Daihatsu Terios 2004 Review

The conspicuous absence of buttons and indicators is reassuring and does not seem to detract from driver or passenger comfort.

There are no tricks here. What you see is what you get. This little ripper could be more aptly called the Terrior: feisty, compact, reliable and ready to take on anything.

Terios is the baby of the 4WD brigade – both in size and price. It is in constant all-wheel-drive mode and proper 4WD is available at the flick of a switch. While I didn’t get off-road with it, the constant rain in my driving week made even car parks almost a 4WD challenge – one the Daihatsu was well up to. I subjected the Terios to my usual weekly run of work, school and shopping, and added a few surprises to see how it handled itself. I was a little nervous taking such a small car on the Southern Expressway to Noarlunga but the trip proved I had little to worry about.

I felt no vulnerability, and cruising at 110 km/h was no problem for the engine—apparently the same as in the Toyota Echo. Dual airbags and cab side protection enhance the feeling of safety.

And on the safety side, there are some nifty additions. If you crash, the fuel is automatically cut off, any locked doors are immediately unlocked and the interior and hazard lights activate.

Traveling as a foursome was a little tricky, but only in terms of storing the stroller and all the paraphernalia that followed. Like my weekly purchases, it was crammed into modest rear storage, but at least it couldn't fall apart - it was tightly packed.

A mysterious omission in this car is the cup holders. This is the first new car I've driven in the last two years of reviews that doesn't have cup holders. While this is probably due to lack of space, I can't say it was a big loss - just a curiosity. The lack of any other storage up front other than the glove compartment was also a little odd.

However, I was pleased with the absence of sound warning signals for reversing, seat belts, keys in the ignition, and so on. In this little space curmudgeon, there's no chance of bumping into anything. Oh, the joy of parking in conventional parking spaces with plenty of room to get on either side.

However, I found myself regularly parking about a meter from the curb, getting used to Daihatsu's small frame.

The back seat is perfect for two. Three kids would be a squeeze and two large adults might rub shoulders.

This is not a big family car and doesn’t pretend to be.

While there are a few more mod cons I wouldn’t have minded, such as remote central locking, I was not inconvenienced by the Terios’s back-to-basics approach.

Perhaps this illustrates that many of the additions to more expensive new cars simply make our lives unnecessarily complicated.

LOVE IT LEAVE IT

Price $ 23,000

LOVE IT

This is a low-fuss, low-frills terrier of a vehicle that doesn’t pretend to be anything more or less.

LEAVE IT

Storage please. Nowhere to put CDs, drinks, coins... whatever.