Why you chose Nissan

[Tinus lotz]

o yes
What I would like to ad is that I am n PATROL fan so I chose PATROL and not nissan ,as I understand you have got a pathfinder at the moment ??????
it is not Patrol different thing .
the navara, hardbody ,x trail pathfinder ect are all there but does not even come close to the PATROL.
herrie told us on a other place that they are build in the truck factory so yes I chose PATROL

[dieselfan]

The replies! I thought the Def / Patrol would get a faster response

For low range capable cars I have driven
- Suzuki 1300, Sani, HB, D3, Pathy, LC 105 (I think), Hilux, Toureg, Tata. The LC was VERY comfortable on corrugated roads and offroad. It was owned by Barloworld and was abused BIGtime - not by me.

I've NEVER driven a Patrol

I'm not looking to buy new, not enough money was looking in the 3-400k mark. Still my wife is not impressed at buying ANOTHER 4x4 which is meant to be the "perfect" one unless it actually is. All my cars are paid off and that too is important / lekker.

The pathy does have way more features, more modern and better packing arrangements (Thanks Renault) but recently my LR has stopped engaging and thats where the whole Patrol thing has come up. Nissan is replacing all the items under warranty but I HATE warranty vehicles, ie once out of warranty you have to sell the house to afford the repairs. Nissan say I'm only the 2nd person in the country to have a lowrange solenoid fail, but I'm not too happy either way.

How is the paint work on the Patrol? How resistant to rattles - HONESTLY? My pathy has a couple on the doors

[OB1]

Correct me if I am wrong, but in SA Nissans are a little bit of a warranty car. Not saying it will disentigrate once warranty expire, it has a good reliability record forged over decades.

What I mean is there are no after dealer independant places to look after them. I see a gap in the market, people. Why does someone not start a buisness with a few good mechanics, have a container full of interesting Patrol stuff unloaded here every month from Australia? Then also stock the Pathfinder/Navara/Hardbody/Xtrail. The product range is certainly big enough. What am I missing

[dieselfan]

OB1 spares from OZ would be good idea, eg my running boards from Nissan SA quoted at R26 000 for the set. Online I ordered them as GENUINE parts landed with shipping etc delivered to my office...R1900. 26k vs 2!

[Mrowka]

The pathy does have way more features, more modern and better packing arrangements (Thanks Renault) but recently my LR has stopped engaging and thats where the whole Patrol thing has come up. Nissan is replacing all the items under warranty but I HATE warranty vehicles, ie once out of warranty you have to sell the house to afford the repairs. Nissan say I'm only the 2nd person in the country to have a lowrange solenoid fail, but I'm not too happy either way.

How is the paint work on the Patrol? How resistant to rattles - HONESTLY? My pathy has a couple on the doors

What is this "low range solenoid" of which you speak? Sounds like something undesirable.

My Patrol rattles some, it probably rattled some when it was brand-new. Just as it was probably never a very comfortable vehicle, but that is not what is built for.

[Peter Connan]

Dieselfan, I still say, borrow a Patrol and drive it. It is the only way to appreciate it.

My 1996 has 250k km and a rollover behind it's back, and the only rattles are the rear door which squeeks at times but can be sorted with a bit of grease every once in a while, and the stuff on the roofrack.

[dieselfan]

Mrowka - when I select low range it doesn't engage - I have a button like 90% of modern 4x4s, there's a solenoid that should pull in and engage the low range. Nissan was quoted R24000 by a gearbox place to replace the solenoid, new transfer case which comes with a new solenoid is R19000 so I told em to just replace it. They can't tell me HOW it happened only that it's rare. Then again it took them a week to conclude it was faulty took me 5 seconds.

Well I'm hoping to come to the 60th bash, so I can go for spin all my 4x4ing buddies have either left the country or have too "fancy" 4x4's so don't do many trails. A few years ago I wasn't ready for a Patrol, now I got butterflies and struggle to sleep. That 4.8 engine yesterday sounded lovely. I might just get rid of my petrol revving CD I play in my diesel occasionally ...

Still haven't seen a Patrol do that big hill at Moegatle Youtube has lots of D3 and other 4x4s but not much on Patrols apart from them Arab madmen. The guys at work couldn't believe the Patrol VS Lambo or the 1500hp one.

[Tinus lotz]

Again......just buy one!!!!!

[Gerrit Loubser]

...more space and ground clearance than the pajero.

Tinus, we own a 2003 Pajero DiD LWB (Generation 3) in addition to the Patrol. While the Patrol might have more space than the older ladder frame equipped Pajeros (Generation 1 and 2), it is not larger inside than the DiD LWB. The Generation 3 Pajero has unitary construction and allround idependent suspension and this means that space can be utilised in ways that are not possible with a ladder frame. Our Paj is ridiculously roomy inside.

Although our Gen 3 Paj has surprisingly good off-road abilities (I have seen a friend of mine go wide eyed as I followed his rear diff lcoked Defender over rather serious obstacles), the Patrol will comprehensively whip its behind in the rough stuff. On tar or dirt roads the situation is the reverse, though. The Patrol is also less likely to suffer cosmetic damage in the rough; although the Paj is mechanically tough, it has lots of low slung tupperware just waiting to be gouged by hidden rocks and such.

[Herrie]

My wife also has the same Pajero as Gerrit and last year we went to Kiara Lodge on the back roads. My sons were driving the Pajero end we were in the Patrol. The Pajero could not keep up with the Patrol because of the bad road surface. Comming back my eldest son decided to rather go back on the N3 because the Pajero was very uncomfortable on the bad road. My younger son - that was driving the Pajero to Kiara - joined us in the Patrol. When we got back to Villiers my son wanted to know why I took a different route because he thought I missed all the potholes and could not believe the Patrol drove so smoothly on that road.