Nissan Patrol

• Patrol is the export name; Safari is Japan's. Nissan says the Patrol became the Safari in Japan with the 160 in 1980.
• Three generations: 160 (1980–1987), Y60 (1987–1997) and Y61 (from 1997); Nissan Australia calls them MQ, GQ and GU.
• Wagons gained coil springs with the Y60 in 1987; the 160 uses leaf springs.
• Australian Y61 engines are dated by series, from the RD28ETi (1998) to the common-rail ZD30 (2007).
• Nissan Middle East says the Y61 returned in 2016 as the Super Safari; its relaunch announcement is dated March 2017.
• US age is counted per build date; EPA allows original configuration or a qualifying certified replacement.

• Ladder frame on the 160, with leaf-sprung rigid axles; the Y60 hardtops and wagons gained coil springs all round, and the Australian GQ cab-chassis kept leaf springs
• Part-time four-wheel drive on Japan's Y60 and Y61, with a low-range position in the 160 transfer selector
• Live axles on every generation covered here; Nissan Australia says the Y62 departed from them
• Inline-six engines include the SD33, TD42 and RD28T diesels and the TB42E and TB48DE petrols; the Y61 also had the four-cylinder ZD30 diesel
• Japan sells the same series as the Safari from the 160 in 1980; overseas it stays the Patrol

Nissan Australia names the three generations MQ (160), GQ (Y60) and GU (Y61). Each page below covers one in detail, with export-market facts and labelled Japanese comparisons.

Generation names are broad families. The factory chassis codes below identify the variants represented in JDMBUYSELL's current Nissan Patrol guide data.

Y61 (from 1997; end date varies by market)

Chassis code: Y61

W160

Chassis code: 160

Y63

Chassis code: Y63

Confirm the complete code on the vehicle's frame or VIN plate; drivetrain, body, and market variants can use different prefixes within one generation family.

Each generation page sets out the Japanese-market details and what differs on cars sold elsewhere; start with the patrol 160 guide.

Engine cards come from Nissan Australia's history and training manuals, GoAuto, Nissan Middle East's brochure and, tagged Comparison, Japan's Safari. Ratings are shown on each source's own basis.

Engine options

Rows are Australian series, single-market editions and Japanese comparison grades; each states its market.

What is the difference between the Nissan Patrol and the Safari?

Mostly the name. Nissan says the Patrol became the Safari in Japan with the 160 in 1980 and stayed the Patrol overseas, and Nissan Middle East adds that South Africa also used Safari. Engines, grades and ratings differ by market.

What do MQ, GQ and GU mean?

They are Nissan Australia's names for the generations: the 1980–1987 MQ Patrol (160), the 1987–1997 GQ Patrol Y60 and the GU Patrol Y61, which its current history gives as 1997–2016 and its 2016 press kit as 1997–2017.

Which Patrol generation first had coil springs?

The Y60 wagons. Nissan Middle East says the Y60 was the first Patrol with all-round coil-spring suspension, while Nissan describes the earlier 160 as rigid axles on leaf springs; the Y60 cab-chassis kept a leaf-spring suspension.

Which guide covers the Middle East Super Safari?

The Y61 guide. Nissan Middle East says the Y61 returned in 2016, exclusively to the Middle East, as the Patrol Super Safari; the relaunch announcement is dated March 2017, and the 2017 brochure lists a 4.8-litre TB48DE with a five-speed automatic.

Can I import a Patrol into the US or Canada?

By age, it depends on each car's build date: the US exemption needs a vehicle 25 or more years old, and Canada's threshold is 15 years. EPA separately allows original configuration or a qualifying certified replacement, and state or provincial registration rules apply.