2025 Nissan Patrol Ti-L review

There’s a newNissan Patrol – well, kind of.

Many of you will remember the all-new Y63-generation Patrol was revealed last year to much fanfare, but it won’t be available to Aussies until late 2026. So, Nissan Australia has got to work on the venerable Y62 Patrol to keep it fresh for now.

The updated MY25 Nissan Patrol range has landed in Australia, packing a substantial set of upgrades despite looking just about identical to the MY24 range on the outside.

Yes, it’s all about the cabin. The US-market interior of the facelifted Nissan Armada – as the Patrol is badged in North America – has finally made it to Australia’s right-hand drive Patrol.

That means factory wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a colour driver’s information cluster. Rejoice! It also sees the return of a surround-view camera system and availability of Bose premium audio.

Smaller changes include new interior trims and upholsteries, and there’s a fresh Desert Red Metallic exterior paint option for the Ti and Ti-L.

Is this update sufficient enough to keep the Patrol fresh against the likes of the Toyota LandCruiser and other large off-road SUVs until the next-gen model arrives late next year? We joined the local media launch in Victoria to find out.

How much does the Nissan Patrol cost?

Prices are up across the range, but not by much when you consider the upgrades and added spec levels here.

To put things into perspective, the LandCruiser 300 Series starts at $97,990 before on-road costs after recent MY25 running changes – and that’s for the cloth-trimmed, steel-wheeled GX range-opener.

You could logically cross-shop the Patrol against a number of smaller seven-seat 4WD competitors, too. The top-shelf Ford Everest Platinum is an $81,200 proposition before on-road costs, and the Toyota Prado is priced at $92,700 plus on-roads in Altitude specification, or $99,990 before on-roads in flagship Kakadu trim.

At the other end of the spectrum, the only other model in the same official ‘Upper Large SUV under $120k’ VFACTS sales segment as the Patrol is the Land Rover Discovery, which currently starts from $114,921 before on-roads.

And there’s also the hardcore Ineos Grenadier Station Wagon, which is only a five-seater and starts from $105,000.

To see how the Nissan Patrol lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the Nissan Patrol like on the inside?

Finally, a modern cabin.

For 2025, the Australian-market Patrol gets the heavily revised interior that debuted with the US-market Armada facelift way back in 2021 – leaving our RHD market to the revised exterior with the old interior.

Key interior changes now include a new centre stack with a tablet-style 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen running Nissan’s current infotainment software, and a new instrument cluster that finally gets a colour supervision display with multiple pages including a digital speedometer readout for the first time.

This also sees the wireless smartphone charger get relocated to a shelf hidden within the dashboard, and a revised centre console up front with a new gearshifter, an infotainment controller, and a relocated drive mode selector.

New trims and upholsteries have been applied throughout, with eye-catching stitching and quilting details to go with the new woodgrain trim elements. Non-Warrior variants are available with a new Chestnut Brown leather-accented interior.

While a lot of these changes have been a long time coming, it’s incredible just how much of a difference they make. The interior of the Y62 Patrol – which dates back to early last decade – now feels modern even relative to its much newer competitors.

Nissan’s display tech is actually quite good in its latest iteration, and the changes also bring back handy features like a surround-view camera with Moving Object Detection, as well as a 13-speaker Bose premium audio system in the Ti-L.

Those familiar with the touchscreens in the current X-Trail and Qashqai will find the Patrol’s unit near identical. The display offers good resolution and relatively quick load times, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are here and work well too – at least in the case of my iPhone 16 Pro Max.

I also like the look and feel of the revised climate control pod, which is higher on the dashboard, and while the glossy bank of switchgear is fingerprint-prone, it’s clear and easy to use while also looking attractive.

Storage up front is pretty good, with a phone cubby inclusive of wireless charging integrated into the dash, a cooled console box in the Ti-L which is pretty deep, lidded cupholders between the front seats and decent door bins with bottle holders. There’s also a big glovebox ahead of the front passenger.

Moving into the second row, there’s heaps of space for families with two or more children who are likely to grow into lanky teenagers, and they’re well catered for with separate climate controls, USB and 12V power outlets, a fold-down centre armrest with cupholders, as well as bottle holders in the rear doors.

