Nissan Drop Micra, Pulsar Hatch and Patrol Y61.

[csv8]

"After failing to really make their mark in respective segments, the Nissan Micra and Pulsar hatch have been dropped from the Australian lineup. Production of the Y61 Patrol for Australia has also officially come to an end.


The Micra nameplate does possess some level of heritage, locally, but the latest model, entering the scene in 2013, has since failed to the capture the attention of Australian buyers in recent years.

Sales topped 9509 units during 2011, dropping to 9162 during 2012, and then plummeting to 4326 during 2013, 2419 in 2014, and dropping to just 1243 units last year. The micro segment that it competes in is currently dominated by the Suzuki Celerio and Mitsubishi Mirage.


As for the Pulsar, as hard as Nissan has tried to serve up a good value, well-built and economical package, it hasn’t really had a chance against the ever-popular Toyota Corolla and Mazda3. The local arm says it is now concentrating on the Pulsar sedan and removing the hatch variants from the range. Nissan sold 8505 examples of the Pulsar last year (sedan and hatch), which is quite some distance behind the Corolla (42,073) and Mazda3 (38,644).

Off road driving enthusiasts will be disappointed to hear the rock-solid Y61 Patrol and UY61 Patrol cab chassis is now in run-out phase, with local production allocation coming to an end. Once the existing stock is sold, that will be it. Buyers will be left with the Y62 Patrol V8 petrol as the only serious 4×4 option in the Nissan range.

All affected models will remain on sale in dealerships until the stock is sold. Nissan expects these to be all gone by the later stages of this year."
http://performancedrive.com.au/nissa...rol-ends-2323/

[malazn mafia]

Thankfully no more getting Nissan Micra as the small car rental . The thing gives trash a whole new level of meaning. The performance of a small desk fan (sounds like one too), terrible handling, uncomfortable interior, the entire car is just wrong. The only thing is it still returns astounding fuel economy despite having its neck wrung just to keep up with the flow of traffic.

[Ben73]

As long as we can still rent a SSS Pulsar sedan for our performance rush.

Y61's will probably hold their value well now that they are not making anymore. Lots of people love them, but it's no surprise they are going to stop building them, they are quite old school compared to the y62.
Stick a big diesel in the y62 and it will be more popular I believe. Just look at how many diesel 200s are sold compared to petrol ones.

[XR Martin]

LOL anyone in the know keeps well away from Y61 Patrols with the ZD30 motor.

The only people who buy them are Nissan fanbois. They are seriously the biggest bucket of crap we've ever had on fleet.

[Franco Cozzo]

The last good Patrol had the TD42, that was a wicked diesel engine, the 3L is a crock of poo.

[GTMOND]

Well I own a 2005 GU. Yes the ZD 30 has had problems but mine has been faultless so far. Do some basic mods to control boost fluctuations to control EGTs and that's most of the ZD problems solved.If it ***** its self I will transplant a falcon six into it.
As for Patrols in general being pieces of ...t, you have to be kidding !!
Having worked as a mechanic in a small mine, land cruisers and patrols are on par with pros and cons.
If the Y61 had a bigger diesel I think it would still sell quite well. Not everyone hates solid axles all round.

[chizzy86]

No one will miss the end of the Micra and Pulsar sedan. Never drove either, but last year I hired a Nissan Versa and drove it on the Pacific Highway from San Fran to LA. What a disgraceful excuse for a motor vehicle. Gutless engine, dreary CVT, just terrible.

I own a GU Patrol with the 4.5 TB45E straight 6 petrol (on injected LPG) and am a bit sad the body shape is coming to an end. It's great off-road. On-road the ride is pretty crashy but some new springs and shocks fit it to an extent. The auto is pretty 80's in term of shift quality but you get used to it after a while. It has a REALLY long overdrive and has a got surge of torque from 110 - 130.

[BFGasUte]

Hello,

I would buy a Patrol before a Cruiser any day. The ZD30 is fine in the Navara, there were some issues with the early Patrol version though. Anyone ever heard of an E series Falcon with a head problem ? I think cost was the main reason they were not liked when they went wrong. Why do racers use the running gear from Patrols in other brands ? The bottom end of the Car market is just that. Chreap to buy and run, if you want a better Car, you have to spend more. At least you will have a reliable Car, and unlike some Chinese Cars, you wont ger burnt.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Thankfully no more getting Nissan Micra as the small car rental . The thing gives trash a whole new level of meaning. The performance of a small desk fan (sounds like one too), terrible handling, uncomfortable interior, the entire car is just wrong. The only thing is it still returns astounding fuel economy despite having its neck wrung just to keep up with the flow of traffic.

Ive rented them a few times, apart from cartoon styling, theyre economical. I thrashed one across Perth for a few days, got 600kays out of the tank in 40deg weather and only took 25lt to fill up.

[Psi-Pop]

So if you want a Coil/coil Live axle 4x4 you are left with what?

[Interceptor]

I think jeep wranglers still run live axles at both ends with coils..... depressing isnt it!

[Keepleft]

Had the previous retro-looking Micra, newer ones looks just didn't cut it, uglier.

[TheInterceptor]

No more y61 patrols! Cool! Maybe now in the near future tracks will be less rutted and ruined by these big heavy beasts that usually run overcompensating tyre sizes.

Micra no big loss in this saturated market.

[mac_man_luke]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

I think jeep wranglers still run live axles at both ends with coils..... depressing isnt it!

Which i believe even that is time limited? isn't the new independent all around model due soon?

Then the only live front will be the 70 cruiser.