The Landcruiser and Patrol go head to head to see which is better

When the current-generation Nissan Patrol first came out back in 2010, I was one of the first to decry Nissan’s move away from diesel power in its flagship off-roader.

And from that point of view, the Toyota LandCruiser has had clear and present domination over the Nissan Patrol – in terms of sales figures at least – for many years. Not since the coil-sprung GQ and GU Patrol has Nissan been able to compete with Toyota from a market share point of view.

The ZD30 ‘grenade’ might not have been much to write home about in terms of reliability and torque, but torquey diesel engines and big lumbering four-wheel-drive wagons have been joined at the hip for decades at this point. And having only a petrol engine (regardless of being a wonderful V8) seemed to miss the mark in Australia.

These days, you can see that times have changed. Or at least, they are in the process of changing. The V8-powered Patrol has found favour recently with improved sales figures, but the Toyota LandCruiser has remained as popular as ever.

Which is the best choice? Aside from powertrains, there are a lot of differences between these two big rigs. Suspension, interior, technology, price and age are different, but there are similarities as well: size, specifications, seating, and presence.

Looking at a four-wheel drive that’s knocking on the door of six figures before on-road costs and calling it solid value for money might seem crazy to some of you, and yet in the current market, the Patrol is positioning itself as exactly that.

The starting price for our range-topping Ti-L tester is $97,600 before on-road costs. Add premium paint, and on-road costs, and you get to $106,559 as the indicative price for a buyer in Sydney at the time of testing. The entry-grade Nissan Patrol Ti starts from $84,900 before on-road costs if you’d like to save some money over the model we’ve tested here.

Why is the Patrol ‘good’ value then? Let me present to the court the new 300 Series LandCruiser, which starts from $94,301 before on-road costs for the basic GX variant. Step all the way up to the range-topping GR Sport and you’ll be parting with a whopping $142,101 before on-road costs.

Even though the ‘Cruiser is significantly newer and more up-to-date, if you line the Patrol up spec-for-spec in terms of the equipment you get for the money, the fairest comparison would be with the 300 Series Sahara, which starts from $135,501 before on-road costs.

That’s still a significant buy-in price, and it would take a long time to spend $30,000 on fuel to make up for the increased useage between petrol and diesel.

Landing at a significant $135,501 before on-road costs, the 300 Series Sahara is around $10,000 more than the old 200 Series Sahara. However, it’s not the top-spec offering any more. There are some familiar models like GX, GXL and VX below this specification, but there are new top-spec additions of the road-focussed Sahara ZX and off-road-focussed GR Sport above this model grade.

The Sahara still comes loaded with fruit, and is the most expensive seven-seat variant in the range. There is heating and ventilation for the front and rear outboard seats, as well as a power-folding function for the third row. There’s also a head-up display, a 14-speaker JBL-branded sound system, and heated steering wheel with power adjustment. This comes atop four-zone climate control, a larger 12.3-inch infotainment display, 360-degree camera system and 18-inch alloy wheels.

In this comparison, the LandCruiser sits almost $30,000 clear of the Patrol, despite both of these vehicles having similar levels of specification, with the cooled centre console, rear entertainment screens, heated and vented leather seats, and an electric tailgate common between the two.

The same 3.3-litre twin-turbo diesel V6 engine is shared across the LandCruiser range, along with a 10-speed automatic gearbox and full-time four-wheel-drive system. The Sahara goes without the locking differentials of the GR Sport, as well as the limited-slip rear differential in the Sahara ZX. However, it does get the Multi-Terrain Select drive system (which only the base GX model misses out on.)

Imagine leather recliners in a social club, and you get a sense of what the Nissan Patrol offers inside the cabin. As far as family 4WDs go, they don’t get any more palatial than the Nissan Patrol. As tested here, there’s room for seven (Ti seats eight), and all three rows will accommodate adults in comfort.

The two front seats are soft enough to feel like your favourite lounge chair, but not so soft you’re sliding all over the place when you go around a corner. As expected, visibility is a highlight given how high the seating position is. In fact, visibility is excellent from any seat, first, second or third row.

