porlsprado replied:

compare the pwr and torque specs of the TII to others and it is excellent, particularly when u factor in weight ratios. I bought as my first 4WD a tII petrol and it was an underpowered heap of XXXX, sold it 4 months later, now have a v6 petrol - but i use mainly in sand and love the instant pwr but still wonder maybe a turbo diesel whould have been ... However, my brother served in bosnia and kosovo and the un occupationary force used TII diesels and they ferried troops everywhere apparently, particularly through rivers with blown out bridges. One of the benefits is the air intake which is halfway up the driver's right pillar which obviates the benefit of an aftermarket snorkel. There was an internet page a couple years ago of some per mites that took their TII desiel all the way round Australia and went through amazing stuff, dunno if its still round. Never underestimate weight/pwr/torque ratios as a mega tool.

Cause it looks narrow and unorthodox you can finger 100 series and patrollers as you go past them when they are bogged. As much as this is red rag to bulls there is a lot of driver skill involved in doing that. No idea as for towing but don't compare vehicles, compare how does a patoll 4.2 diesel go with towing or a yota diesel go with towing when they are like half a ton heavier but with the same pwr torque outpts.

good luck, wish i'd bought the TII diesel first time round.

NissanNut replied:

I agree, dont underestimate you vehicle, it is more than capable of doing what you want it to. The only thing you might want to do if venturing far, is take spares that are hard to get at your local parts store, especially obvious things like fan belts, radiator hoses etc, they dont fail often but you wanna make sure you can get replacements where ever you are in Oz, just in case.

These are an under rated vehicle and are very capable of road. 90% of your 'go anywhere'-ability are a combination or tyres and driver skill, a good set of muds and you'll not even wheel spin past the cruiser or patrol that is stuck. Ive taken 2wd (LSD) vehicles where you wouldnt believe.

Good luck on your ventures oround Oz, there is no better fun than exploring our great country.

NUTS!

Shaker replied:

We have a Terrano II TDI & a Track Eagle Camper Trailer that weighs in fully loaded at around 1100kg. We have towed it with a heavily laden vehicle, around 8000kms through the Outback & extensively through the Victorian High Country, including Butcher Country, which is a fairly long, steep haul out & the TII handles it all with relative ease. We keep up with friends with GU 4.2 diesel Patrols & 100 Series diesel Cruisers climbing out of Dargo!
On the down side, after market accessories are a bit harder to locate & the vehicles do have an inherent tendency to overheat in extreme conditions.
I would be more than happy to help you if you need have problems locating acessories or even installing things like snorkels, bullbars, brake controllers or UHF radios, as there are not many places to fit these last 2 items in modern vehicles.
Maybe the TII owners should get together & exchange email addresses and phone numbers to help each other with any problems.
On the point of size of the vehicle, it is virtually identical in measurements to the first Prado series.

westBob replied:

tripper i also recently bought a t2 td just before crissy i think they are a very underated 4x4. planning a trip to innaminka in 2 weeks towing 1100kg behind her.come back from the snowys in late january it was a pleasure to drive. a mate come with us in a 2003 rodeo td both carrying similar weight and the rodeo could not keep up on hills, or off road he came back ,and back traded on a t2 he too is very impressed with his.I live in the cental west we do 50% dirt road driving in very dry conditions on rough roads, i have no doubt about reliabilaty as the are very simalar to a navara and that is all we use on farm here just hold ya head up and ignore or the flak that others do throw at us t2 owners . cheers Bob

hoyks replied:

The air intake on the our models is in the front gard above the tyre, not halfway up the A pillar. I have heard this before and it may have been a modification for the KFOR vehicles, but the nissan manual shows no duct work. And no snorkel available.;-( Terra has fitted one off a “98 Mazda B series ute which I would advise doing, if only to prolong air filter life ($50+ each genuine)

I have one and it is great. I have done the Newcastle/Townsville/Newcastle run a few times and had no problems. I regularly head out on weekend trips with the Overlander Forumguys and manage to keep up with the Land cruisers and Patrols. I only held them up on the last trip because I ran aground on the hump in the middle of a bog. Everyone else was running 35"+ muddies and lockers and I only have 30" A/T tyres.

The diesel when it is going well (there are some electrickery bits that can let go and power drops off considerably.
Here is the link to the club I am with
Pathfinder club forum
And this is a UK site but they have lots of info on Terranos
Nissan 4x4 Owners Club

Member - Jeff M (WA) replied:

It is Diesel, it has low range why is it not a real 4wd? These people who have made these comments to you are obviously very ignorant.

It doesn't have to be a landcruiser or a patrol to be a "real" 4wd. IMHO a real 4wd is one that has low range. Simple as that. (except perhaps some of the subi's that have low range, they are a grey area).

Your vehicle will be fine for what you want to do, but as mentioned above probally do some suspension upgrades and perhaps add a third party gearbox oil cooler if your going to be towing reguarly for long periods. (just like you'd do to any 4wd).

Have fun with it!