THE KINGS OF OFF-ROAD WAGONS GO HEAD TO HEAD ON THE TRACKS
THE Nissan Patrol and Toyota LandCruiser have been the heavyweight champions of the 4x4 wagon market for generations and the battle still rages on today. Sure, there were once Land Rovers, Jeeps, Mitsubishis and a few others in the mix, but these two big Japanese wagons have dominated the Australian market for more than 50 years.
While the latest offerings from Nissan and Toyota continue to duke it out, the way the two brands go about specifying their wagons has never been more different. The Y62 Patrol and the 300 Series LandCruiser are both large four-door wagons designed to carry up to seven or eight passengers and their gear, over all roads and any terrain that their owners choose to point them at. But for the latest iterations, the respective manufacturers have each gone about the design of their vehicles in vastly different ways to achieve the same goal.
EVOLUTION OF THE SPECIES
THE Y62 Patrol is now 14 years old and is expected to be replaced by a new model within the next 18 months, but in some ways it is a more modern style of vehicle than the LandCruiser 300 which is just three years old.
Nissan created quite the furore when it announced that its Y62 Patrol would forgo its decades of live axles and diesel engines in favour of fully independent suspension and a petrol engine.
The LandCruiser 300 retains its live-axle rear and carries over its IFS design
