An SUV designed specifically to tackle the terrain of the area has been a long time coming. Having a local rally legend, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, pitch in during the design of the crucial details is a masterstroke from Japanese automaker Nissan.
The Desert Edition is based on the base Patrol LE model, which means it comes with the 400 hp 5.7-litre engine, manually-adjusted cloth seats, navigation and, most notably, regular suspension instead of the fancy hydraulic body-control system that the top-spec Patrols get.
This off roader rarely requires above 2000 rpm when traversing minor dunes and managing the tallest dunes with no shortage of power at higher revs, all within second gear. When driving is conducted in 4-high mode the big car feels nigh-on unsinkable with the more-aggressive tyres deflated for soft-sand duty.
The Patrol is unstressed, even with no clear increase in ground clearance compared to a regular Patrol.
The only issue seen, as stated in Drive Arabia, was that all the test cars had front bumpers that had popped out at the sides, no doubt due to the over exuberance of the safari drivers who were hired to give trickier “pro” rides, which they conducted with aplomb.
If you leave the ESP off, you don’t even need to fiddle with the “terrain management” settings that seemed to be stuck in “on-road” mode in our specific test car.