Unlike high-spec versions of some rivals, however, there aren’t heated rear seats to go with the heated and ventilated units up front, and the small sunroof on the Ti-L doesn’t extend past the front row.

Kiddies are catered for with ISOFIX anchor points on the outboard rear seats, and there are top-tether points across the backs of all three second-row positions, as well as the driver’s side seat in the third row.

Speaking of, the Patrol’s third row is disappointing given the vehicle’s sheer size. The fixed second-row seat bases don’t allow you to open up much legroom, and the floor is very high – it’s remains very much a kids-only area.

Nissan doesn’t quote an official boot capacity for the Patrol range, but we can attest to its sheer size with the third row folded, as well as the second. It’s a long, tall and wide load bay, though the rear rows of seating don’t quite fold flat.

There’s a full-size spare wheel mounted under the rear of the vehicle, like all proper off-roaders should have .

*Boot capacity not quoted by Nissan Australia

To see how the Nissan Patrol lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

The Patrol retains its lusty naturally aspirated V8 for now, at least until the Y63 generation introduces a new twin-turbo petrol V6 in its place.

To see how the Nissan Patrol lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Nissan Patrol drive?

Since most of the real updates have been made on the inside, nothing about the Patrol’s on-road behaviour has changed.

It’s still a rumbling V8 beast, and it’s still massive. Surprisingly, it’s actually not bad to drive over a decade after its release, and its revamped cabin makes it an even nicer place to spend time in on the open road.

We drove all variants at the launch, though we spent the most time in the high-spec Ti-L and the hardcore Warrior, including both on road and off.

The 5.6-litre bent eight is a gem, for both its still-beefy outputs as well as its silky smooth and brassy delivery. There’s plenty of punch down low yet it loves to rev, and when you oblige it makes a lovely sound – amplified further in the freer-breathing Warrior with its side-exit exhaust outlets, which aren’t too far from your right ear.

Despite its age and lack of air suspension or adjustable damping, the Patrol rides with aplomb and gives off a ‘King of the Road’ kinda feel behind the wheel. It’s like driving a leather- and wood-lined palace on wheels.

General refinement is also very good, with impressive levels of insulation from road and wind noise. The Warrior transmits a little more tyre noise into the cabin with its chunkier all-terrain rubber, but it’s far from unrefined.

That tall, sure-footed and traditional off-road SUV feel also translates to handling, which is fine for the Patrol’s size and age, but falls short of more road-focused large and upper larger SUVs.

However, the locally developed Warrior’s tweaked Hydraulic Body Motion Control (HBMC) system, which comprises cross-wheel fluid lines instead of anti-roll bars, does do a great job of minimising body roll and maximising road holding.

Steering feel is quite light and almost vague, but actual steering response from the front-end is relatively direct and quick for a vehicle this size.

Ladder-frame rivals like the LandCruiser 300 Series have more direct steering, and road-biased large SUVs like the Hyundai Palisade and Audi Q7 feel infinitely more car-like by comparison. But they won’t go off-road like the Patrol can.

Speaking of, we also took the Patrol off the bitumen and through a series of off-road obstacles at the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) proving ground near Anglesea on Victoria’s surf coast, where the Patrol impressed as much as it always has.

Plenty of ground clearance (273mm for the Ti-L; 323mm for the Warrior) and equally generous approach and departure angles (no breakover angle is quoted) despite the Ti-L’s less off-road friendly “premium bumper”, plus a highly capable four-wheel drive system with low-range transfer case make this big and heavy SUV quite the off-road monster.

Obstacles included moguls, muddy ruts, hill climbs, and even a 600mm ‘bomb hole’ water crossing. The Patrol barely broke a sweat on any of the challenges – though the Ti-L’s side steps did touch down but only with wrong approach.

None of this is news though, given the trusty Y62 formula hasn’t changed – at least mechanically – for over a decade.

Despite the tech changes, perhaps the Y62 Patrol’s biggest shortfall alongside competitors is its driver assistance suite, which isn’t as sophisticated as something like a LandCruiser 300 or Discovery.

