Daihatsu TERIOS

I have a Daihatsu Terios new shape (2008). I never bought it for the purpose of taking offroad - at the time I wanted a small estate car with a decent driving position and did not have or want to spend megabucks.

Then I remembered it was permanent 4WD.....hehe

It has done some marvellous things offroad - will post some pics/links later.
I have a 6ftx4ft angle iron framed trailer which I have deliberately taken down a few "lanes" and it has behaved amazingly well, wonder if i could put a rooftent on it?....hhhmmmm

Sounds good. Nice to see something different, post up some pics when you have the time. Watch this space!

Just before Christmas I bought an older-shaped 2001 Terios very cheaply - no MOT, standing on a farm for 8 months - with a view to either ...

Refurbishing it for 'er indoors instead of her saloon car, or if to much to do on it, simply sell on and make a few bob profit hopefully.

Good, nippy little motor, but turned out the chassis rails both sides were coroded, so together with the fact the Mrs didn't like the colour of it (seriously!!!) I flogged it on ebay and made £220 profit. It was actually a German company who bought it, so yes, I made certain the PayPal payment was a done deal before parting with it.

When the bloke with a trailer collected it he said the Terios was bound for Eastern Europe, and in a week's time it would be back on the road - exactly as it stood now. They don't worry about MOT's or RHD he said, they simply want a 4x4 for the snow so couldn't care about the condition as long as it runs. Nice!

That don't surprise me at all! They don't bother too often with driving licences over there either.

I'll try to put some pics of mine up.....bear with me

Nope, gotta wait 7 days.

Have to admit i am not a lover of these vehicles, this said they are a popular soft roader which, when driven correctly, are quite a performer. They are popular with many owners and an alternative to the mainstream brands of soft roaders with very loyal followers.

Don't know how to get around the 7-day rule. Never mind, you'll be set free soon.

Assassin wrote:

Have to admit i am not a lover of these vehicles, this said they are a popular soft roader which, when driven correctly, are quite a performer. They are popular with many owners and an alternative to the mainstream brands of soft roaders with very loyal followers.

Now you don't get grown up responses like that on certain other forums.

Thanks for not just saying it's crap!

Its a very simple case of people having individual requirements with their choice of vehicles, some require a full 4WD system for their particular usage complete with low range, LSD, diff licks, etc. Other people require occasional 4WD due to limited usage such as snow in winter combined with the fact they live in a rural/semi rural location which may have hilly terrain and require a basic 4WD system, others may live along an access track which may become muddy or very slippery in winter.

Many other considerations may come into play, fuel economy and low running costs are crucial to many in current times, to me this is not crucial and not a consideration, therefore its a personal thing to each individual and their individual circumstances, vehicle use is another major consideration. Where a vehicle is used as the main vehicle or as a daily runner many considerations become more important, maybe a small vehicle for one person to commute which will only have one person in it for 95% of the time, but may require 4 seats for the other 5% of the time.

Are they crap? well, yes and no is the real answer, if you need a vehicle which is reliant on having low range, a diff lock, and a range of other options fitted to make it effective for its intended use, then yes is the answer; likewise if all the gubbins is not needed and it fulfils your needs and requirements, then no is the answer as vehicles and vehicle requirements are as individual as the owners. Maybe it is a second vehicle purchased purely for fun use, in which case none of the mentioned requirements apply.

I agree. The small size and manoeuvrability is defiantly a plus.
Personally owning one is not for me because of the limited load space and no low range. I have seen then used on and around farms alot, their small size and reasonable off road ability seem to be liked with livestock owners where speed and manoeuvrability is needed to head of livestock, or at least its popular around here.

Jas

I live in a village and theres only one very narrow and very twisty access road which gets blocked at the first sign of snow, and being in a rural area means no gritters come down. Two inhabitants of the village have them, both were brand new, and the second purchase was made because they tried their neighbours and liked it for what it was, good in the snow, and ideal for an older couple in one instance, and good as a second commuter/family vehicle in another instance.

Assassin, a lot of sense spoken there - makes a nice change - some of the forums just slag it off 'cos it ain't a Land Rover - if you know what I mean
I like Jas' choice of vehicle too. The Terracan is a brilliant vehicle and fantastic value for money compared to others on the market. Not many are aware either that it's underpinnings are Shogun which can make suspension mods etc a little easier - a lot of common shared parts. Wouldn't mind one myself - where does he live???