I’ve noted this before in testing, but I’d like to be able to lower the driver’s seat a little more, and if you’re over 185cm tall, you’ll know what I mean.

Where the Patrol really has the wood over the 200 Series in the head-to-head shootout is inside the cabin, where both were ageing but the Patrol felt like a much more luxurious cabin than the price point might indicate. Still, even though the segment has moved on with the release of the 300 Series, the Patrol still feels luxurious inside the cabin in relation to the asking price.

Crucially for family buyers, there’s plenty of room behind the second row, so if you’re touring four- or five-up, there’s still plenty of room for luggage as well. Getting in and out of the Patrol is easy – once you remember to use the side steps – thanks to the doors, which open almost square. 

You get storage everywhere throughout the cabin, too, with a huge centre console bin, sunglasses holder, cupholders, and sizeable door pockets. Move into the second row and you’ve got more USB ports and cupholders, as well as a centre armrest.

The third row has enough space for tall teenagers, but not if you’re driving 1000km in a day. Ti-L, as tested here, provides for two across the rear bench. Folding and unfolding the third row is best reserved for adults given the seats are pretty heavy.

In this comparison, the Patrol has the wood over the LandCruiser in terms of raw space. It’s a larger vehicle, which (importantly) translates into more space. It’s especially evident in the second and third rows.

At the behest of the loyal customers, Toyota chose not to increase the footprint and overall size of the LandCruiser with this new-generation model. While interior space can be great, it can also compromise manoeuvrability and usability. This can be apparent on tight tracks in the bush, but also equally so in shopping centre car parks.

However, while the overall size is almost unchanged, the interior experience has certainly moved into next-generation territory. If there’s one word to describe the interior design, it’s chunky. The combination of buttons and dials, the gear shifter, and the design of that central stack infotainment and climate controls all subscribe to the chunky attitude.

The beige interior colour of our test car does help to lighten things up, but the floor mats did start to look a bit grubby after the 30,000km of life so far lived.

Heated and ventilated front seats are broad and comfortable, with a big cooled centre console in between. And while the overall experience is certainly big and (once again) chunky, there isn’t particularly any major windfall in terms of additional storage solutions. There are two cupholders, a wireless charging pad, a conventional glovebox and storage in the doors, but nothing beyond the norm.

The second row gets heating and ventilation (for outboard seats) in the Sahara specification, as well as dual-zone climate controls, USB power outlets, a HDMI, and some extra features associated with the rear seat entertainment. These screens, generously sized at 11.6 inches, can use Miracast technology for wireless multimedia sharing. I had some luck using the HDMI port (and a can inverter) to run a Nintendo Switch for kids in the back.

The second row of the LandCruiser 300 Series probably isn’t as spacious as you might think. I’m not going to call it cramped, but you will find more interior space in the second row (an important facet for a full-time family car) in the likes of a Nissan Patrol or Land Rover Defender.

The third row is pretty good, however. Larger adults will certainly find it a little pokey, as they will in anything this side of a people mover. However, the cheap seats are plenty good enough for shorter trips, kids, or more resilient adults.

While the amount of overall space on offer cannot match the Patrol, the LandCruiser certainly has a more modern and tech-laden interior.

Nissan still trails the vast majority of the new car pack with the infotainment in the Patrol, which lacks modern smartphone mirroring like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

You’d need to get a secure smartphone mount set-up on top of the dash or inside the windscreen, so you could use your preferred mapping system if need be. And remote-area tourers are likely to set their off-road-specific satellite navigation up that way as well for both safety and ease of visibility. It’s what we do when we’re out in the bush.

To say the Patrol’s infotainment is old-school is possibly a little flattering. It is now well overdue for an upgrade. The aftermarket caters to it, but for those of you not wanting to mess with the pristine dash of your new 4WD, the above suggestion remains your best bet.

There is a 12-volt outlet up front, a pair of USB ports, and another 12-volt outlet in the centre console section. The 8-inch centre display feels small – and that’s not just related to the size of the Patrol’s cavernous cabin.

