FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 January 2003
NISSAN’S PATROL GR FACE LIFTS PRICES DROPS
The mightiest of off-roaders, Nissan’s Patrol GR, has a new look for 2003, lower prices and a changed range which includes a new seven men and a dog spec priced at £24,000.
There are three models in the revised line-up. All have the same long wheelbase, five-door, seven seating body (with last year’s three door biting the dust). First in the 2003 range is the new £24,000 S which has been stripped to offer more metal and all round ability than anything else at the price. Then Nissan pushes aside last year’s SE pack and goes straight to the top with the leathered up SVE priced at £28,395, or for another £1400 with automatic transmission. The SVE replaces the outgoing SE+ and is just as lavishly equipped. Yet it costs £1360 less.
The 2003 Patrol GR (or Grand Raid, which roughly translates to a big adventure…) has even more imposing front styling incorporating Nissan’s new brand identity i.e. badge. The SVE gets large foglights incorporated into its redesigned front bumper and headlamp washers instead of the previously employed wipers. The tail-lights change, too, as does the range of available colours. Inside, there’s a new steering wheel and instrument dials. The trim on the doors and centre console have been upgraded and the SVE gets an in-dash 6CD autochanger plus the no-cost option of tan leather in combination with certain colours. Nothing earth moving, admits Nissan, because Patrol GR owners are quite happy with their earth mover the way it is.
Nissan’s Patrol GR face lifts prices drops…2
There is increasing demand, though, as other 4x4s crossover uptown and upmarket, for a more basic offroader to be used as a no nonsense working vehicle during the week and as family transport at weekends. Which is why Nissan, never one to miss an opportunity, has introduced the £24,000 Patrol GR S.
It’s distinguished from the SVE by its naked black bumpers and wheel arch extensions which won’t mind if they get scarred battling through the undergrowth. Out, too, go the SVE’s alloys and urban two-tone paint job. What it doesn’t lose are the SVE’s off-road tuned anti-lock brakes, rear diff lock, selectable high and low ratio four-wheel drive, automatic free running hubs with manual lock and that unique-to-Patrol tackle-everything feature, the switchable rear stabiliser bar to give even more rear wheel travel when things get really rocky. Which is no problem. If you’re in a Patrol GR.
Its seats are trimmed in a tough grey cloth and the S still has remote central locking, an alarm, all round electric windows, twin airbags, a luggage area cover, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, air conditioning and a single CD player. So it’s basic (compared with the SVE) but not that basic. It even has aluminium side-steps to help mother and/or an ancient collie enter with dignity.
The
SVE adds leather upholstery. And there’s
an awful lot of it given the Patrol has seats for seven. But that’s not all the SVE gives you over the
S. Its front seats incorporate side
airbags and are electrically adjustable – they’re heated, too. The air conditioning system gains electronic
set-and-forget control with air of a less conditioned kind available through a
huge electric glass sunroof. The
interior is dressed with more leather on the steering wheel rim and gearshift
knobs, lashings of wood effect trim on the centre console and a splash of
chrome on the door handles. There’s an
in-dash 6CD autochanger to keep everyone amused on the school run, a holder for
mother’s Oakley sunglasses and to ensure you’re heading in the right direction
for the family’s annual skiing vacation, there’s an electronic compass. And so you know it’s cold enough when you get
there, the SVE also adds an outside temperature gauge with ice warning – just
to be on the safe side. The SVE’s body
is fully colour-coded with standard metallic paint, too, and with its 16”
deep-dished alloy wheels ensures this Patrol GR looks as right parked outside a
tasteful barn conversion
Nissan’s Patrol GR face lifts prices drops…3
as it does dumped in a farm yard. And all for a lot less than a Land Rover Discovery XS.
Technically the 2003 Patrol GR is as for the 2002 model which received changes to its suspension geometry for a smoother on-road ride and more precise handling. To remind you, the GR’s grrrrrrr comes from a 156 PS 3.0-litre direct injection turbo-diesel motor. And it still delivers a potentially tree uprooting 354 Nm of torque at a near crawling 2000 rpm. Trailer wise, the Patrol GR can cope with 3.5 tonnes of horsebox or caravan. And reassuringly in this age of flood warnings, it will wade through 70 cm of escaped river.
In its 50, no 51 year history of being in the 4x4 business, Nissan has become something of a leader in the traditional 4x4 sector. The United Nations is a big Patrol GR customer no doubt due to the vehicle’s reputation for unburstability as much as its willingness to climb a 39 degree gradient. And more Patrols are being seen on patrol – forgive the pun – around the motorways of the home counties with blue lights on their roofs. Some have even been converted into ambulances for when an emergency is too remote for a lesser vehicle to get to. So in a market increasingly crowded with soft-roaders and crossovers, there are still many who want a traditional 4x4 bruiser for which no journey (or adventure) is too big. And the 5010 mm long Patrol GR has both the size and the name for the job.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Wayne Bruce Head of PR 01923 899930
Email: wayne.bruce@nissan.co.uk
Gloria Maydew Senior Press Officer, Product Affairs 01923 899937
Email: gloria.maydew@nissan.co.uk
Linda Robinson Senior Press Officer, Product Affairs 01923 899932
Email: linda.robinson@nissan.co.uk
All Nissan news releases and pictures can be downloaded from the Newspress website at http://www.newspress.co.uk
32365/160103