In a world where money is tight and petrol consumption and global warming are increasingly relevant, Daihatsu’s decision to stretch their fuel-sipping Terios II SUV into a full seven-seater came at just the right time.
The Daihatsu Terios posed, until recently, a bit of a conundrum for South African buyers.
Its buzzy little 1,3-litre engine and lack of a low-range transmission meant it was incapable of crawling over really tough terrain, and its tiny dimensions made it unsuitable for many families around town. What the Terios was, though, was a budget soft-roader that performed reasonably well in moderate off-road use, which is as much as most SUVs ever do, without guzzling loads of gas on the way.
Along came 2008, and Daihatsu South Africa introduced a beefed-up version of the Terios, with a longer wheelbase, more interior space, and the same 80kW 1,5-litre engine that had found its way into the short-wheelbase version a couple of years ago. The extra 640mm length inside the cabin allows for a third row of seats, turning the SUV into a very useful seven-seater Mom’s Taxi when dad isn’t playing Walter Mitty over the weekends.
With the rear row of seats folded away, there’s still space for five people aboard and the luggage area expands enormously. To provide even more passenger and luggage space, the full-sized spare wheel is bolted to the exterior of the massive rear door.
Daihatsus are always amongst the best-equipped vehicles in their price ranges, and the Terios is no exception. All models come with air-conditioning, dual airbags, ABS brakes, electric windows and a very good sound system. There’s also central locking, but this is unfortunately not remotely controlled — you need to insert the key into the door lock to get any action.
As is usually the case with Daihatsu, the car is very well built, but the cheap-feeling brittle plastic trim does a good job of disguising this. On the upside, those who venture off-road or use it for kindergarten duties will find that the plastic is easy to wash down after a particularly gruelling outing.
Because Daihatsu specialises in building small cars with small engines, their engineers try to save weight wherever they can, and the doors consequently feel lightweight and a little tinny. If I worked in their design department I’d sacrifice a little of the weight-saving and add mass and soundproofing to the doors and body panels.
Fuel consumption, though, is just dandy, with the little car averaging well under 10 litres per 100km travelled. That’s considerably better than any other seven-seater 4X4 I can think of.
So what’s it like to drive? Surprisingly good. My wife and son complained that the car sent to us for evaluation felt underpowered, until I pointed out that this was a budget 1,5-litre 4X4 from a reputable company. The engine needs to be revved to extract decent performance, but when this is done it responds well, and its acceleration and top speed are more than adequate. My only gripe here was that engine noise, particularly at speed, was higher than is acceptable in a modern car. Bring on that extra soundproofing I spoke about earlier…
The Daihatsu is also surprisingly capable off-road. It’s not ideal for really heavy going, because of the lack of bottom-end grunt, meaning you have to dig in the spurs and take a gallop at obstacles rather than plod slowly over them at idle. But the reasonable ground clearance and the fact that the front and rear overhangs are short enough not to dig into the ground, allied with the permanent four-wheel-drive, make it much better than you’d expect off-road.
There’s also a centre diff-lock operated by a button on the dash allowing the tyres to dig in and claw their way through soft sand or mud rather than spin uselessly once any of the wheels loses traction.
Daihatsu’s biggest problem here is that many South Africans think the manufacturer is some Third World Johnny-come-lately with questionable quality standards. Daihatsu is, in fact, a solid Japanese company that’s been around for decades, and it’s 51% owned by Toyota.
Many Daihatsu products are sold elsewhere with Toyota badges, and the Terios is badged as the Toyota Rush in Japan and Malaysia.
The car tested here retails at about R220 000, depending upon extras. It comes with a three-year/75 000km service plan, with a maintenance plan available as an extra, and the price includes a three-year/100 000km warranty. As a family wagon/sports utility vehicle that doesn’t break the bank to buy or fill with petrol, we reckon it’s a winner. It’s also available in short-wheelbase guise, in manual and auto, and with front-wheel drive only. Pricing starts at R190 000.