Advise needed - Patrol Y62

[Zulfikhar Naiyar]

Hi Experts,

I was wondering if I could get some right guidance in terms of using Patrol Y62 for off-roading. 

As a background to this, I'd recently joined this club and found out my AWD (2015 KIA Sorento) was not a capable off-roader. I was lucky to join one of the Absolute Newbie drives with a friend and rightly understood why so. Wouldn't have made past few climbs itself 😅

I've progressed further from it and narrowed down on investing on a Patrol - my requirement is a capable off-roader and a spacious 7 seater family vehicle. And I personally love the Patrol.

Have gone through quite a bit of advices in the forums here on how the members have done some standard mods on the bumpers and skid plates.

 

I'm looking at Patrols of around 2011-2014 with my budget of 55-65k. I could find some vehicles of similar models run around 150k kms more or less. Is this a good and reasonable option to proceed? Kindly advise.

Also, I'm in favor of LE. However, is SE a good option given the similar pricing?

Or even if there are some other options I could consider here? Given my budget and requirements 😵

 

@Frederic hope to catch you soon on some of the drives and would love to hear from you as well.  

Thanks in advance.

[Rawad]

Hi @ZULFIKHAR NAIYAR

Go for a white LE with 18 inch wheels for the following reasons

1- you will need each and every hp and torque you can squeeze out of the LE VK56VD engine. This is a heavy beast and its power/weight ratio isn't the best

2- you need 18 inch wheels to maximise the tiers sidewall. So at least start with the OEM ones that come with LE version. My tiers recommendation is 275/70R18 that comes around the same diameter as the stock ones

3- the Nissan Patrol is on every corner, and hence the scrap market is full of spare parts. But 99% are white cars. So if you're ok with a white color, it will save you some painting jobs

4- LE comes with conventional suspension system (springs, dampers, and sway bars). Its easier to repair or modify than the HBMC that comes with Titanium and Platinum versions

The number of KMs isn't really indicative for this car as much as how well its previous owner took care of it. If you can find a GCC one with agency service history then your good I believe. Nevertheless, this beast isn't gonna be easy on the pockets when it comes for mechanical repairs. On the bright side, again, lots and lots of 2nd hand spare parts

If you get the LE version, the bumpers can survive newbie and fewbie drives. But you will need to figure them out afterwards. Tiers, skid plates and clearance, other than that, you wont need any mod unless you wanna go dunes jumping

I personally drive a 2019 Patrol and its a blast once you figure out how to control 3 tons on sand

[Frederic]

Combining a daily driver / family car and weekend offroader is possible with the Patrol Y62. However considering the fact this will also mean your bumpers will need to be cut/trimmed, and some mods will be needed, perhaps another option would be to buy a good family 7-seater SUV, and buy a separate weekend offroad toy that you can bash around without too much heartpain.

I have a regular commuter car that takes me to work, is not stuffed with sand from the weekend drive, consumes a lot less on road, and is low on maintenance. On the weekend i take out my little Pajero and then the adventure starts. 

Just think about it.

 

[sertac]

I personally dont think you can find a nice condition Patrol on that price range. You can get a Pathfinder 4.0 very low km 2014-2015 model. It will come under your budget. If you make a 2 inc lift and small trim on front bumper you will have an amazing off road and daily car.  

[Cha]

58 minutes ago, sertac said:

I personally dont think you can find a nice condition Patrol on that price range. You can get a Pathfinder 4.0 very low km 2014-2015 model. It will come under your budget. If you make a 2 inc lift and small trim on front bumper you will have an amazing off road and daily car.  

that's exactly what I did lol😄. bumper trim, 2 inch lift, cheap yet powerful VQ40DE.

 

I will give you some pros & cons as a pathfinder (R51) owner for half a decade:

Pro:

1. Really powerful engine, and you can push the rpm to red zone without worrying about auto upshifting

2. cheap price but reliable in its category

3. the models from 2013-2015(6) are made in Spain, I dont see overheating issue even the Spanish removed the extra transmission cooler. (Mine is 2010, made in US, I have both coolant & transmission overheating issue during summer.)