A more modern (even 10-inch, let alone 12+-inch) system with smartphone connectivity would be vastly more practical and useful in 2023. Further, the system is old in terms of the graphics and controls, but that’s not to say it doesn’t work. The system that Nissan has installed works, and works well, but it’s just outdated.

You don’t get digital radio either, and there’s also a lot of switchgear to get your head around despite the simplicity of the system. There’s also a CD player (remember them?) and the anomaly here is the quality of the audio output. It actually sounds impressive in what is a cavernous cabin, thanks to a 13-speaker Bose sound system.

Second-row passengers get access to entertainment screens mounted in the rear headrests. Capable of being hooked up to external devices, even these feel a touch off the pace with the way modern teenagers consume content.

A 12.3-inch infotainment system, which is bigger than the base 9-inch display in GX and GXL spec, is a good one here. It’s got Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as digital radio and native navigation.

Lovers of a proper volume dial (like me) will spurn the fact that this larger display gets piano-style buttons for volume control. The smaller system gets a superior dial. There is a CD player still included in the 300 Series LandCruiser for those who haven’t picked up the streaming lifestyle. This is standard from VX upwards, and there is also a DVD player for the rear seat entertainment.

Sahara is the first model in the range to get a head-up display, along with an upgraded 14-speaker JBL-branded sound system. There’s also a 7-inch multifunction display in front of the driver, which offers some improved functionality and feel over the 4.2-inch set-up in lower specifications.

The entire LandCruiser 300 range also features three years’ complimentary access to Toyota Connected Services, which allows SOS emergency calls and stolen vehicle tracking, plus can be used to check fuel levels, vehicle location, recent trips, and ‘Drive Pulse’ info that can give you tips and tricks for more efficient driving via a paired smartphone.

Somewhat strangely – the way we see it anyway – the Patrol has not been crash-tested by ANCAP. Therefore, there is no official ANCAP safety rating; however, Nissan has equipped it well with standard kit. It’s no surprise Nissan has kept safety up-to-date in a platform that has been around for some time.

The Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series got a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2021 against the newer and more stringent 2022 testing criteria. This applies to all variants, except for the flagship GR Sport.

Individual scores are good as well. Adult occupant and child occupant protection are at 89 per cent and 88 per cent respectively, while vulnerable road users (pedestrians) get an 81 per cent rating. The active safety technology of the LandCruiser 300 rates a little lower at 77 per cent.

Nissan’s Patrol is fitted with enough safety technology to satisfy the majority of family buyers, even though it’s unrated by ANCAP. Newer competitors like the LandCruiser and Defender do out-spec it on the safety front, however.

There’s low-speed AEB (no pedestrian or cyclist detection), front and side airbags for driver and passenger, curtain airbags across all three rows, a rear-view camera, adaptive cruise control (that works reliably), forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, and blind-spot monitoring.

There’s plenty of safety technology to back up the LandCruiser’s five-star ANCAP safety score. Autonomous emergency braking includes pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection as well as intersection detection.

There is lane-departure warning and lane-keep assistance, which uses a braking function instead of steering assistance to work. Dabbing on the brakes can pull the car in the lane, but it will also wash off speed and feel quite disconcerting when you’re not expecting it. And when lane markings are faint, complicated or non-existent, it can produce some false positives.

Despite the more intrusive lane-keep system, the LandCruiser VX and above also come with lane trace assist, meaning the car is able to exert some steering assistance.

Rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, 360-degree camera system and automatic wipers are all included.

There are 10 airbags fitted, including front passenger and driver’s knee airbags and curtain airbag coverage for all three rows. A front centre airbag isn’t fitted, which despite their growing popularity in smaller segments isn’t something always found on larger vehicles.

Value for money comprises two very different factors when you weigh up the upper-large 4WD sector. In theory, if you need a vehicle like this (or just want one), the fuel use isn’t as much of a deal-breaker as it might be for another segment. We’ll cover the fuel-use figures on test in a minute.

In terms of the buy-in price and ongoing maintenance, value doesn’t get any sharper than with the Nissan Patrol. The Ti as the price-leader or the Ti-L as tested here has no peer in regard to starting price, and the servicing costs across three and five years are reasonable for a vehicle of this type. 

