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Posted on: Aug 18 2007

Hyundai Terracan

The Terracan is meant to mean the king of land, as the name is derived from the words terra and khan, but try telling that to a Russian and she will in all probability turn away in disgust. For, tarakan, which sounds very much the same as the Terracan when the Russians say it, is their word for cockroach!

And although the SUV might have a few qualities like durability and omnivorous nature in common with the household pest, the two are a breed apart, nay several breeds apart!

Having waited for a Terracan for over a year now since we first heard about Hyundai’s SUV making its way to India, we should have been fuming by now. But the delay in its India launch has given to it one of its best features, its heart in the form of the 2.9-litre common rail direct injection turbocharged and intercooled diesel engine.

Style, Building and Performance:
There is no hiding the fact that the Terracan has its origins in Mitsubishi territory but it is commendable that the khan bears little resemblance to its sibling, the 2.8-litre Pajero that we had tested in January. The essentially boxy structure as was evident in the earlier Pajero and the Galloper has been given a total work over at Hyundai’s Namyang Research and Development Centre at a cost of over US$240 million. With a mix and match of aggressive styling cues the R&D engineers in Korea have managed to create a rather flamboyant and rugged looking SUV. The flatter and thinner front end gives the Terracan an all conquering look while all the lights, whether it be at the front or rear add style and class.

 The tail lights are especially stylish and draw attention away from the rather flat backside. Missing too is the spare wheel from the rear hatch - mind you, it is a hatch and not a door unlike in most SUVs in India like the Mercedes-Benz M-class and the Pajeros as well as our own home-made Tata Safari. The placement of the spare wheel under the body might have taken away a little from the butch looks that most people want SUVs for, but will prove to be highly beneficial in the long run. As usually happens, the door starts sagging ever so slightly under the weight of the wheel and causes problems in shutting of the door. As the rear-most foldable seats are front facing and have to be accessed from the front, it was not necessary to have a door at the rear.

Hyundai Motor India has built up a reputation for good build quality over a period of time in the country with the Sonata being its best example. The Terracan is all set to take over that mantle as the build quality of the Terracan feels and looks even better. That might be in part because of the role that it has been designed for but even by that yardstick, the Terracan is a well built vehicle.

One look at the Terracan, its huge proportions and another at the weight, more than even the Pajero 3.2 and one could be forgiven for assuming that this is going to be one sluggish vehicle, with a big and hungry engine with good bottom end grunt to get the behemoth moving. Get behind the wheel and if the engine is already running you would start wondering if it is powered be a petrol V6 or a V8 instead of a four-pot diesel.

Put it into gear and the Terracan glides effortlessly, as a surge of power (nearly 0.6G) pushes you back in the seat. Remember to shift slightly before the engine redlines and your revs stay above the 1700rpm mark and you are carried forward in another tidal wave of power. Sounds good but it is more often than not that the figures reveal a different story.

But if I were to give the performance figures for the Terracan on a sheet of paper and forget to mention the vehicle’s name, most people would assume that we are talking about one of the mid-sized cars with a lot of bottom end grunt as the 100kmph mark comes up in less than 14 seconds - in the same 13s that it takes a Honda City to get to 100kmph. Quarter mile comes up in 19 and a half seconds while the kilometre mark is reached in 35.19s, a time identical to the time taken by the Pajero 3.2 to cover 1000m from a standing start.

But the best part of the Terracan is neither its quick start of the blocks or its long legs or even its top speed of 165.7kmph (again in mid-sized saloon category) but its roll on figures.

In fourth gear the average time for each 10kmph interval from 40kmph till 100kmph is less than 2.4s while in fifth gear the figure goes up to 3.6s. And to top it all when the rev counter gets up to the 2000rpm mark, there is a surge, in whichever gear the SUV might be in. In fifth gear the Terracan is in between 70 and 80kmph and so it records the best roll on time of 2.89s while in fourth gear the Terracan is between the 60 and 70kmph mark and therefore the best fourth gear roll on time of 2.13kmph.

Engine & Transmission:
The Terracan with the 2.5-litre engine was already undergoing homologation trials at ARAI in Pune when Hyundai Motor India decided to hold its horses for a while and wait for the 2.9-litre CRDI engine to find its way under the bonnet of the Terracan for the European market. This 2.9-litre oil burner is the largest of Hyundai’s family of three common rail direct injection engines, the smallest of which (1.5-litre) we have already seen, experienced and raved about in India on the Accent CRDi.

The common rail direct injection near-square engine with turbocharger and intercooler displaces 2902cc, works on a 19.3:1 compression ratio and is fed through an aluminium head which features four valves per cylinder, and has double overhead camshafts unlike the CRDi engine on the Accent which is sohc.

