Hyundai - Terracan

2003 onwards 

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Terracan is a big, inexpensive 4x4 that offers reasonable ability in the rough. It has lots of equipment and good diesel engine. But it looks and feels old-fashioned and performs only averagely on-road.

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	Big butch-looking 4x4 with real off-road ability
	Tempting prices make Discovery look expensive
	2.9 TD pulls eagerly; good for towing
	On-road abilities lack finesse
	Questionable styling - it's hardly subtle
	Likely to depreciate faster than rivals

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If your 4x4 requirements are minimal and your budget limited, then Terracan might do nicely. But it's not a sophisticated vehicle by any means; indeed it even looks a bit clumsy and brash. As a basic off-road machine it's effective; the old-fashioned separate chassis and low ratio gearbox make Terracan more than able to cope with mud, hills and towing caravans or trailers.
The price you pay for all this basic ability is an almost total absence of refinement. The 2.9-litre turbodiesel engine tries hard, but there is a lot of Terracan to lug around, so it's noisy and slow. The interior is certainly spacious enough, with a massive load area, but finish and general layout are way below class standards. That won't matter to some buyers because the standard specification list is impressively long, and both new and used prices are low, which are its only two significant plus points.