Nissan Patrol 2004 review

It's about 30 minutes off the road to York but could be a thousand kilometres away – such is the feeling of isolation.

On the top of the hill, where authorities have set up a neat little picnic area with tables, chairs and toilets set in zones marked by stones, the view sweeps over an ocean of trees atop rolling hills.

The track is actually quite rough, over rocks and water-eroded inclines, through a natural spring with a muddy base that clawed at the Patrol's tyres, and past small areas where bushfires had blackened the earth.

It was a good test for Nissan's latest Patrol, the big 4WD that ostensibly competes with the Toyota Land Cruiser, even though you'd be hard pressed to pick this as much different from the outgoing model.

Nissan can be quite explosive when it comes to styling, such as the latest Maxima and the 350Z, but designers on its workhorses use cereal boxes as templates.

The new Patrol, identified primarily by the big chrome grille and giant red tail lights despite every body panel being changed, retains the simplicity of old but with a brighter interior.

The cabin is prettier, the seats more comfortable, there's more space for personal gear and the dashboard has excellent ergonomics and welcome simplicity.

But the oily bits are pretty much the same as before.

That's good in the sense that they are well-sorted and reliable, poor because there's a certain crudeness to their delivery.

The 3-litre turbo-diesel in the ST-L tested is a strong mill that also sees duty, without an intercooler, in the Nissan Navara ute.

In the ute, the four-cylinder engine gives sterling performance. In the Patrol, it has confidence-sapping weakness at low revs – revs where diesel engines are supposed to thrive.

The bulk of the reason is just that – bulk. At 2.4-tonnes without occupants, the Patrol is a porker.

But get the engine to spin above 1500rpm, preferably above 2000rpm, and it sings. The fuel economy is brilliant – 11-litres/100km is damn good, especially from the oilfield-sized tank.

The five-speed manual gearbox has slow changes but feels indestructible.

On the gravel tracks the suspension is very compliant and takes a lot of beating.

On smooth bitumen the ride is quiet and smooth but where the asphalt is rough, the ancient live axle front and rear suspension reacts by shaking the steering wheel and attempting to self-steer.

This, as I indicated before, is the price of such strength.

It is an admirable beast but I reckon the engine could do with more oomph for duties such as caravan towing.

Here the petrol-engine 4.8 is a better, though thirstier, alternative.