The adaptive cruise works okay, and now there’s an actual readout for the set speed via the new colour supervision cluster. Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert also work fine, but the lane support systems (departure and assist) feel underdone and don’t do much to keep this big beast from drifting across lines.

The surround-view camera is fine without having the best resolution, but it’s good to see it return after the local infotainment solution for MY24 saw it removed from the local spec. Moving Object Detection, which is effectively blind-spot monitoring for carparks when the camera is activated, also is handy to have.

Nissan also fits a high-definition digital rear-view mirror to the Patrol Ti-L, which while good in concept when the car is full of people and stuff, has limited range of view given the Patrol’s height and running clearance.

To see how the Nissan Patrol lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

The three-grade Patrol lineup remains the same for MY25, with some specification changes.

2025 Nissan Patrol Ti equipment highlights:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Automatic LED headlights
• LED fog lights
• Heated, power-folding exterior mirrors
• Leather-accented upholstery
• 10-way power driver’s seat
• 8-way power passenger seat
• Dual-zone climate control
• 7.0-inch driver display (NEW)
• Off-road monitor (NEW)
• 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment (NEW)
• Wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
• 1 x front USB-A outlet
• 1 x front USB-C outlet
• Wireless phone charger
• 6-speaker sound system
• Rear Helical limited-slip differential
• Hill descent control

Patrol Ti-L adds:

• ‘Premium’ bumper with unique grille
• Power sunroof
• Power tailgate
• Puddle lights
• Roof rails
• 13-speaker Bose premium audio (NEW)
• Centre console cool box
• Digital rear-view mirror
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Memory for driver’s seat, mirrors and steering column position
• Power tilt, telescopic steering column adjustment

Patrol Warrior adds – over Ti:

• 18-inch wheels
• All-terrain tyres
• Bi-modal side-exit exhaust
• Reworked Hydraulic Body Motion Control
• Warrior front bumper and bash plate
• Black fender flares, mirror caps, grille
• 2 x rear recovery points
• Unique rear bumper with black valance panel
• Alcantara door and dash inlay
• High-gloss black interior trim

To see how the Nissan Patrol lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the Nissan Patrol safe?

The current Nissan Patrol has never been tested by safety authority ANCAP.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• Adaptive cruise control
• Autonomous emergency braking
• Blind-spot assist
• Lane-keep assist
• Parking sensors – front, rear
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Surround-view cameras
  • incl. Moving Object Detection
• Tyre pressure monitoring

To see how the Nissan Patrol lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the Nissan Patrol cost to run?

The MY25 Nissan Patrol is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which can be extended to up to 10 years or 300,000km (whichever comes first) provided the vehicle is serviced on time by a Nissan dealer.

Nissan offers capped prices for the first five services, setting buyers back $499 each or $2495 across the term. This is a reduction on the previous $3019 cost for the first five services.

To see how the Nissan Patrol lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the Nissan Patrol

This old dog has some new tricks up its sleeve.

The fresh interior goes a long way to bridging the gap between Patrol generations, and keeps the Y62 modern enough for the next 18 months while we wait for the next chapter of the legendary off-roader’s story.

Nissan’s local boss is forecasting roughly 8000 sales for the Y62’s final year of production – keeping in mind we’re one of the last markets still receiving the model – so while it won’t set another all-time sales record Down Under, there should be plenty to go round for those who want an example of the final V8 Patrol.

The launch of the updated MY25 Patrol also coincides with the introduction Nissan Australia’s new 10-year warranty and revised capped-price servicing program, meaning new Patrol owners will receive one of the longest and most comprehensive aftersales support programs out there, with a warranty duration that’s double that of Toyota’s and Land Rover’s.

It’s a bit old and has its flaws, but if you want a big and capable SUV to cart the family and their friends around, and/or need to tow big loads without compromise – whether it’s between capital cities or across the Simpson – the Nissan Patrol is now more modern and tech-laden than it has ever been, and remains great value for money relative to the competition.

Interested in buying a Nissan Patrol? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here

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