4. full independent suspension, comfortable on road, and the highway handling is remarkable compare to other rivals

5. Second & third rows can be put down completely, It's all I needed during house shifting

Cons: 

1. the 2013-2015(6) ones only come with basic option, no cruise control, no center screen, and no all other buttons, it feels like a utility car.

2. Second & third rows are tight, Nissan has squeezed the second row space to accommodate third row

3. Stock ground clearance isn't enough, you probably will need 1.5-2 inch lift to be more comfortable driving in bushy terrain.

4. full independent suspension + no rear/front diff lock = less articulation, and more difficult to get yourself out once you have 1 wheel front and 1 wheel rear are airborne.

5. Power to weight ratio 122hp/ton, a bare passing score, but enough to get you on top the hills, I haven't failed any straight hill climbing yet, but its weight is indeed heavy

 

@ZULFIKHAR NAIYAR

Honestly if you are into Patrol, you can find some 320 HP Patrols with your budget, early y62 come with 2 engine trans options, 320HP (VK56DE)+5AT and 400HP(VK56VD, mentioned by Rawad)+7AT. Fuel efficiency & offroadability are similar, the only (probably) differences are power and ride comfort.

I recently have witnessed a 2010 320HP Patrol sold at 4X,XXX AED (below actual market price), with just 100k mileage, incredible condition, so dont give up just yet.

Edited December 27, 2021 by Zixuan Huang - Charlie

[Humayun Ghias]

I'm also a patrol user and I drove it stock until the intermediate level and I love it. If your budget allows, having a dedicated off-road vehicle might be better. In my case it was not possible. 

I trimmed the rear bumper, got 18inch rims so far. Still need the bash plate though. 

[Zulfikhar Naiyar]

Thank you all for the valuable inputs  Will keep in mind..

4 hours ago, Zixuan Huang - Charlie said:

 

@ZULFIKHAR NAIYAR

Honestly if you are into Patrol, you can find some 320 HP Patrols with your budget, early y62 come with 2 engine trans options, 320HP (VK56DE)+5AT and 400HP(VK56VD, mentioned by Rawad)+7AT. Fuel efficiency & offroadability are similar, the only (probably) differences are power and ride comfort.

I recently have witnessed a 2010 320HP Patrol sold at 4X,XXX AED (below actual market price), with just 100k mileage, incredible condition, so dont give up just yet.

@Zixuan Huang - Charlie Lovely, will keep looking

 

6 hours ago, Rawad said:

Hi @ZULFIKHAR NAIYAR

Go for a white LE with 18 inch wheels for the following reasons

1- you will need each and every hp and torque you can squeeze out of the LE VK56VD engine. This is a heavy beast and its power/weight ratio isn't the best

2- you need 18 inch wheels to maximise the tiers sidewall. So at least start with the OEM ones that come with LE version. My tiers recommendation is 275/70R18 that comes around the same diameter as the stock ones

3- the Nissan Patrol is on every corner, and hence the scrap market is full of spare parts. But 99% are white cars. So if you're ok with a white color, it will save you some painting jobs

4- LE comes with conventional suspension system (springs, dampers, and sway bars). Its easier to repair or modify than the HBMC that comes with Titanium and Platinum versions

The number of KMs isn't really indicative for this car as much as how well its previous owner took care of it. If you can find a GCC one with agency service history then your good I believe. Nevertheless, this beast isn't gonna be easy on the pockets when it comes for mechanical repairs. On the bright side, again, lots and lots of 2nd hand spare parts

If you get the LE version, the bumpers can survive newbie and fewbie drives. But you will need to figure them out afterwards. Tiers, skid plates and clearance, other than that, you wont need any mod unless you wanna go dunes jumping

I personally drive a 2019 Patrol and its a blast once you figure out how to control 3 tons on sand

Thanks @Rawad, its a great explanation and love what you've done with your ride ❤️