STILL TOUGH BUT FOR 2002 A TOUCH SOFTER, TOO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

14 January 2002

STILL TOUGH BUT FOR 2002 A TOUCH SOFTER, TOO

Nissan's mighty Patrol GR has been made a little softer for 2002 with revisions to the suspension designed to improve ride comfort and sharpen its handling. The range has also been changed to only offer the models that customers want most.

And if you want a 4x4, there isn't a tougher one available than the Patrol GR. That's still Nissan's claim for the 2002 model. But the company's 4x4 experts, who incidentally have been in the off-roader business for more than 50 years, realised that Patrol GRs are spending more time on-road. Which is why they made alterations to the suspension geometry, specifically the rear Panhard rod and front and rear coils to give the 2002 Patrol GR a more cosseting ride and better defined handling.

Coincidentally, Nissan GB's marketing types noticed as they were poring over their 2001 sales charts that Patrol GR customers fall into two camps: those who want a do-it-all workhorse and those that like tough but also demand luxury and space. Few want a leathered three-door Patrol GR or the lesser equipped five-door so why offer them? (Especially as the long established, more compact Terrano II range is set to broaden this spring...) Well, Nissan won't be anymore. The Patrol GR will now be available as either a three-door SE or as a five-door, seven seating SE+, the latter with the option of automatic transmission.

There are a few more revisions worth mentioning. Externally, there's a new deep-dished design of 16" alloy wheel and the paint options have been juggled. Internally, the seats and headrests have changed a bit, as have some of the dashboard switches. But much more interesting is something that hasn't changed - prices because the three-door SE still costs £23,355 and the five-door SE+ remains at £29,755, or £31,255 with automatic transmission. That's a lot of metal for the money, whether you're talking the 4440mm long three-door or 5010mm long five-.

The Patrol GR larges it on the hard-wear front, too, with a 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine rated at 158PS. More relevant for off-road work is its thumping torque which measures in at 323Nm with manual transmission or 354Nm with automatic, both at a near crawling 2000rpm. Talking of off-road, the Patrol GR is the only 4x4 offered in Europe with a rear anti-roll bar that can be disengaged by a dashboard-mounted switch to give even more axle articulation over really scary terrain. Yes, of course the Patrol GR has got four-wheel drive low and high ratio, free wheeling hubs, off-road tuned anti-lock brakes and a rear diff lock. It'll also wade through 700mm of water, climb a 39° gradient, remain untoppled up to 48° of lateral inclination, tow as much as 3.5 tonnes of braked trailer and, with new softer suspension, make mince-pies out of speed-bumps in a Waitrose car park. There's even a digital compass to help you pin-point the exit.

Nissan isn't embarrassed to admit the Patrol GR has a softer side. (And the company doesn't mean suspension this time.) For example, the whole range comes with a 6CD autochanger, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, leather rimmed steering wheel and gear knob, electronic climate control, remote control central locking, and even an outside temperature gauge. The seven seating SE+ is positively squishy with its leather upholstery, electric tilt-slide glass sunroof, side airbags and electrically adjustable front seats that further pamper with two level heating. Not that anyone looking up at your meaty metalwork from the outside need know.

ends...

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

All Nissan news releases and pictures can be downloaded from the Newspress website at http://www.newspress.co.uk

30030/140102mailto:gloria.maydew@nissan.co.uk