Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Hi Guys, I am looking for a 4.8 GL (manual) but it seems like they are quite scarce. Preferably less than 100 000km on the clock and price range of up to 400k max. If you can keep your eyes and ears out there, it would help a lot.
Love all the extra features of the GRX but unfortunately I tried to get my head to go for an auto, but even with all that effort I'm still preferring the manual.

Ps. I've been looking around for a suitable GL for a bit more than a month now - I'm gonna give it a try for another month or so - otherwise I will have to seriously consider the GRX.

Like yourself I believed manual is the 'best' but after buying the GRX I will never go back. You never have to worry if you are in the right gear for an obstacle and you always have enough power at hand.

For what its worth, I agree with David. I also had a manual 4.5 GRX, now a 4.8 GRX tiptronic. I was also circumspect about the auto feature, and this mainly due to legacy beliefs and seeing many auto's get stuck in my youth. Forget all that now...!
Although it served me well, I will never go back to manual on my Trol again.

Agree with David and Chris ... my auto 4.8 GRX has impressed me no end ... its auto gearbox is great and it just burbles over obstacles ... no matter what :)

My concern is all the offroad 4x4 experience I gained over the years is/was with a manual and I am quite confident to tackle most things with the manual - it feels as if I am going a step back and have to start all over again to learn and get accustomed to drive an auto - especially in tight/sticky situations (ex. like Namib dunes, Van Zylspass, steep descends (under compression) .............) - I do most trips on my own and don't want a situation I am not confident with - or have to tackle a difficult situation without real confidence .... like I have with the manual ..... or am I crazy ??? To be honest I have never driven an auto 4x4 offroad so maybe I'm totally bias and don't know what I'm talking about ??

Peter Vee - I see on your profile that you do Overlanding and have a lot of experience in this regard - would you say that in the examples mentioned above the auto will outperform the manual .... or are they more or less on an equal basis ?

I have owned 4x4s with both rather simple and more sophisticated autoboxes and now have the manual Patrol. In my opinion it is not simple to decide which configuration has the upper hand. I really like the autoboxes in the sand. Some automatics are prone to overheating in deep sand, but I have never had issues with this. In rock crawling type situations the autoboxes have the advantage of being much more difficult to stall on a steep climb (it is not impossible, though), but they are at a distinct disadvantage when descending steep hills. They also tend to lurch when climbing over large boulders or similar obstacles. Another issue to consider is what to do when the battery is flat and there is no-one to jump start from with an auto...

What it mostly boils down to is that one must get to know your vehicle, its limitations, strengths and how it responds in different situations. With a manual transmission one has to learn how to safely stall on a climb and recover, how to change gears rapidly in the dunes and select the correct gear for an obstacle. With an auto one needs to learn to feather the brakes on a descent (despite what the know-it-all instructor told you when you went for the free 4x4 course that came with your Jeep Cherokee or whatever ) in such a way that the wheels don't lock or learn to drive through the brakes (left foot braking). Even an auto does not always select the right gear at the right time; sometimes one has to lock it in a particular gear to prevent an up-shift at an inopportune moment.

Jan -Dup there is a very nice 2004 GRX ( new spec ) with only 58000km on the clock on Autotrader,

Gerrit I have seen Donald going down a very very steep hill at Eshowe 4x4 trip by locking his GRX into 1st gear low range and I must admit I was very surprised with GRX , I really thought it was going to run away but the engine braking was really exceptional.

Jan - Dup my next Patrol will be a 4.8 GRX.

Koop nou jou lorrie en kom saam 3 Provinces toe on the 23rd September

Shalom

Yes Jules, with the scareceness of the 4.8 GL it seems like I will have no other option than to go for the GRX. Maybe I must try to arrange a test drive in a GRX to get a feel for what the tiptronic is capable of. Wie weet wat dan kan gebeur ?

But please still keep a lookout for a 4.8 GL - I do not give up that easily - this will definately still be my first choice - is there anyone on this site that have a 4.8 GL or know someone who has one ?

Hallo Jan-Dup

Ja ek ken iemand met 'n 4.8GL !

Ek het 'n 2007 met 64 000 km op en wat 'n plesier! Ek is maar nog ou skool en soek so min as moontlik elektronika ens.
Al wat elektries is aan die GL is die ECU (engine management), elektriese ruite en natuurlik die airbags ens.
Maar die res is manual! Die ratkas is 'n absolute plesier vir sleep! Ons is 'n gesin van 5 (ek en 4 vroumense!!!) en met die Imagine Trailvan agteraan trek ons lekker offroad rond. Het nou teruggekom van Gobabis met die trailer en so 250kg se vleis en met sy padbande op was die ratverhoudinge puik vir sleep teen so 130 km/h (GPS snelheid).
Met sterk wind van voor en gelaai het ons so tussen 4 en 5 km/l gekry teen daardie spoed.

En met 'n Powerflow freeflow exhaust (63 mm as ek reg onthou) loop daai stuk yster darem maar lekker. Ek het 'n vriend met 'n 80 series 4.5 croozer, en hy hang altyd by sy venster uit as ek wegtrek en deur die ratte hardloop, want hy se die Patrol klink tog te mooi! En dan is ek darem so 0,5 tot 1 km/l ligter op brandstof as hy ook, maar nou vergelyk ek nie appels met appels nie, want syne is outomaties en sukkel met die ratverhoudings - in 4de rev hy te hoog, en met die overdrive aan, rev hy te laag vir die spoed wat ek ry.

Ek sal seker later jare kyk na 'n outomaties, maar huidiglik is die handrat regtig 'n plesier, veral met daai 4.8 se krag! Ja die outomatiese manne ry lekker op die duine, maar wanneer ons overlanding doen (wat meeste van ons trips is), dan is die ratte baie handig. Ons is maar swaar gelaai want ons kamp selfversorgend.

As jy vrae het moet jy laat weet - ek kan die handrat regtig aanbeveel.
Herbie