If you want to modify your 4WD for off-road or remote-area touring, the Patrol is once again a sharp value choice, with only the LandCruiser (200 or 300 Series) more heavily supported by the aftermarket. It doesn’t matter what you want your Patrol to be – even a stretched wheelbase dual-cab for example – the aftermarket in this country has a solution.

The 2023 Nissan Patrol Ti-L will cost $3161 per annum to comprehensively insure based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

If you’re one to properly use your LandCruiser with lots of towing, off-roading and other associated hard yakka, then you’ll likely appreciate the twice-yearly service intervals to keep an eye on things.

However, if that doesn’t sound like you, an extra visit to the dealer per year could be more of an annoyance. It can also add up in terms of the service costs. $400 per visit means you’re up for $800 per year, which seems expensive.

But on the other hand, this is a big vehicle with a complex, sophisticated diesel powertrain.

Insurance for a 300 Series LandCruiser Sahara costs $4092.24 based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

The ADR-claimed fuel use is 14.4L/100km, which in isolation is not ridiculous for a vehicle of this size and weight. Drive like a yobbo around town and your real-world figure will climb well beyond that. Go easy on the right pedal and you’ll get close to the claim. Our return – with a fair bit more city running than highway – was 16.2L/100km.

On the highway, you’ll drop right down into the 10–11L/100km range with the cruise control on, and we’ve discovered with our heavier tow testing that the Patrol uses a comparable amount of unleaded to a diesel 200 Series. It’s worth noting, too, that the Patrol’s 5.6-litre V8 asks for 95RON premium fuel.

There is a definite efficiency gain in this LandCruiser 300 Series in comparison to the old V8-powered 200 Series. The engine is smaller and more sophisticated, the vehicle is lighter, and there are more gear ratios to choose from.

However, the claimed difference in efficiency isn’t massive. The 200 Series’ claim of 9.5L/100km drops to 8.9L/100km for this new model, which is a 600ml per 100km improvement, or about 90L if you travel 15,000km per year – less than a single full tank.

In any case, you are unlikely to match this number in your own driving. We saw 10.5L/100km in our time with the car, where we saw more highway cruising than town driving.

The Nissan’s powerhouse petrol V8 is a thundering reminder of everything that is great about perhaps the most significant engine configuration in history – certainly in performance terms. The V8 engine has made its mark in so many applications, and Nissan’s 5.6-litre is a good one.

Yes, we’re moving to vastly more sensible environmental concerns into the future, and naturally aspirated V8s like this one are not long for this world, but what an effortless performer it is. 

In the large 4WD landscape, you have two conflicting arguments. In one camp, you have those who staunchly defend the relevance of the turbo diesel, with its chunky mid-range torque, workhorse reliability, and turbo efficiency. In the other camp, there’s the argument for the simplicity of a large displacement, naturally aspirated petrol engine.

The theory for the latter being that it is more mechanically basic, and there’s less to go wrong in remote areas. Where the petrol engine does have an issue is long-distance touring and the transporting of jerry cans in hot climates, for example.

Regardless, whichever side of the argument you’re on, there’s no side-stepping the Patrol’s credentials whether it’s on paper or on the road. The petrol V8 behaves differently to a diesel engine in that it likes revs, and you really feel the power build as the revs rise. It doesn’t have the brute force of a diesel through the middle of the rev range, but it keeps building speed right up to redline, and it’s got pace there if you need it.

There’s no forgetting the sheer heft of the Patrol, though, but it feels more agile on the move than the kerb weight would indicate. And the accompanying soundtrack is one that only a naturally aspirated V8 can provide. There’s a good reason so many new Patrols are fitted with a free-breathing exhaust system.

The effortless performance is due in part to the engine’s outputs – 298kW and 560Nm are hefty figures, as they should be in this segment, and they translate to real-world ease, whether it’s around town, on-road, off-road, or when you’re towing. There’s almost nothing you can do to overly stress this V8 engine. We’ve towed with close to 3000kg behind the Patrol previously, too, and it simply gets to work with ease. 

