Unlike our long-terming Jeep Wrangler, the latest entrant in the wheels garage comes pre-modded straight out of the box. Ladies and gents, please give a warm welcome to the Nissan Patrol Nismo, set to be with the team for the next six weeks.

With the Dh360K Nismoed version, Nissan has also scored one over its rival Toyota, which only offers the Land Cruiser with cosmetic enhancements in TRD garb. So at least for now, this Patrol sits firmly in a class of one.

Mechanically, the changes aren’t earth shattering, however, they are substantial enough to mark this as a hopped-up version of the Patrol. It sits lower to the ground, with a more aggressive body kit, while the 5.6-litre V8 has been poked and prodded to deliver and extra 28 horsepower over the standard car’s output of 400bhp. Torque has also been bumped up from 560Nm to 590Nm and is now available over 70 per cent of the rev range. Cumulatively, this car feels faster than the stock version but make no mistake, the Nismo touch hasn’t exactly turned this Patrol into a Porsche Cayenne baiter.

It’s a big old thing, and you are constantly reminded of its not insubstantial dimensions and mass as you negotiate a corner of any description at speed. However, the newfound go does mean it’s keener during overtaking manoeuvres.

The postcode-straddling size does have some upsides though. The cabin is supremely spacious, which makes this Patrol one of the most comfortable and practical family cars on sale today. However, that’s something that can be said of the standard non-Nismo version, too. So does the Nismo variant justify its Dh26K premium? We fully intend to find out in the next month and a half.