I am sure the Altima engine is wonderful. Might be better than some Toyotas.. But unfortunately we dont get them here. The 1UZ is a lovely engine and I am in love. :). Maybe if I had a comparable Nissan V8 I would have liked it more.. Maybe not. But till the time Pakistan gets the Big Nissans, my vote stays with Toyotas. :).
In my opinion one needs to get into differential gearing and transfer case ratios, LSDs etc as well. If we use OEM diffs and TC then you are right, the vehicle will suit Cholistan more than Karal. But once properly geared down, one would have a true rock crawler. Same V8. But you are right in that a V8 like a 2UZ (with more torque down below) would be better than a 1UZ on extreme climbs and all.