Unfortunately there are far too many LR people exactly as you describe, and i take great delight driving where they cannot get, in my Shogun, usually accompanied by a two fingered wave if they are of the sort slating my, or other non LR marques.

Fortunately the people on this site do not get into confrontation as we share a common goal, but do not care if it is achieved in any form of 4WD, but a bit of ribbing and banter is always the norm as it is not given or taken offensively. By doing things in this manner the site has a good membership which can be used to discuss problems or issues, pass on advice or tips, or just offer a little help to others, irrespective of what vehicles we drive.

What ^^^^^^^^^^^ Said.

I know plenty of Nice LR owners, plenty of Nice Jeep owners, but there are the odd few or group who are more verbal than others it cast a cloud over the majority.
At the end of the day each to their own, we all know that our vehicles will do this, or will do that, but instead of owners bragging and jesting with one another, on this forum I like to think that we enjoy our vehicles, weather they are good or bad and share our experiences.

Variety is good and each owner has his/her needs. If there was only the Defender or the 70 Series Landcruiser it would not accommodate those drivers wanting an Automatic Transmission, comfort, motorway cruising, fuel efficiency, equipment levels, value for money and so on and so on. I think it is important to realise that 4x4 vehicles are needed and used more than just for mud plugging and because everyone has different needs and income there are different models and brands to suit the owners for what they need.

Jason

This post could have gone either here or on What 4x4 means to me. This is a picture taken circa late 50s early 60s. I am the squirt second from the right. Dad is toward the rear of the truck next to Mum sat on the running board. I am uncertain if this was taken on the way to Ngorongoro Crater or the Serengeti.

No 4x4 or winch and fitted with air conditioning au natural. Should breathing be necessary a handkerchief was an optional extra.

No huge grunty high spec vehicle here. Just your average petrol loving truck on cross ply tyres and basic mechanics. Your travel could be affected by wandering game or road surface. The corrugations really pounded the suspension whilst soft soil/sand on the roads required somewhat aggressive driving as shown on that episode of Top Gear. Get your wheels into that stuff and it could steer you off the road or bring you to a stop. When wet Murram, another soil type, could have a vice like grip. Naturally one drove according to what you came across. In the case of the latter one tried to go around it.

When I took up 4x4 as a pleasure about 7 years ago, I chose to buy a Land rover 90, despite its foibles, because it is British, and had had one years before. For me it is up there with the E type and MK2 Jags; MG; Lightning, Harrier etc etc. Somehow it's past history and achievements surface when you climb in behind the wheel. Don't get me wrong, before I bought the Discovery as an everyday vehicle we owned a Toyota Hilux that gave us 12 years of near faultless service as both a town car and a farm hack. It had reached the stage where a good deal of money was needed spent on it; and besides someone offered us good money for it.

Tucked away in the shed is a 10 year old Suzuki Farmworker with just 27k on the clock. Have had it from new and have no plans to sell what is a very capable little vehicle around the farmlet. In the garage is an MX5 Roadster that I get to enjoy when I can prize it away from my wife.

I am certainly not biased when it comes to foreign marques.

I quite often go on events where there are a wide array of marques. Almost without fail one hears lame comments about Land rovers over the r/t. At times you come across someone who just has a bee in his bonnet about them and just can't let it rest. I am very often impressed by the performance of some marques. On my first "safari" here I got stuck a few times whilst a standard Grand Vitara successfully tackled everything it was pointed at. Some of it is driver skill and experience; some of it engineering.

Above all that, the best part of the pleasure is when all participants are magnanimous to one and all. For those who wish to do more than thrash about in mud, a 4x4, in what ever guise, is a means of escape to see some of the natural wonders before there is too much human encroachment. Such places are getting to be further afield and as Jason points out, some people want automatic transmission, comfort and economy to search them out.

There is a good chance if I could have spent a good 6 months trialling the numerous choices, I might have picked something different. I have reached a point where I can't afford to burn sunlight trying to choose. Grief I have enough trouble if there is more than ONE.

Looking at that photograph once more and remembering, I realize there have been a lot of changes to equipment.....and society. More importantly though are the changes to the natural world. So get out there what ever your wheels and thoroughly bloody well enjoy it!!!!

