Patrol Y62 / Armada

Nissan launched the sixth-generation Patrol, the Y62, in Abu Dhabi on 13 February 2010, which tells you who it was built for. It broke with six decades of Patrol tradition. The Y61 it replaced kept solid axles at both ends, as had every Patrol before it, from the leaf-sprung 160/MQ to the coil-sprung Y60. The Y62 got independent suspension at all four corners, a direct-injection 5.6-litre V8 and an optional hydraulic system whose rams do the work of both dampers and anti-roll bars. In North America the same truck became the Infiniti QX56 in 2010 and the Nissan Armada for 2017–2024.

A V8 AND FOUR INDEPENDENT CORNERS

The engine is the VK56VD, rated at 298 kW at 5,800 rpm and 560 Nm at 4,000 rpm in the Patrol, according to 4X4 Australia. Wikipedia says entry-level trims first used a 236 kW VK56DE V8 and, from 2017, a 4.0-litre VQ40DE V6 with 205 kW. All models have had a seven-speed automatic since 2017. Early entry trims offered a five-speed automatic or a six-speed manual. There's no diesel, which South Africa's Cars.co.za lists as one of the truck's weaknesses.

Underneath is a separate frame with a two-speed transfer case. Patrolapart describes the Y62's 4WD as an electronic multi-plate clutch unit that needs Nissan's ATX 90A fluid. The driver picks Auto, 4H or 4L, plus Sand, Rock and Snow modes. Non-US trucks have a rear differential lock and hill descent control, and Cars.co.za lists a helical limited-slip rear diff as well. 4X4 Australia's tester praised the wheel travel, low range and traction control, and grumbled that the traction control switches off when the rear locker is engaged.

HYDRAULIC BODY MOTION CONTROL

HBMC is the Y62's party trick. Nissan's description: the hydraulic cylinders at each wheel are cross-linked by pipes in two circuits, so when the truck leans into a corner, fluid from the outside cylinders flows into an accumulator and raises roll stiffness. Off-road, each wheel is free to rise or drop with the ground. Nissan says it needs no power source, so it costs nothing in fuel. 4X4 Australia puts it more simply: the rams act as both the shock absorbers and the sway bars. Wikipedia says Nissan developed it and tested it on the Patrol in the Middle East.

The catch arrives when you want to lift it. On NissanPatrol.com.au, one owner's research found that HBMC front springs can't be swapped on their own, only as complete shock-and-spring units, and another watched his rear end sink three inches under 280 kg of ball weight. Ontrack's 2-inch lift kits for HBMC trucks are designed to fit without disturbing the system's pressure. When Nissan Australia and Premcar built the 2023 Patrol Warrior, they kept HBMC and re-valved it. Not every Y62 has it: Wikipedia says the Gulf-market Desert Edition used conventional suspension, and the US Armada never offered it.

BUILT FOR THE GULF

The Y62 went on sale in Dubai on 1 April 2010. By mid-May, dealer Arabian Automobiles had delivered more than 450 and was taking desert-safari operators dune-bashing in them. Nissan claimed more than 13,000 hours of testing in local deserts. It paid off. In The National's 2013 report, Nissan Middle East said Patrol sales had grown 66 per cent in a year, to more than 14,000 across the region, giving it 22 per cent of the Gulf SUV segment.

The love has lasted. Bestselling Cars Blog reports the Patrol was the UAE's best-selling vehicle of 2024, its first win since 2020. Gulf Business's 2024 interview with Nissan's Middle East chief calls it 'a cultural symbol'. Gulf buyers got grades from XE to LE Platinum City, plus a Nismo with 319 kW, Bilstein dampers and 22-inch forged wheels, launched in Dubai. Japan, oddly, never got the Y62 new. Wikipedia says it was export-only, and most Y62s in Japan are reverse-imported US Armadas.

THE ARMADA YEARS AND WHAT CAME NEXT

Nissan showed the second-generation Armada in Chicago in 2016, and it went on sale that August as a 2017 model, built in Kyushu alongside the Patrol. It had a 390 hp VK56VD and a seven-speed automatic, and a 2021 refresh added 10 hp and 19 lb-ft. AutoGuide reported that US buyers didn't get the Patrol's locking differentials, disconnecting sway bars or HBMC, and that the US truck had its own suspension tuning. What it kept was the frame, low range and 8,500 lb of towing. It was the first Patrol-based Nissan sold in America since the 60 Series left in 1969.

The Y62 had a 2014 facelift, a heavier one in 2019 (the Armada's came for 2021) and limited editions such as the 2021 Middle East 70th Anniversary. Australia got the Warrior in 2023, with a 50 mm lift, 295/70R18 Yokohama all-terrains and 323 mm of ground clearance. Its successor, the Y63, was unveiled in Abu Dhabi on 3 September 2024 with V6 engines, including a 425 hp twin-turbo, and a nine-speed automatic. Its Armada twin went on sale in the US that December. Wikipedia says the Y63 reaches Australia in November 2026, so the Y62 is still on sale in some markets as this is written.