Launched in 1997, the Y61 Nissan Patrol endured a 19-year run in Australian showrooms before being discontinued in 2016 – but the off-roader is still available to buy in other markets.
The Y61 (GU) Nissan Patrol departed Australian showrooms in 2016, but the iconic 4×4 continues to be advertised in the United Arab Emirates.
Badged as the Patrol Safari (and Super Safari), the Y61 Patrol is built by Nissan’s Tangier factory in Morocco, for the Middle Eastern and African markets – roughly 25 years on from its global debut.
Known as the ‘GU’ Patrol in right-hand-drive markets such as Australia, the off-roader was launched in 1997 as a replacement for the Y60 (or GQ) series Patrol.
While its Y62 successor arrived in Australia in 2012 (despite being globally launched in 2010), the Y61 Nissan Patrol continued to be sold alongside its successor for two more years until the Japanese factory stopped sending examples Down Under.
Between 1998 and 2000, the GU Patrol accounted for more than 25 per cent of Nissan’s total Australian sales, with our region acting as the largest market in the world for the rugged four-wheel drive.
In the UAE, the Y61 Nissan Patrol is available to order with a choice of three body styles – a three-door short-wheelbase wagon, a five-door standard-wheelbase wagon, and a two-door ute known as the Patrol Pickup.
Powering each variant is Nissan’s 4.8-litre six-cylinder petrol engine (known as the TB48DE), developing 209kW and 421Nm in Pickup trim, while the three and five-door wagons receive an additional 30Nm (for 451Nm)
First introduced in 1987, the ‘TB48DE’ has become well known for its reliability, with some Middle Eastern tuners extracting more than 2000kW from the engine thanks to modifications such as turbochargers and stronger internal components.
The five-door Nissan Patrol Safari can be ordered with a choice of five-speed manual or automatic transmissions, sending power to all four wheels.
While the features of the Nissan Patrol Safari are closely aligned with the Australian-delivered Y61 Patrol, the Super Safari package offers extra equipment catered to off-road enthusiasts.
An electric winch is integrated into the Patrol Super Safari’s front bumper while a pintle hook is fitted to the car’s rear, which Nissan says is “useful for towing disabled vehicles”.
The flagship Nissan Patrol Super Safari variant is also fitted with a set of alloy wheels that feature a similar design to those found on the current Nissan Navara ST-X dual-cab ute in Australia.
Prices for the Nissan Patrol Pickup start from AED145,950 ($AU57,600) and AED152,250 ($AU60,100) plus on-road costs for the manual and automatic, respectively.
The Nissan Patrol Safari starts at AED155,000 ($AU61,200), ranging up to AED208,000 ($AU82,150) for the flagship Super Safari.
In Australia, the Y61 Nissan Patrol’s local run ended with the ‘Legend Edition’ in 2016.
The Nissan Patrol Legend Edition was sold for $57,990 drive-away, powered by a 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel ‘ZD30DDTi’ engine and a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions.
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