The ride, over almost any surface, is noteworthy. It’s something the Patrol does with even more refinement than the new LC300. Patrol is insulated, unruffled and comfortable on any road. Even a winding B-road out in the country is taken in its stride, and you’ll only feel the big four-wheel drive start to struggle if you tip it into tight bends way faster than you really should.

Even then it behaves predictably to be fair. Out in the country, or on the urban fringe, is where four-wheel drives like the Patrol belong. 

If you live in the inner city, with street parking, you’ll need to think about how you use the Patrol. It will sneak into most shopping centre car parks, but it is undeniably long and wide. As such, tight streets are not your friend, and neither are cramped underground parking situations. The length of the Patrol is a factor in inner-city streets for moves like reverse parking and three-point turns, too, so factor that in. 

Whereas elements of the cabin are undoubtedly now feeling their age, the payoff the way I see it is the consummate way in which the Patrol tackles any driving situation. Its bump absorption and insulation are excellent; a reminder of how a 4×4 or SUV should be, not trying to be sporty, but rather providing comfort and control over any road surface.

That means when you’re behind the wheel you almost float over the road, ensuring you’re in one of the better long-haul tourers you can currently buy. If you’ve got any regional exploration in your future, the Patrol is up there with the best on offer.

Jumping from a diesel V8 down to a V6 – with one of the smallest donks to ever grace the engine bay of a LandCruiser – was certainly a contentious development in the storied history of Toyota’s flagship off-roader.

However, spending some time driving the vehicle undoubtedly leaves a positive impression. Having two turbochargers in a sequential format – a smaller turbo for low revs – allows the engine to feel impressively torquey as you come off idle. Indeed, 700Nm not far off idle beats the old V8 by 50Nm within the same range of revs.

Having the turbochargers nestled within the vee of the engine (in what’s known as a hot-vee configuration) means the second turbocharger can be larger, and flow gets diverted to this unit as the revs increase. This allows for good levels of power at 4000rpm, and a more rev-happy nature than the old V8.

Of course, this new V6 is much more complex and sophisticated than the old 4.5-litre V8, which had turbochargers mounted on the outside of the block in more of a parallel configuration. Time will still be the judge on how dependable this new LandCruiser will be – relative to the older models – and this is a subject that you could opine upon inexorably if you wanted to.

However, you cannot deny the improved driving experience and performance of this new 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6. It’s helped by the weight reduction of this new platform, which uses up more aluminium panels, and also through the addition of four extra gear ratios in the transmission.

In comparison to the V8 in the Patrol, the LandCruiser isn’t as fast-feeling when you explore the full rev range. It’s certainly not slouchful, and it feels impressively muscular in the low revs, but the outright performance gong goes to the Patrol.

Ten gears for the LandCruiser certainly sounds like a lot, but this newly developed gearbox (which is an Aisin product) doesn’t overplay its hand with gear changes. It shuffles through the available ratios smoothly and without fuss, but the 10th gear barely even gets a look in when abiding by Australian road laws. Perhaps for those few careening down Northern Territory highways, it’s a different case.

The electro-mechanical steering set-up is certainly sharper in terms of feel and response in comparison to something like a Nissan Patrol or old LandCruiser 200 Series. It’s probably closer in feel to a Land Rover Defender, which does err into feeling more like an SUV than a four-wheel drive.

The ride quality does attempt to play catch-up with this steering feel, however, and it’s not all successful. There’s certainly a lot more body control and responsiveness through the chassis in this new-generation model, but it can induce a sense of busyness and fidgeting over some imperfect surfaces. Nissan’s Patrol feels more comfortable in some scenarios, as does the Defender. It’s not outright bad, but is certainly firmer and less absorbent overall.

Only the top-spec Sahara ZX and GR Sport get adaptive damping, with the latter picking up Toyota’s E-KDSS disconnecting swaybars. This stands for Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System, and allows front and rear swaybars to be separately and electronically controlled.

Off-road, the LandCruiser stays impressively confident and capable. The huge, scalloped-out bonnet does take some getting used to in terms of visibility and clearance, but once you start easing your way through ruts and washouts, the vehicle soaks up rough terrain with ease. There’s plenty of suspension travel available at the rear end, and the front (for an independent set-up) doesn’t feel overly restrictive.

