Ooohh…a feeling of ecstasy and disgust runs through my body as I look at the spy shots of this SUV, ecstasy because, this is my next victim and disgust because, this is simply the ugliest Nissan Patrol ever!
Were they aiming for 'ugly' when they drew the first picture of the new patrol? What the hell are you doing Nissan! I wonder what Nissan's corporate buzz word is for their new design 'direction' - Hideous? I at still hope this is a fake spy shot and the new Patrol will look a little more rugged and less chintzy. Or else, you'd better buy a patrol now, while they are still tough looking, ruggedly designed and functional.
I say ugliest Patrol because if it were not a Patrol then it may not have come under my dissection microscope. Because, this SUV isn’t badly designed for a 4x4 but it’s simply outrageous for a Patrol. Since its birth, the Patrol had never shed its rock hard, don’t-mess-with-me attitude in designing and they had a distinct presence that a Land Cruiser never had. Believe me or not, I was scoping around for my first actual subject for this article and I had almost settled on the Cruiser and the Prado (real ugly ducklings!), when fate, took me to the spy shot of what was to be the new Nissan Patrol. At first I thought it was a mockup or a Photoshop job done on the body of a Cruiser, because, a Patrol like that, just couldn’t believe it. And then I read the article and that was it, I postponed the Cruiser family to another article, and sharpened my knives for the Patrol.
All throughout the glorious automotive history, one thing is visible, heritage. One model inherits traits from its predecessor, hence keeping the essence of the particular model alive. Nissan Patrol managed to do it all these years, making them sturdy and muscular, the way they were supposed to be, but this new one, if it really is the new Patrol, then it’s such an immense let down. It feels as if Nissan has lost confidence in its design team and went shopping for designs on Google. Nissan’s range has always been a fresh sight to the eyes, keeping alive its own original sense of design unlike the Toyotas or Hondas that got confused midway.
The Patrol’s headlamps resemble the Cruiser’s out of proportion lamps and the body panels have also been unabashedly adopted from the Toyota 4x4. Yes, indeed they have upgraded the interiors to new levels of luxury and the leather wrapped interiors are distinctly Nissan design. But every time you look at the SUV’s exterior, you get convinced that the gutsy spirit of the Patrol has been left to die.
Oh, front end is still acceptable, worse becomes the story when we move towards the rear. I can swear on anything that I have seen that ugly rear on some cheap Chinese mock up of an SUV. My, what was Nissan thinking? LEDs, yeah we need them but this, this is simply unacceptable. How does one go from making really good looking cars to outrageously ugly?
I thought Indians had a bad choice in design (which they still do! I am an Indian, btw…), but the Japanese, well, blame it on the recession I guess, they probably cut costs at Nissan by giving away the design jobs to someone who’s biggest question in life was, should I wear the hat on my head, or just carry it.
I hate to be this skeptical, but truth be told, the release of this speculated Patrol will mark the murder of a heritage that had been running for almost 30 years (first patrol came in 1980), a murder of the SUV that may not have been the best selling, but it was selling nevertheless because it was the best. I formally, bid adieu to the Patrol that invaded deserts and mountains, conquered rocks and steep climbs with ease, whose only style was a rugged do-or-die look.
Condolences!
Were they aiming for 'ugly' when they drew the first picture of the new patrol? What the hell are you doing Nissan! I wonder what Nissan's corporate buzz word is for their new design 'direction' - Hideous? I at still hope this is a fake spy shot and the new Patrol will look a little more rugged and less chintzy. Or else, you'd better buy a patrol now, while they are still tough looking, ruggedly designed and functional.
I say ugliest Patrol because if it were not a Patrol then it may not have come under my dissection microscope. Because, this SUV isn’t badly designed for a 4x4 but it’s simply outrageous for a Patrol. Since its birth, the Patrol had never shed its rock hard, don’t-mess-with-me attitude in designing and they had a distinct presence that a Land Cruiser never had. Believe me or not, I was scoping around for my first actual subject for this article and I had almost settled on the Cruiser and the Prado (real ugly ducklings!), when fate, took me to the spy shot of what was to be the new Nissan Patrol. At first I thought it was a mockup or a Photoshop job done on the body of a Cruiser, because, a Patrol like that, just couldn’t believe it. And then I read the article and that was it, I postponed the Cruiser family to another article, and sharpened my knives for the Patrol.
All throughout the glorious automotive history, one thing is visible, heritage. One model inherits traits from its predecessor, hence keeping the essence of the particular model alive. Nissan Patrol managed to do it all these years, making them sturdy and muscular, the way they were supposed to be, but this new one, if it really is the new Patrol, then it’s such an immense let down. It feels as if Nissan has lost confidence in its design team and went shopping for designs on Google. Nissan’s range has always been a fresh sight to the eyes, keeping alive its own original sense of design unlike the Toyotas or Hondas that got confused midway.
The Patrol’s headlamps resemble the Cruiser’s out of proportion lamps and the body panels have also been unabashedly adopted from the Toyota 4x4. Yes, indeed they have upgraded the interiors to new levels of luxury and the leather wrapped interiors are distinctly Nissan design. But every time you look at the SUV’s exterior, you get convinced that the gutsy spirit of the Patrol has been left to die.
Oh, front end is still acceptable, worse becomes the story when we move towards the rear. I can swear on anything that I have seen that ugly rear on some cheap Chinese mock up of an SUV. My, what was Nissan thinking? LEDs, yeah we need them but this, this is simply unacceptable. How does one go from making really good looking cars to outrageously ugly?
I thought Indians had a bad choice in design (which they still do! I am an Indian, btw…), but the Japanese, well, blame it on the recession I guess, they probably cut costs at Nissan by giving away the design jobs to someone who’s biggest question in life was, should I wear the hat on my head, or just carry it.
I hate to be this skeptical, but truth be told, the release of this speculated Patrol will mark the murder of a heritage that had been running for almost 30 years (first patrol came in 1980), a murder of the SUV that may not have been the best selling, but it was selling nevertheless because it was the best. I formally, bid adieu to the Patrol that invaded deserts and mountains, conquered rocks and steep climbs with ease, whose only style was a rugged do-or-die look.
Condolences!
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