modern 16-valve engine, powerful and quiet. It is his modernized version that stands on the Patrol of the current generation. With it, Nissan did not acquire rabid dynamics, but in terms of traction, reliability, simplicity of maintenance and average consumption, the 3.0-liter motor will not yield to competitors.

View from below

If you look under the car, you can see that the lowest points are not the crankcases of the differential bridges, but the transverse stability of the front suspension, a bizarre envelope of the bridge. Low -located transverse steering rod, the lack of protection of the distribution box forced to carefully behave on a serious off -road, although the overall impression of the inspection of the bottom of the SUV - everything is very powerful, reliable and solid. The road clearance is from 210 to 220 mm, depending on the type of transmission and engine. Say, a gasoline version with a machine gun has a clearance of 220 mm.

Classic and innovation

It should be immediately noted that constructively Nissan Patrol is practically no different from the cars of the previous generation: a staircase frame, a dependent spring suspension on the longitudinal levers and rods of a panar, a two -stage hand -up box and a connected front bridge. To date, Patrol is the only serial SUV with a disabled reptile stability stabilizer in the rear suspension, which allows you to go on off -road comfort. In addition, the rear inter -long differential is equipped with a rigid lock with pneumatic drive, which cannot but rejoice.

Text: Igor Gubar
 

A source: Magazine 4x4 [03/2005]