There’s something very appealing about a down-to-earth vehicle that a) doesn’t break the bank, b) doesn’t offer too many bells and whistles that are not essential unless you are blind or don’t have the use of some of your limbs and c) doesn’t spew out too much in the way of earth-harming substances. In other words an honest vehicle – like the Daihatsu Terios, now nipped and tucked.
While many South Africans buy SUVs, they usually opt for the bigger ones, ones that their bank balances battle to pay off. This is often merely a status thing, not a capability issue. And it’s a pity that more people don’t realize the abilities of a small off-roader like the Terios, which can go just about anywhere. So, what misconceptions could there be that put people off?
For a start, some would say that it’s too small. Well, the legroom in the front is fine; seats are big enough, seat adjustment adequate, legroom in the rear particularly good and headroom all round more than enough. The rear seat backrests recline for added comfort or taking a nap at the back. The luggage space also looks pretty good, partly due to the perfect positioning of the spare wheel on the rear hinged door. And the spare is a full-size alloy, not a near-useless (especially on a 4x4) space saver.
Others might say that it may be lacking in offroad prowess. After all there’s no low-range. While this is true in the case of the Terios, it does have a low kerb weight on its side (less chance of bogging down etc.), very short overhangs, and a shortish wheelbase, plus a very good ground clearance of 205 mm. We tested one on sand dunes a while back and it performed extremely well. This time artound we did some serious mountain work in Mpumalanga where it rains almost constantly, and once again it amazed us. You have to use some momentum to make up for the lack of a low-range and the low power output of 77 kW but it carries on lugging down to below 1 000 r/min (thanks to variable valve timing) and we managed to overcome all of the obstacles quite easily. The only mishap en route was a slow puncture on my vehicle due to a small, sharp sliver and some slipping and sliding on a very clay-rich, wet gravel section. But no accidents and only one vehicle needed a push to clear
Usually the Terios uses a 60:40 torque split front to rear, but there is a diff-lock button that will maintain a 50:50 split from the centre diff. Tyres are Dunlop ST20 Grandtrek M&S on 16-inch alloys. To list the changes made in this facelift, there are tweaks to front and rear aspects, chunkier ventilation knobs, a new audio system with aux input, revised instrumentation with chrome bezels around the dials, audio controls on the steering wheel, remote control locking. The power steering is now electrically assisted, instead of hydraulic. Fortunately, it still provides feedback and works well, both on and off-road. The rest of the spec includes dual airbags, ABS, air-con and ISOFix seat anchors.
On the tar, 120 km/h and more is easy-going and we should also note that most of our route was at an altitude of 1 800 to 2 200 m above sea level. Naturally the stubby gear lever had to be stirred on the hills – a pleasant job thanks to the in-line layout of engine and gearbox leaving a direct link from lever into the ‘box.
Expected fuel economy is 9,5 litres/100 km, but city driving should see a better figure than on most, if not all its competitors, again due to the smaller engine and lighter mass. The vehicle is imported from the factory in Japan and Daihatsu pride themselves on the very low number of warranty hassles they recieve. If your budget still does not allow you to enjoy the pleasures of off-roading in a 4x4, there is a 4x2 version available. Please take note that this model is not front-wheel driven as with most 4x2 SUVs. It is rear-wheel drive, which means more abilities on the steep stuff and the sand. There is also an automatic version. The face-lift does not apply to the long wheelbase version as this is made in a different factory and will be updated later in the year.
Prices are as follows inclusive of a three-years/60 000 km service plan:
Terios 4x2 R204 995
Terios 4x4 R224 995
Terios 4x4 AT R234 995
These can also be purchased without the hard spare wheel cover at a saving of R5 000.
Is the longer, 7 seater vesrion still available?
