2014 Nissan Patrol ST-L (4×4) Review

1st.
Everyone bangs on about fuel economy. Well the cruiser is probably the only vehicle you would compare to a Y62. No one seems to compare the petrol variant to the Y62. That's because you really can't. The 5.6L V8 is just that much better. So compare it to the twin turbo diesel.
Highway driving both stock cars sees the Y62 in front on fuel economy. Towing and off-road would see a swing the other way of a couple litres per 100. Hardly enough to honestly say you would save money driving a cruiser diesel around. Lets not forget, the guys test driving these cars aren't driving it like an owner would day to day. They use the 400 ponies and as a result the y62 leaves the cruiser in its review mirror. Not to mention it's a smoother quieter ride. My overall average fuel usage is 15.4L/100. At least 10,000 kms of my 48,000 kms was done off road on either beaches or bush tracks.

2nd.
IFS and IRS. Definitely positives in my opinion. Having had 7 4x4s now the Y62 handles the bitumen that much better. I test drove both the Cruiser and Y62 on the same horrid road on the same day. Let me tell you that was enough for me to cancel the cruiser I was ready to sign up for and hungrily chase down a price on the patrol.

3rd.
Both cars are great, don't get me wrong, but when I'm looking at paying luxury tax on a car, I'm not going just pay for a brand name cos that's what everyone else has bought.
I got a price of $94,000 drive away for my GLX Cruiser. Same extras and I walked away with my ST-L for $67k.

4th.
Servicing - I have saved hundreds of dollars not going to Nissan. I still get a quality handbook service using original parts from my local mechanic. And each service has so far been way cheaper then my avg. services for any of my previous GU patrols.

5th.
Interior. While I agree more needs to be done with the infotainment on the Patrol, the interiors are definitely more refined in the equivalent Cruiser. Leather everywhere and not much plastic look. Some don't like the fake wood grain but that's a personal preference also.

To sum it all up:
I've taken my car from central Queensland to Melbourne high country. I've done Fraser, Byfield National Park almost fortnightly, and will be crossing the Simpson in September doing the QAA and French lines, then up the Tanami to spend a week or so cruising around the Kimberlies. This will further show that petrol's can go remote. People forget some of the most capable 4x4s for off-roading are petrol only. And without all the restrictions the new diesels have, the are less problems with petrols. Who wants to risk a $15k bill for injectors or a blown turbo. Granted these are in no way a prolific problem. They are however common on modern day diesels.
So factoring the cost of both vehicle to buy. Fuel use isn't even worth discussing in my opinion. The test drive will sell the Y62.