Vicar

Well said Vicar !!

4x4 ownership is about more than the marque you drive it's about excitement and adventure and or work.

I have a 53 plate Merc ML which is my daily drive to work and for work, it's got a great load area which can accommodate over 30 boxes far more comfortable than a small van and it cost me about the same as a transit connect when I bought it.

I also used it for the Landy rally last year where it gave a good account of it's self on the motorways and most of the rough stuff, the only place 90s and Disco's went I didn't was across a deep ditch which would have mean't me losing a large plastic bumper.
A couple of strangely enough LR owner did scoff at the start but by the end of the event seemed more than impressed on how well it coped and were more than a little envious of the hill decent mode used going down a long steep shale track.

I would never criticise somebody for buying a certain make or model of 4x4 as we all have to compromise, be it for budget, comfort, fuel economy, size or any other reason.

Just buy one, get out there and enjoy it in mud, sand, water, snow or tarmac.

Its interesting to note the common theme of common sense being shown by everyone commenting, and very enjoyable to see.

Several years ago i came across of LR fans who were calling everything none LR and then began calling my little Daihatsu F20 as they claimed its suspension lift and 39" tyres it ran looked stupid and its puny 1.6L engine wouldn't pull it along. They got a shock when i fired it up and they heard a massive supercharged V8 diesel and saw its twin 4" stainless steel exhausts, then it outperformed each of their heavily modified Defenders in every piece of terrain, as each of them got stuck i just nipped around them laughing, and did this deliberately as they were not having banter, they were just offensive and rude about my vehicle.

As i left they were all engaged in trying to figure out how to recover two stuck vehicles in a particularly bad location, if they had not been so rude and offensive i would have gone and pulled them both out with my hydraulic winch and its 175' of rope as this would have reached both vehicles, while allowing me to anchor my vehicle to a sunstantial tree. I did get by revenge, as i left i wrote "Before calling other vehicles make sure you can drive yours properly" on the side of one the parked LR's in wax crayon.

Assassin wrote:

Its interesting to note the common theme of common sense being shown by everyone commenting, and very enjoyable to see.

Several years ago i came across of LR fans who were calling everything none LR and then began calling my little Daihatsu F20 as they claimed its suspension lift and 39" tyres it ran looked stupid and its puny 1.6L engine wouldn't pull it along. They got a shock when i fired it up and they heard a massive supercharged V8 diesel and saw its twin 4" stainless steel exhausts, then it outperformed each of their heavily modified Defenders in every piece of terrain, as each of them got stuck i just nipped around them laughing, and did this deliberately as they were not having banter, they were just offensive and rude about my vehicle.

As i left they were all engaged in trying to figure out how to recover two stuck vehicles in a particularly bad location, if they had not been so rude and offensive i would have gone and pulled them both out with my hydraulic winch and its 175' of rope as this would have reached both vehicles, while allowing me to anchor my vehicle to a sunstantial tree. I did get by revenge, as i left i wrote "Before calling other vehicles make sure you can drive yours properly" on the side of one the parked LR's in wax crayon.

Interesting. I belong also to www.fourwheeldriveclub.com and we have similar on there. Great fun, lot's of help,plenty of banter but no-one gets upset as no-one takes the banter too seriously or gives it seriously. I go out with them and sometimes a few new members will do a double take and have a giggle - until they watch me go almost everywheer they do! I can literally go anywhere that a standard Disco can....say no more

Got to agree about the Four Wheel Drive Club. Whenever I go on there they are a friendly bunch, and whilst banter is present, it doesn't get out of hand as on some other forums - both LR and Jap based. Some owners really are binkered to anything but what they drive. Horses for courses, every 4x4 has it's pros and cons.
Don't blame you leaving them, they were numpty's!

How many times have you seen the question - "What's the best 4x4"? Stupid question I'd say, it's impossible to answer.

Actually i would disagree Tom, whats the best 4X4 is very simply answered, to do this we need to ask another question.

"What are your specific or individual requirements from a 4X4 vehicle".

Then you have the answer to whats the best 4X4.

have to agre with assassin this time; They are ALL good - it's simply a question of WHICH ONE IS BEST FOR YOU