Rent Nissan Patrol 2021 in Dubai

If you want a Patrol built for the sand rather than the mall valet, the 2021 Super Safari is the one to rent, and we'll bring it to your door in Dubai within one to two hours. This is the Y61, the old-school Patrol with the 4.8-litre inline-six and a body-on-frame chassis that Gulf desert drivers have trusted for decades. It's a different animal from the plush modern Patrol. This page is for the renter deciding between the two: pick the Super Safari when the trip is about dunes and dependability, not cabin screens and quiet.

Built for the desert first

The Super Safari earns its name off-road. Ladder-frame construction, part-time four-wheel drive, a low-range transfer case, and around 225 mm of ground clearance make it one of the more capable things you can hire without a specialist outfitter. The 4.8-litre TB48 six makes 280 hp and a stout 451 Nm, and the way it delivers that torque low down is exactly what dune driving wants. Air the tyres down, drop into low range, and it crawls and climbs soft sand with a mechanical honesty the newer turbocharged cars trade away for refinement.

For a Hatta run, a graded track out past the city, or a proper desert weekend, this is the tool. Renters who know the sand ask for it by name.

On the highway, and where it shows its age

Be clear-eyed about this. The Super Safari is an old design, and it drives like one. It's happiest at a steady cruise on the E11, where the big six pulls it along without effort and the high seat gives you a commanding view. Push it hard through corners or expect car-like manners and it'll remind you it's a desert truck, with more body roll and a firmer, busier ride than the modern Patrol.

None of that is a fault, it's the character. If you want a quiet, cosseting motorway cruiser for daily airport runs, the newer Patrol or a road-biased SUV is the better call. If you want a car that feels like it could go anywhere, this is it.

Seven seats and what fits behind them

It's a genuine seven-seater with three rows, and the second row is fine for adults on a normal trip. The third row is best kept for kids or shorter hops rather than grown-ups on a long drive, which is typical for the class and era.

Luggage follows the same logic as any three-row SUV. With every seat filled, the space behind the last row handles soft bags and a few cabin cases, not a stack of hard suitcases. Fold the rear seats and the load bay opens up to take a desert weekend's kit or a family's holiday cases with room to spare. For a group landing at DXB or DWC with full luggage, plan to fold the third row and run it as a five-seater for the bags.

Fuel, heat and the local rules

A 4.8 six with an old-school automatic isn't built for economy, so expect real-world consumption to sit high, especially in city traffic or working through soft sand with the AC on. The saving grace is the tank. At 135 litres it's built for the distances this car was made to cover, so you fill up every few days rather than daily even with heavy use, and fuel in the UAE stays cheap enough that the thirst is more character than burden.

Cooling is a fair question in a big older cabin. The AC is strong and there are outlets for the rear rows, but a Super Safari that's baked in a 45-degree car park needs a minute with the doors shut before it's comfortable, more than a modern climate system would. On the admin side, Salik tolls are billed to you at each gantry, RTA fines during the rental pass to you, and a child seat is required for under-fours, which we'll fit on request.

Parking and the size reality

At five metres long and nearly two wide, with a tall, boxy body, the Super Safari is a handful in tight Dubai parking. Marina bays, older mall structures, and narrow ramps all want patience and a careful line. The upside of that clearance is that speed bumps and raised kerbs never trouble it, but if your week is mostly downtown errands and solo parking, this is not the easy choice. It rewards open roads and open desert, not the school-run shuffle.

Who should rent it, and who shouldn't

Rent the 2021 Super Safari if your week has real desert or Hatta in it and you want a proven, capable 4x4 with a big six and a huge tank, plus seven seats for the group. It does the hard stuff most rentals can't, and it does it with a simplicity that's part of the appeal.

Skip it if you want a refined, quiet daily cruiser or you're mostly doing city driving, where its age, size, and thirst all count against it and the modern Patrol or a road SUV serves you better. The Super Safari is a specialist. Rent it for what it's brilliant at, and it's hard to beat for the money.