G'day from down under - advice re Nissan Terrano/Mistral sought

[stobbo]

G'day everyone i am a newbie here, well there actually cos i live on the other side of the world (unless you are on this side too, that is)...

Anyway before I pay my $10 I would like to get an opinion on the Nissan Terrano (called a Mistral here in NZ). We only get the 2.7TDs here (no petrols were imported). There are loads more "trucks" here in NZ - everyone has one, basically for towing their boat, which is what I want to do... across hard sand beaches & up and down sometimes slippery boat ramps. We also have a lot of unsealed (gravel) roads here which can be a bit tortuous in your normal family car...

But compared with other trucks the Mistral is NOT popular at all, most people go for e.g. a Toyota Surf/Prado/LandCruiser rather than the Mistrals and therefore Mistrals can be picked up pretty cheap.

What I want to know is - is there a valid reason for this like that they are unreliable, poor performers, a 'lemon' or something ? Or is it just "auto snobbery" ? I would want to get an automatic - is this going to be a problem for towing a trailer sailer ? Is there anything I should really look out for before I put my money down ?

Any advice/input welcomed... and if I get one i will definitely pay my $10 !