Terrano v Surf

We have a Nissan Mistral (Terrano II - 2.7 diesel turbo with auto) in New Zealand and have used it offroad and on beaches. While it is not a hard off road vehicle and is completely standard with AT tyres, it is fine for the offroading that we do ie easy, medium and a little hard stuff. We also have done a lot of beach driving and it has performed well with no problems at all on the sand including getting on and off the beach. Ours also has a rear LSD which helps.

Reliability - in 65,000km we have had one power window give up and the washers have stopped - that is it, nothing else other than the usual oil, filters, brakes pads, tyres, etc.

Off road problems are ground clearance which was a problem once but if you are sensible about where you take it, all be OK. We have been a lot of places and wheel placement gets you out of most problem places - after all we used to offroad a soft 4WD and the Nissan is far better than that ever was. Also low first is a lot higher than we are used to, but we have a Troopy in OZ which has spoilt us. Just makes it a bit harder going down hill - but then our Rangie has the same problem.

Would we gat another one - YES.

Stevesub

We had a '92 Terrano for about 5 years, took it everywhere - Fraser Island, Oodnadatta Track, Kakadu - Ernest Giles Road, Palm Valley etc., all done towing a camper trailer. This car never missed a beat - apart from a broken fan belt once, and a water pump in the last year we had it. terrific in sand,over rock, through water up hil down dale - went wherever we wanted it too.
It was a 2.7, 4 cylinder, turbo diesel, manual - and we beleive that this is the best buy in this vehicle - we know people with petrol engine, and auto - and they are not as happy with theirs. We liked it so much we uptraded to the Terrano II - again 2.7 turbo diesel, manual - have had this one for about 4 years, and it has been everywhere, literally - goes really well, loves sand, rock, hill, slopes, water - you name it, it will go there. We still tow the camper trailer - though am looking at upgrading to a small caravan shortly, and the only restrictiion there is the ballweight (which is another subject altogether that I won't go into here).

Look for the 3lt Surf if you can manage the extra $$. A much better engine than the 2.4

Maybe a search around for Pathfinder information as it will be the same as the Terrano 1, they are basically the same vehicle.

The terrano is the import version. Almost bought one about 5 1/2 yrs ago ( turbo diesel 3lt?, 30,000km, all the option, uhf etc...) for $12,000 but the insurance was going to be $1800 and that was even in mums name....if it was in mine...being 20yr old female it was gonna be $3000.....

I would assume they would be the same as they are vitually the same car.....

Laura

I have a 95 turbo diesel auto with lift kit & 31" tyres goes anywhere been to The Cape, Central Aust., Fink river- several Deserts, Fraser Is & Most of west Qld cannot fault it
Kev

I have both the '92 Terrano (auto 2.7Turbo diesel) and the '97 Terranno II (2.7 TD manual).We have had the Terrano (import) since 1998 and have used it extensively on Fraser Is, Double Island Point and Bribie Is etc.
The car has been fantastic on the beach, the cuttings and the inland tracks. We have also done the Simpson twice in it (both ways) and all the other blah blah blah.
I have driven both 2 wheel drives and 4 wheel drives all over Fraser and Moreton Islands for 25 years and have found that the keys to successful sand driving are tyre pressure (I run 18psi), appropriate momentum (not speed and revs),and weight distribution (in really deep soft sand I have shifted a lot of weight to over the rear axle). I drive (even with a trailer) straight past the "know-it-alls" who are usually bogged.
My wife does a lot of the beach driving as it's so easy. She drove it across the Simpson on one of our crossings (Sept 2006) in hot, soft conditions.
You will find that a Terrano import automatic will be an excellent beach vehicle.
People say that they overheat but you will find that, according to Nissan, anywhere in the temp range (except the red zone) is classed as "normal operating temperature". I went to a lot of trouble trying to cure the "overheating problem" until I found that section in my owner's manual. Now I don't worry about it.
A 50mm lift is all you will need.
Parts have been easy to get and not expensive.
Insurance is not expensive (last time I paid about $350 from Suncorp) but you have to hunt around.
Just get the car you prefer (toyota nissan mitsu) sand is a cinch when you know what to do.
We only keep the old girl for when we head off to the bush or the beach as it's set up for that purpose.
An extended response I know .... but you did ask .......

We've had out 92 terrano for nearly 4 years now and mostly do the beaches and islands around SEQ.
Never had an issue with the terrano in sand. It has been a great vehicle with the only things needed replacing was the water pump, but look out for rust under the rear seat when looking at buying one.

Cheers

R.