Ivan Espinosa, the global head of product strategy and planning at Nissan, has confirmed V6 muscle for the Patrol. Twinned with the Armada for North America, the body-on-frame sport utility vehicle will drop the naturally-aspirated V8 of the Y62 in a bid to improve both fuel economy and reduce the carbon dioxide coming out of the exhaust pipes.
Speaking to Australia motoring publications in Tokyo, the big kahuna of product strategy believes that customers will find the V6 pretty sweet in many regards. Espinosa says the yet-unnamed sixer will outclass the long-running V8 where it matters. The mysterious V6, however, won’t offer the aural pleasure of the V8. Codenamed VK56VD yet also known as the 5.6-liter Endurance, said lump is also found in the Infiniti QX80.
Espinosa believes the 2025 Nissan Patrol is “much better” than the Land Cruiser 300 series, which is a bit curious. Why not leave motoring journalists and customers to have their say on which is the better SUV before claiming such a thing? Ivan further claims that diesel power isn’t happening, which isn’t surprising because Nissan is pivoting from combustion-engined vehicles to electric vehicles.
Especially in Europe, diesels are going the way of the dodo in favor of hybridized gasoline mills. Given time, said gassers could be outlawed in favor of all-electric vehicles. Emphasis on could because new combustion vehicles may soldier on after 2035 only if carbon-neutral fuels become mainstream.
As reported by Drive Australia, the Patrol further allows for plug-in hybridization. Espinosa didn’t go into the finest of details, but did mention that Nissan may leverage Renault and Mitsubishi technology for the full-size sport utility vehicle. Waxing lyrical about dynamics and the overall performance of the Patrol, the Nissan official didn’t say whether the Y63 will switch to a nine-speed automatic tranny.
Photo: PoloTo / AutomagzTV / YouTube
The old 7R01 is likely to be replaced by the JR913E, which is based on the 9G-Tronic transmission found in rear-biased Mercs. At press time, no fewer than three Nissans use this nine-speed auto: the V6-powered Frontier, Z sports coupe, and the Titan.
Shown to North American dealers in August 2023, the all-new Armada is expected to premiere in late 2023 for the 2024 model year. As ever, look forward to standard rear-wheel drive and optional 4WD. Speaking of which, the V8-powered 2023 model is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency with fuel economy ratings of 16 miles per gallon (14.7 liters per 100 kilometers) with rear-wheel drive and 15 mpg (15.7 l/100 km) with four-wheel drive.
Allegedly good for 424 horsepower at full chatter, the new sixer is 24 ponies up on the 5.6-liter Endurance V8. Believed to be torquier as well, the V6 definitely is easier on fuel than its predecessor, especially in combination with the JR913E.
According to dealer sources, the Y63 features a bit of Range Rover to its exterior design. As long as the interior gets a thorough redesign and the off-road capability is up there with the Land Cruiser 300, the Armanda and Patrol are certain to steal a few customers away from Toyota’s posh overlander.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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