Nissan Australia has confirmed orders for the all-new Y63 Patrol will open later this month, with first customer deliveries due in the first quarter of 2027.
It’s the seventh generation of a nameplate that landed here in 1961 and has spent the past 65 years earning its keep in the outback, on worksites and towing trailers all around the country.
The headline change is under the bonnet. The 5.6-litre naturally aspirated V8 is gone, replaced by a 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 producing 317kW and 700Nm, mated to a new nine-speed automatic.
The engine is related to the 3.8-litre V6 from the high-performance Nissan GT-R, giving the Y63 some serious performance pedigree.
BUYER’S GUIDE: Nissan Patrol Y62
SUBSCRIBE NOW! Click here to have our free newsletter delivered to your inbox
It’s also grunter than the V8 it replaces, with an extra 19kW and 140Nm – increases of 6 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.
More importantly for towing and low-range work, the turbochargers mean the torque peak arrives lower in the rev range.
Nissan is leaning on its GT-R heritage with this engine, and there’s at least one genuinely useful piece of that engineering in the mix: a scavenger oil pump designed to keep oil where it needs to be when off-roading and the vehicle is on extreme angles.
Patrol Y63 still petrol only
The Patrol remains petrol-only, in a segment where diesel still rules – but hybrids are muscling in.
The Y63’s most obvious rival, the Toyota LandCruiser 300-Series is diesel, although Toyota has just added a performance hybrid model powered by petrol (it’s thirstier than the diesel).
Fuel consumption figures and tank capacity haven’t been released, but we wouldn’t be expecting enormous real-world improvements given the grunt the engine is pushing out.
And if it gets the same 97-litre tank of overseas models it’ll almost certainly have a shorter touring range than the Y62 Patrol with its 140-litre tank.
The V8’s other loss is harder to quantify.
Nissan has leveraged having a V8 to good effect on the sales front.
That 5.6-litre had a soundtrack, and a following.
It remains to be seen if the twin-turbo V6 can build the same lust.
Y63 Patrol to get air suspension
Select Y63 Patrol grades get adjustable height air suspension for the first time, paired with Nissan’s Intelligent Dynamic Damping (e-Damper) system that adjusts damping force to different conditions.
In Off-Road Mode the system lifts ride height to improve approach, breakover and departure angles. Shift into Park and it drops the vehicle for easier entry, exit and loading. On the highway it lowers automatically above 90km/h and raises again below 70km/h.
On paper there are obvious benefits to capability.
Hopefully the durability of the system is up to Aussie corrugations and rugged remote roads.
There’s also the question of how it will work with GVM upgrades and aftermarket suspension changes.
Nissan hasn’t released approach, departure or breakover angles, ground clearance, wading depth, GVM or GCM.
When it comes to towing, the Y63 is expected to match the 3.5-tonne capacity of the Y62 (and rivals such as the LandCruiser).
We’ll no doubt find out more in coming weeks.
Y63: A clear move upmarket
The feature list makes Nissan’s intentions obvious: The Y63 is a more upmarket Patrol.
That’ll no doubt raise questions about its suitability to remote tracks and trails.
Equipment highlights include dual 14.3-inch screens on upper model grades as well as a 12-speaker Klipsch sound system.
There are also “zero gravity” front and middle row seats, designed to fold back further and spread the weight of the body evenly over the seat.
Plus there’s a massage function for the front seats.
Those features are for some models, as is the head-up display.
And the Patrol will get “biometric cooling” that can monitor occupant temperature on entry and automatically adjust the climate control accordingly.
It’s a long way from the workhorse Patrols of the GQ and GU eras, pointing to a vehicle that’s as much about school run comfort as it is tackling the Gibb River Road.
In that respect, then, it’s following the LandCruiser 300-Series into premium territory.
Patrol Y63 pricing is the big unknown
Nissan hasn’t announced pricing, grades or the local model line-up. All we know is that there will be multiple grades.
Pricing, which is expected to be announced within weeks, will be crucial.
The outgoing Y62 ran from $95,500 for the Ti to $110,660 for the Premcar-engineered Warrior (all prices are before on-road costs).
And, yes, Nissan previously alluded to a Y63 Warrior, although it’s yet to be confirmed.
Push the new Patrol much beyond that and it runs into a rapidly changing market.
Denza’s B8 plug-in hybrid landed this year from $91,000 before on-roads with 425kW, three rows and hydraulic adaptive suspension.
GWM’s Tank 500 PHEV sits well under that, and the brand has confirmed a larger Tank 800 for Australia. More are coming.
At the same time, plug-in hybrids are gaining traction fast in the 4WD space, offering big torque, low-range capability and the ability to run silently at low speed – with the trade-off of extra weight (the Denza B8 is almost 3.3 tonnes).
But the Patrol brings an incredible reputation.
It has a hard-earned record in the Australian bush, including being the first vehicle to cross the Simpson Desert.
The Y63 looks a substantially better vehicle than the one it replaces.
But arriving as a petrol-only proposition – for now, at least – lobs it into a more competitive large SUV market than ever.
Customers can register their interest now, with orders opening later this month and deliveries from the first quarter of 2027.