And although there isn’t a locking rear or front differential here (something reserved only for the GR Sport), the quality of Toyota’s off-road traction-control system means you don’t feel like you are missing out on too much here. With the centre differential locked, low-range engaged and the right driving mode selected (through the Multi Terrain Select system), this LandCruiser is able to limit wheel spin quite adeptly at low speeds for a slow, controlled crawl.

And when you need a bump of power – in mud and sand, for example – there is plenty of response available in short order through the skinny pedal.

The interesting thing to talk about here is that both the Nissan Patrol and Toyota LandCruiser go about their business (mechanically speaking) in different manners.

Putting the whole petrol versus diesel argument aside for a moment, having independent rear suspension (on top of the regular IFS) and Hydraulic Body Motion Control makes the Patrol something of a unique proposition on the four-wheel-drive landscape.

Sure, the Land Rover Defender has independent suspension all round as well, but height-adjustable air suspension makes it different once again.

While the Toyota LandCruiser had its own take on hydraulically powered body control, this technology is now reserved for the top-spec GR Sport only. Back in the 200 Series days, ‘KDSS’ was available in most specifications.

The system on the Patrol effectively negates the need for anti-roll bars, instead using a hydraulically linked system that runs through the dampers to rein in body control. Off-road, this system slackens off and allows the big Patrol to articulate quite well, offering a surprising amount of stability off-road.

The LandCruiser persists with a live rear axle with five suspension links and coil springs, but you must give credit to Toyota for this redesigned set-up. It feels particularly supple and flexible for off-road driving. You might not feel like you have great ground clearance from the driver’s seat, but it takes some effort to get the LandCruiser hung up off-road.

Two different beasts, but at the end of the day, the levels of off-road performance seem to be quite close. The LandCruiser 300 Series is a bit smaller and lighter (always a benefit for off-roading), but the Patrol claws back with taller rubber and much better overall ground clearance.

Both will benefit from the usual range of modifications, but the more traditional layout of the LandCruiser 300 Series does lend itself to aftermarket changes more naturally. Mods aren’t impossible for the Patrol, but are relatively limited. There is the factory-approved Warrior version coming soon from Nissan, but aftermarket providers for suspension modifications (without ruining the hydraulic system) aren’t common.

There’s no doubt that whatever Nissan eventually replaces this legendary off-roader with will be impressive, but for now, the Patrol continues to excel.

If you want to do any long-distance touring around our incredible country, few vehicles stack up as attractively as this Nissan. The decades-long head-to-head battle with LandCruiser continues, but there’s almost no comparison when it comes to the money.

The petrol V8 is impressively efficient in the real world – especially when you’re on the open road – and as such, it will take you a long time to spend the deficit in premium petrol to catch up to the ‘Cruiser’s starting price.

Diesel engines remain the pick for truly remote, off-grid touring, and that might encourage some to spend more money on a LandCruiser. If that’s the case, the Patrol isn’t for you. However, for my money, the Patrol remains effectively unconquered as not just the last of its type, but also a reminder of the appeal of mechanical simplicity and V8 power.

And while the LandCruiser sticks to the same look, size, and feel as the old model, the driving experience has modernised. It’s sharper through the steering and ride, with a certain tied-down sense to the suspension that the old LandCruiser could never attest to. It makes for more control through the steering and over rough surfaces, but does give up a little bit of that soft absorption of years gone by.

While the steering doesn’t feel as sharp or precise in the Patrol, it does win out on having a smoother ride quality with better bump absorption.

This LandCruiser feels not old-fashioned, but rather a case of sticking to its guns. And despite the increase in price, the appeal remains strong. Not just because it’s a LandCruiser, but because it’s as solid as ever.

Against the impressive, tech-laden and relatively modern LandCruiser, the Patrol wins this battle in the pound-for-pound value stakes between the two. While the LandCruiser is certainly more efficient, tech-laden and spiffy in many senses, there isn’t enough value to overcome the pricing gulf between these two.