Terios salt of the earth

The Daihatsu Terios is the personification of simplicity. This could not have been illustrated better than when my friend saw me parking one at her house and the first thing she said was "wow that car should be driven by nurses".

I laughed a little but I knew what she meant, and strangely enough my mom is a nurse and she absolutely loved the car.

What my friend meant was that when we think of nurses we think of middle aged women with families and this car would be convenient for them.

Since we know that nurses are underpaid, this vehicle will not break their banks. And know what, she is right.

The Terios is just that, a great small SVU, that can do all the things that the bigger SUV's do, but coming in at a lower price and also saving you more money with lower fuel consumption.

This mini-SUV is not flashy at all and it looks as if Daihatsu really did what it needed to do to save cost so that the vehicle becomes affordable.

Though not a bad looking car, it is really not the type of vehicle that has earned any bragging right.

Daihatsu has now given this little number a facelift - and it makes the Terios even more interesting.

It now comes with bigger and better ventilation knobs, a new audio system with aux input (though still no USB outlet), audio controls on the steering wheel and remote control locking. It also still has dual airbags, ABS, air-con and ISOFix seat anchors.

Do not be fooled by its size - the Terios has ample legroom and space.

I did actually fit in seven adults and no one complained about space at all.

However, some complained about the back seats being a bit uncomfortable. The boot space is bigger, since the spare wheel is kept safely on the rear door.

The other advantage of this mini-SUV is that when it comes to city driving it is just more agile.

But this vehicle does not only cater for the city slickers; it is, after all, an SUV and for those who take it off road the 4x4 model uses the 60:40 ntorque split. The Terios has a button that then splits it 50:50.

Though it might have much lower power (77kW) - when compared to bigger SUVs - the Terios can really hold its own, its compact size being the secret weapon.

All versions come with a three-year/60000km service plan. The prices are: Terios 4x2 R204995, Terios 4x4 R224995 and Terios 4x4 AT R234995.

These vehicles can also be purchased without the hard spare wheel cover, at a saving of R5000.

It may not be at the top of the SUV hierarchy but the Terios is reliable, simple and affordable - and is perfect for those who are not flashy but rather sensible, like my mother, the nurse.

The Specs:

Daihatsu Terios

Engine: 1495cc four-cylinder

Power: 77kW at 6000rpm

Torque: 140Nm at 4400rpm

0-100km/h: 12 seconds (claimed)

Top speed: 160km/h (claimed)

Fuel consumption: 9.5l/100km (claimed/combined)

CO2: N/A

Price: R204995

We like:

Good space

Affordability

Agility about town

We don't like:

Lacks bragging rights