I think that quite a lot of them do take the efficiency into account - certainly for many I think it is the thing that tips the scale in favour. Most people don't realise just how economical they are. And if Nissan had a family wagon with the Patrol diesel in it, we'd have had it like a shot.
The bull bars are ridiculous - we've been off road in ours a fair amount and never suffered any damage. Mind you, the drought is driving the local wallabies into our suburbs - looks like we might need to get them now!!
The main aspect for us was health. Unleaded fuel is highly carcinogenic and we have a cancer problem in the family. When we bought the Patrol 4yrs ago, we could have had a Citroen C5 diesel wagon for the same price, or a Merc for two and a half times the price (auto only; I still likes me stick). The seven seats in the Patrol get used a lot (taking a car off the road!) so it was an easy decision.
