The revitalisation of the farming industry in the US, c.1950, resulted in Nissan signing a contract to build a compact but capable 4x4 based on all-wheel drive technology developed in the Second World War.
While the vehicle that I tested felt distinctly 21st-century there was no denying it's the fifth generation of the first Nissan Patrol of almost 60 years ago.
The Patrol is available in three models: a three-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel GL and two petrol versions, each with a 4.8-litre, six-cylinder engine, on badged GL, the other Tiptronic GRX - the vehicle on test.
My first impression was that it is big and wide. The smell of new leather wafted around as I settled into a luxurious cabin. Instruments all easily visible and seat adjustment electric - my fingers easily found the controls without having to peer down the side of the seat.
Other traffic becomes a low-level panorama around you, so big is the Patrol, but high windowsills and fascia create the impression that you're sitting well down in the car. And the windscreen is remarkably short - even so, visibility is excellent.
The power steering responds to a light touch at any speed and the impression of big and wide is quickly dispelled when the car is moving, although at 1625mm rear track as opposed to Toyota's Landcruiser 100 at 1600mm - which makes it the widest 4x4 on the market.
The GRX is very much a luxury car: crash bags, anti-lock brakes, sliding sunroof, powered external mirrors, radio/CD changer, air-conditioning with separate front and rear controls, leather upholstery and wood trim.
On tar, the Patrol behaves with silken courtesy - predictable and unhurried. Yet an assertive prod on the accelerator quickly summons the latent power (190kW) to catapult you effortlessly past slower traffic and back into your lane with no fuss at all.
With so much power under your right foot there's hardly a reason to use the tiptronic sequential gearbox, though it's useful to lock the transmission into a selected gear when climbing or descending a steep mountain pass.
The vehicle is designed to carry 730kg of people and their luggage - big tyres (265/70 on 16" rims), solid suspension front and rear and plenty of packing space in the back.
For day or weekend trips, the Patrol can comfortably carry seven passengers with the two jump seats in the back - but then you'll have to toss out the luggage.
The Patrol feels stable through corners with a tendency towards understeer - probably because of its length (5.03m) and weight (2.390 tons). I don't doubt that it could be pushed to oversteer but this would be under much harder than average driving.
Radio and cruise control can be operated from the steering wheel in a sensible layout. In fact I had no need to refer to the car's instruction manual to operate any of the features.
Puzzling feature
An impressive touch was the double sun visor that splits to shield driver and front passenger front and side at the same time - useful for when the sun is diagonal to the vehicle.
Two features that puzzled me on a vehicle of this category were: of the four electric window switches, only the driver's window is automatic and the rear window demister is clumsily installed, with fragile exposed wiring on the surface of the glass. However, they're both easily remedied and probably will be on future models.
Clearly, the 4x4 heritage and serious off-road hardware, like solid suspension front and rear, already provided an idea of what to expect, but we were unprepared for the enormous torque and impressive articulation of the vehicle.
To provide a reliable benchmark for off-road tests, we use the same test track - the Takbok 4x4 trail at Paarl - so were really impressed to feel the Patrol easily and slowly negotiate sections of trail that we have had to traverse with much more momentum in some other 4x4's.
The Patrol has an interesting option of leaving the front hubs in an automatic mode, which means that, when 4WD is selected, full four-wheel drive will engage without driver intervention should traction be lost on a front wheel.
Full all-wheel drive can be manually selected on the hubs by setting them on the wheel. We left them on automatic, which was even more impressive given the ease with which the Nissan covered the obstacles.
The rear differential lock, manually selectable with a switch on the centre console, engaged and disengaged easily and provided a fine degree of control to negotiate deep crossovers.
Up a little, please
Articulation was especially impressive, even for a vehicle fitted with solid suspension front and rear and this no doubt contributed significantly to the off-road ability. In low-range the tiptronic was a nice feature as we could quickly select (and lock-in) exactly the right gear for the section of trail being driven.
Ground clearance of 215mm is good for a standard vehicle although I would close the running boards (the first point to touch during our test). A small (2-3cm) suspension raise would dramatically increase the already respectable approach, ramp-over and departure (37º, 27º, 31º).
Nissan advertises a 48-degree tilt angle and a 37-degress gradient climb angle. I unashamedly admit that 48º on a camber is not a place where I want to be with any vehicle though it is probably good to keep in mind that this becomes relatively easily achievable on a nice, solid, dry concrete test track - it's not recommended on a mountain slope with a loose surface.
The Patrol is a serious contender for long overland trips with a combined fuel capacity of 135 litres (95 main and 45 sub) although the three-diesel would provide much greater range.
An external temperature display and a digital compass are mounted in a cluster above the driver's head and, although the compass is useful for city driving, it doesn't really play a role in off-road navigation with the GPS technology that's available.
The diesel has fewer electrics and interior trim is more robust which points to a more purpose-built off-roader. Collision safety could be improved by adding crash bags for rear and front passengers.
A solid rear recovery point will be useful for recovering or being recovered and three 12-volt power sockets (2 front, 1 rear) complete the off-road package.
The Nissan Patrol models presented are value-for-money contenders in their class that I would enjoy driving on or off-road. - Cape Times