We have now come to expect exceptional output figures from CRDi engines following our experience with them on the Mercs as well as in the Accent, and the Terracan does not disappoint.

Maximum power of 148bhp is churned out at 3800rpm while maximum torque of 333Nm comes at 2000rpm. The engine has a very high specific output of 51bhp/litre which compares favourably with any of the other diesels including the Mitsubishi Pajero 3.2 which has a specific output of less than 50bhp/litre.

In India the 2.9-litre brute of an oil burner will be mated to a five-speed manual gearbox which will drive the rear wheels in normal operation but will have an option of driving all the four wheels. The Terracan uses a system called electrical shift transfer (EST) developed by Borg Warner, which allows drivers to change between high ratio four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive at speeds of up to 80kmph. There is also a low ratio mode in four-wheel drive, which generates maximum traction for slow manoeuvring in poor conditions. The car must be stationary to shift between high and low ratio four-wheel drive. These three settings can be chosen through a dial near the handbrake.

Instead of having a freewheeling hub, the Terracan uses a centre axle disconnect system (CADS) to switch between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive using the engine’s negative pressure. The CADS system also eliminates noise and vibration from the propeller shaft and gear ring set, as the front wheels and axle would be rotating idly in two-wheel drive mode besides effecting a slight increase in fuel efficiency and power characteristics of the vehicle. When in four-wheel drive, the power is transferred equally between the front and the rear wheels. In two-wheel drive, the power transfers to the rear wheels completely. Limited slip differential on the rear axle also ensures that more power is transferred to the wheel having the most traction.

We had ample opportunity to try out the traction and engine capabilities of the Terracan to the extreme around the hills of Munnar. Pouring rain meant that the roads through all the villages from Kochi to Munnar were deserted and there was comparatively little traffic on the road. As the rain got heavier and I started getting the hang of the characteristics of the Terracan and my right foot started going lower on the extreme right pedal, Aspi, who had been warning me to take it easy saying, “slip kar jayegee”, suggested that we put it into four-wheel high and that’s how it stayed throughout our trip to Munnar. The only limiting factor was the visibility and not the machine - it did require some slick gear-shifting though at times, but it was an enjoyable experience that made one warm up to the Terracan.

As a major portion of the 333Nm of torque is available right through the rev range, if one keeps the revs over the 1700rpm mark there is always a surge of power available on tap, no matter which gear you are in and the extra gear-shifting that both Aspi and me resorted to was on account of doing even better, extracting the best out of the raring beast.

Fuel Efficiency:
Before talking about fuel efficiency it would do well to remember that this is a 2-tonne plus vehicle, tall and high, wide and handsome, not particularly designed for aerodynamic capability and which on top of that packs a solid punch. Considering that, the 9kmpl overall figures and the 7.4kmpl in city driving conditions are exceptional figures. A figure of 13.8kmpl on the highway is also better than the best as the Terracan cruises effortlessly with the rev needle nudging the 2000rpm mark in fifth gear at 80kmph. In fact it feels as if one is sitting on a tidal wave of power, ready to be let loose at the slightest indication from the right foot.

With a 75-litre diesel tank, the Terracan can go close to 700km before needing a refill.

Equipment & Interiors:
 The Terracan offers bucketfuls, nay tubfuls of space in whatever form you may require. The leather seats are nice as is the steering wheel. Where the Terracan disappoints is in the look of the interiors which do not convey the feeling of opulence as they should. The fake wood panel finish is not convincing and the instrument cluster is plain and simple. What does add gloss to the interiors is the blue coloured LCD which features a clock, a compass as well as an option to switch between an altimeter and a barometer.

The interiors are user friendly with the rear seats split 60:40 for extra luggage stowage while the steering column is adjustable for height. Ergonomics on the whole are good and all the controls fall easily to hand.

All the usual tid-bits that you’d expect in a Rs 10 lakh plus car are there including a climate control system and a couple of 12V power outlets including one in the luggage area

Verdict:
The Terracan that we tested had a pretty impressive equipment list. Missing though was a music system. Hyundai is still working out the spec details of the variant that they are going to launch in India, and we are sure that they will be doing a very sensible job. In case they decide to go in for a fully laden vehicle then expect it to have a high end music system probably with a VCD player as well. And the price should be around the Rs 16 lakh mark. However I have this sinking feeling that Hyundai wants to eat up the competition as an early evening snack - the music system then might come in as an option but the good news would be that the Terracan will come in at around the Rs 15 lakh mark.

Hyundai definitely did not waste nearly a year if they were to wait for the CRDi engine and then price it exorbitantly high. Although Hyundai has repeatedly been giving indications that the price to expect is around Rs 18 lakh, we think at that price they would not be having any second thoughts of equipping the Terracan with a very high end music system.
Source:indicar.com