How much road space do one adult and two kids need on the school run? The Renault Espace takes up 81.8 square metres and a Land Rover Discovery 103.1m. A used Daihatsu Terios will cast a shadow over only 60.1, the same as Toyota's baby Yaris. How can a proper 4x4 look this funky, be so manoeuvrable and yet so inexpensive? It's part of Daihatsu's aim to target buyers in the family hatchback market and offer them something completely different. The 4x4 fashion market is still growing hugely, and the Terios has been one of a number of small 4x4s such as the Suzuki Jimny, Kia Sportage and Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin that have aimed to reap a share of it. The idea has been to steal sales from 'warm' hatches, mini MPVs and also from sectors where buyers were purchasing utility they didn't need. Part of the appeal is low pricing, and in the used arena this usually means nearly new cars at bargain prices. In this respect the Terios doesn't disappoint. Interested? Here's the background on Daihatsu's baby.

About the Daihatsu Terios

As long as you are aware of its limitations, and there are quite a few, a Terios makes an inexpensive, stylish purchase. Unless your vehicle use is limited purely to short, urban hops, then the Terios is best purchased either as a second vehicle or not at all. Having said that, it's a well constructed, thoughtfully designed little car which is great fun if used for its design purpose.

Representative finance example

If your borrow amount is £7,000 with a deposit of £1,000, a selected term of 48 months, at a representative APR of 17.9% (fixed) and an annual fixed interest rate of 17.9%, you would pay £171.83 per month. Total charge for credit would be £2,247.84 and total amount repayable is £8,247.84.

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