What they said when the Hyundai Terracan was new… (Jun 18 2003)
THERE is no doubt that naming a vehicle can be a risky business and Hyundai has taken a calculated gamble with its new off-road offering the Terracan.
You can see the nicknames being lined up already - Jerry Can, Taliban, Terror Can etc, etc.
The can part is derived from khan, meaning king, and terra meaning of the land - ergo King of the Land, which is a very brave claim for a new vehicle.
But to use an old cliché, the Terracan is a whole lot of car for the money - just £18,495 on the road for the manual and £19,345 for the auto.
Best of all is that Hyundai's five-year warranty applies.
The launch on July 1 sees a departure for Hyundai from the car/SUV market into the competitive 4x4, off-road workhorse market.
Well that's what the importer says. It is designed purely as a workhorse and they have set their sales target accordingly low.
Hyundai is being a little bit disingenuous about that. The truth is that this is more than a workhorse. There is no doubting its off-road capabilities as a demanding course in the Northamptonshire countryside demonstrated.
But it was on the road that it surprised me. It is a comfortable drive both pottering around the city streets or at high speeds on the motorway, and you can see the appeal for the Range-Rover-at-the-school-gates wannabes.
My main criticism would be the gearbox "gate" which is wide enough to get a sheep through and provides a good workout for your left arm.
The Terracan is nearly as big as a Range Rover, but comes in at around a third of the price and Hyundai say it is longer, taller and wider than the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Mitsubishi Shogun Sport and the Nissan Terrano.
It comes with just one engine, a powerful but flexible 2.9-litre common rail turbo, with a manual and automatic gearbox option.
The interior has a comfortable velour upholstery with a high and commanding driving position. Both driver and front passenger have oceans of space as do the rear passengers.
For a workhorse, there is plenty of luxury gear as standard, including all round electric windows, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, climate control, radio/CD player, alloy wheels, remote central locking with alarm immobiliser and fog lamps.
It also features driver and passenger airbags, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution and rear limited slip differential. Not bad for down on the farm when you are mucking out the stables.
Off road capabilities feature part-time four wheel drive, which allows the driver to switch between high ratio four wheel drive and two wheel drive at speeds of up to 50mph. For really difficult terrain the driver must stop and switch to low ratio all-wheel drive.
The 148bhp engine produces 33Nm of torque at only 2,000 revs which not only allows it to climb like Spiderman, its towing capability is equally impressive. The fact that it's built on a tough stand-alone chassis with double wishbone suspension up front and a rigid axle at the rear means the Terracan offers serious off-road capability.
On the road it is a comfortable and spritely customer. It performs the 0-60mph sprint in just over 13 seconds and has a top speed of 103 mph. The ride is comfortable, easily absorbing craters and potholes, and handling is adequate.
Road and engine noise are kept to a minimum thanks to strategically placed soundproofing material in the pillars and a seven-layer dashboard bulkhead.
Hyundai say fuel economy is pretty good returning an average of 32.8 mpg.
King of the Land may be pushing it a bit, but this 4x4 is a fine offering that will have the traditional kings-of-the-offroad looking anxiously over their shoulders . . . and there's that five year warranty.
Words: Bill McCarthy
Copyright