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| Hyundai Terracan 4 x 4 When choosing our vehicle for the expedition – the first consideration was “four wheel drive”. Obviously there are many 4 x 4’s on the market but we had to make a sensible decision based on potential reliability, suitability and overall cost. We did consider a number of vehicles including the ‘overlanders’ favourite the Landrover. Although Landrovers can, in general, be quite reliable (with spares readily available) they are not the most confortable of vehicles and the thought of spending four months ‘living’ withsuch a vehicle held little appeal. Jeep, Shogun, Nissan Terrano and Landcruisers were all considered but in the end we have opted for the Hyundai Terracan 4 x 4. Although reliability cannot be guaranteed the Terracan seems an outstanding rugged 4 x 4 which should provide comfort for the 25000 odd miles it will have to cover. The engine is a 2.9 CRTD (common-rail turbo-diesel) capable of 0-62 in under 14 seconds and a top speed of 104 MPH (although I doubt this will be put to the test!). More importantly it is capable of 148 BHP @ 3800 rpm and has great torque. The Terracan is longer, taller and wider than most of it’s ‘competitors’, but also has higher standard equipment levels. The vehicle features part-time four wheel drive (like most others) but can also shift between high ratio four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive at speeds of up to 50 MPH. For really difficult conditions or awkward manoeuvres there is a low ration four-wheel drive setting. |
We believe we
have chosen the ‘ideal’ vehicle for our trip. The Terracan seems to offer the best of both worlds; full off road performance combined with solid on-road ability. Equipment levels are high and our ‘wish list’ of ABS, power-steering and climate control are all satisfied. The value of the vehicle is important due to the cost of the ‘Carnet’ (see Carnet du Passage) and this was the reason the Toyota Landcruiser was ruled out. The Hyundai is not expensive and looks superb value for money. Hyundai themselves have been extremely supportive and have suggested we do not modify the standard vehicle at all. Basically, we are taking a “showroom” vehicle all the way to Australia with only minor cosmetic modifications to the interior (fitting of fire extinguisher etc). Hyundai have offered to contact each Hyundai head-office in the countries we are travelling through and this gives us great peace of mind. Obviously modern vehicles “should” be reliable anyway but knowing we can contact Hyundai distributions along the route makes us feel even more relaxed and as confident as one can be as we set off. Naturally time will tell but we are fairly sure we have chosen the ideal travelling companion. Note: “TERRA” means of the land “CAN” is derived from ‘Khan’ which means king TERRACAN is promoted by Hyundai as ‘king of theland’. We will elt you know how right they are in December. |
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