The current Nissan Patrol just had its best month in sales since its launch in January 2013.
Nissan has also already sold more Patrols so far this year than in any year since the Y62’s launch.
The company sold 440 examples of its V8 leviathan in November and is now sitting at 2484 sales year-to-date.
That means the Patrol performed 91.3 per cent better than in November 2019, while its sales for the year are tracking 39.4 per cent higher.
For comparison, Nissan sold 1951 Patrols last year and 1259 the year before.
It received a substantial exterior refresh late last year which also added a suite of active safety technology, though we missed out on the overhauled interior in left-hand drive models.
Its best year prior to 2020 was its debut year, where Nissan posted 2364 sales. That figure, however, included the older Y61 wagon that was sold alongside the Y62 until 2016.
It’s a stellar performance for the SUV, particularly considering there’s no diesel option and the pandemic has dampened new car sales.
The surge in domestic travel due to our closed borders may have helped the rugged Patrol, however, as more Australians head on road trips and caravan sales have climbed.
Asked why the Patrol is setting sales records, a Nissan spokesperson said, “There are three key reasons why,”
“Australians are loving the V8 engine in that vehicle and it’s got an amazing driving experience. Australians are obviously touring more at home this year, and what better way to tow a boat or caravan.
“And we’re basically selling every single car that we have. And word-of-mouth is spreading.”
The Patrol still lives in the shadow of the Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series, of which 1981 examples were sold in November and 12,843 have left dealers so far this year. However, the LandCruiser’s sales are essentially flat compared to 2019.
The LandCruiser’s superior sales performance affords it a much higher market share than the Patrol, with the latter’s 16.2 per cent share year-to-date paling against the LandCruiser’s 83.8 per cent. There are no other vehicles in the Upper Large SUV segment.
While the Toyota is available exclusively with a 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 producing 200kW of power and 650Nm of torque, the Patrol packs a 5.6-litre naturally-aspirated petrol V8 with 298kW of power and 560Nm of torque.
Naturally, the Toyota is more thrifty – it consumes 9.5L/100km on the combined cycle against the Nissan’s 14.4L/100km.
The Patrol has an ace up its sleeve: value. The range starts at $77,760 before on-road costs for the eight-seat Ti, or around $3000 cheaper than the base LandCruiser GX which has only five seats and lacks any active safety technology.
To get a LandCruiser 200 Series with a comparable active safety technology suite to the base Patrol Ti, you’ll need to spend over $120,000 on a LandCruiser Sahara.
The first redesigned LandCruiser in over 13 years is set to be revealed next year, though the new 300 Series could well wear a higher price tag. It’ll also lose its turbo-diesel V8 engine in favour of turbocharged and hybrid petrol 3.5-litre V6 engines and a new 3.3-litre turbo-diesel V6.
