Production of the body-on-frame Y61 Nissan Patrol pickup truck started in 1997 and continues until today (!), in many versions and variants. The stickers are super cool. Japanese car makers started adding colorful stickers to their cars in the 1980s, and this tradition continues until today, albeit mainly for SUVs and pickup trucks.
Nissan doesn’t officially sell the Patrol pickup truck in China, but there is a lively parallel import business. Most come from Nissan dealers in the Middle East and North Africa. Thousands of old-school Nissan Petrol SUVs and pickup trucks arrive in China in this way. Most buyers are off-road enthusiasts who take their cars out into the mountains on the weekend. There is a huge shop in east Beijing, close to the Goldenport race track, which always has many Middle-East-spec Nissan Petrols on sale.
The interior was basic, but that was the point. Fabric seats, a tall gear lever, large buttons and switches, and a large-diameter steering wheel. It still has a CD player! This truck was manufactured around 2017, and I think by that time nobody in China used CDs anymore.
Commercial vehicles
In China, authorities always classify pickup trucks as commercial vehicles, regardless of how they are used. This means that in most cities, pickup trucks can not enter the city center in a bid to prevent air pollution. This is slowly changing with the advent of electric pickup trucks. The exact rules differ per city. In Beijing, the law requires all pickup trucks to have 3M reflective warning tape around the bed.
This is obligatory on Chinese pickup trucks in China too. Sprayed on the doors are two numbers: 1) 栏板高度, defined as railing height, the height of the railing of the bed. 2) 总质量, defined as the “maximum loading mass of a car when driving on the road“. This number includes the car’s weight, the driver and passengers, and the load.
There is a lot of debate in China about whether this is necessary. The spray consists of real paint, and folks who purchased expensive pickup trucks for lifestyle purposes have been complaining.
The engine
The engine is a TB48DE 4.8-liter V8, with an output of 280 hp (185 kW) and 451 Nm. It is equipped with two fuel tanks: a 95-liter main tank and an 80-liter sub-tank, 175 liters in total! The transmission is a 5-speed manual, sending horses to all four wheels. VTC = Valve Timing Control, Nissan’s variable valve timing technology.
SGL is a trim level.
The crazy-looking rear bumper is standard in the Middle East. It also has a tow hook, sideboards, and mud flaps. I love mud flaps. The rear lights look like they have been time-machined from the 1980s, adding even more coolness to this great Japanese pickup truck in China.