That "Terracan" again

Brian I think most people haven't even heard of the Terracan. Who makes them and what category do they fall into ... small, medium or large 4wd?

Brian, I think most people haven't heard of the Terracan. Who makes them?

Martin, the Terracan is a Korean made V6 4WD made by Hyundai. Probably in the category of larger-medium to large in size. It appears to be fairly competent in on-road and off-road ability, though suffers a little with height, it does get the odd under-body scrape. 4WD Monthly magazine had one in its finalists and consequently in the 'torture test' where Landcruisers, Patrol, Pajero, Terracan and Jackeroo were put head to head. Have to say that in one test on a rocky steep incline, the Terracan got up okay where I thought it might fail (I bought the video). On the same hill from memory, a Turbo-Diesel Prado blew its front diff, so it certainly was a tough track. Perhaps if Hyundai were to produce a decent diesel engine to integrate into the Terracan, it might spark the imagination of potential 4WD buyers, because of course many buyers want the practicality and economy of a diesel.

Brian, I have the Hyundai Trajet (7 seater people mover - V6 engine), which obviously isn't the Terracan, but it is a Hyundai. I (well the wife) has had it for 2 years (50,000kms) and we absolutely swear by it.

There has been only one fault, funnily, a wiring connector on the immobiliser that worked its way loose and resulted in a vehicle that wouldn't start. Hyundai towed it to the workshop to repair it (took hours to find the problem, seconds to fix) and then returned the vehicle home. That was over 12 months ago and not a single problem before or since.

There have been some minor things fixed under warranty like the seat height adjuster (broke when kids bent it) and broken luggage hooks (once again kids playing). Point is all fixed under warranty and NO quibbling with the dealer. In fact, the things replaced could easily have been denied as reasonable wear and tear.

The fact that there is a 5 year 130,000 km warranty is outstanding peace of mind. Even if you sell after 4 years, the new buyer still has a years warranty left- is great for re-sale!!!

But the Terracan is not the full-on off-roader like a Nissan patrol. I just bought a 3.0 TD patrol 3 weeks ago and did not consider the Terracan as a possible replacement for my diesel 80 series. Two main reasons are no diesel option and IFS front end. Otherwise I would have looked at it as a possibility.

The value for money, excellent dealer service and reliability of the Trajet has found a spot for Hyundai vehicles in my mind. Many people may knock Hyundais, but that is typically from people who haven't owned one. Remember back 20 years ago and any jap car (Mazda, Honda, Toyota, Datsun/Nissan) were all considered "jap crap" and looked down upon. It takes time for a company to earn a reputation (and only 1 or 2 faults to loose it) and while the Korean vehicles may not quite be "up there" with the japs, there definetly not far from it. When one takes price into account, I consider them much better value for money.

Cheers

Mark

The Hyundai Terracan uses the same runnung gear as the older Pajero's, and is therefore very well sorted by now. Hyundai now own Kia who also use the same runnung gear in the Sorento. I know that a turbodiesel is ue to be available for the Kia from next September, and I would envisage that this would also be true for the Terracan.

I friend of mine has a Terracan. After owning a Kia Sorrento, and a fully kitted out 3.0td Patrol, He is stoked with how the Terracan is going.