Hyundai Terracan reviews

I purchased my Terracan in 2005 and still own it 18 years later, a great tow vehicle, around town a little heavy on fuel, my Terracan has now clocked 180,000 klm, mostly highway driving and towing my 16 ft Jayco popup caravan. both car and van have made the Melbourne to Cairns and sometimes further 10 times, and touch wood without any breakdown during those long distance travels, a very reliable car that gets regular services as needed. Perhaps one area of concern is tyre wear, the factory fitted Kumo reached 70,000 klms, since then l have used a popular brand with disappointing results. On all our towing trips north from Melbourne and return the economy was excellent, averaging 12 to12 5 litre/ 100 over the trips. Overall, this car has been a joy to own and continues to give our family trouble free motoring, which is always reassuring when travelling in remote areas. Overall l would rate our experience with the Hyundai Terracan 2.9 Turbo CRDI Hylander 9/10.

I bought a used Terracan thinking that as long as it was well maintained the relatively low mileage engine would go on forever. I have to say that I liked the car a lot- when it was running. Spacious, comfortable, decent acceleration, good view if the road. After the first few months of trouble free motoring the problems started. Brake lines Fly wheel pulley came off twice (common with terracans I have heard( Oil dripping from intercooler from leaking turbo Water leak from engine block pipe connection (nightmare fix) Burst coolant hose Oil leak from rocker cover gasket Clogged radiator Clogged heater core Steering rack Another coolant hose burst Head gasket (probably due to overheating event from the second burst hose) Injectores - at this point it was enough and sold the car as a 'project' This car was the biggest money pit that I have ever owned, I would tell anyone thinking about buying a terracan to run a mile.

Rugged rubish. Engine is a weak representation of engineering

If you enjoy spending vast sums of money on repairs .then go ahead and buy one. Quite frankly I wouldnt touch any Hyundai with a bargepole after my experiences with this vehicle.True it is well equipped and extremely comfortable which is just as well as you sit for hours awaiting tha expensive tow home.

Bought as a long since repaired Cat D for £1000 three years ago as a one or two month stop-gap having just sold a Defender TD5. The Terracan has more space, better turning circle, much more powerful, much, much more comfortable and tows better. It was also 1/10th of what I got for the Defender (literally). Mine's the early 150bhp manual, yet the Defender was supposedly remapped but there was no comparison as tow-cars, Defender was woeful compared to the Terracan. I fitted Bilstein B4 shocks all round plus a new battery, oil change and all filters. It rarely goes out without the car trailer and has towed a wide variety of cars, all effortlessly. Three years later and it's still here and nothing I look at tempts me away from it. It's actually a fun drive and by modern standards, not ridiculously massive externally. Inside though the squarish styling means the space is incredibly practical: washing machines go straight in upright behind rear seats. If you need to, the rear seats can be rolled forward or with a few bolts removed completely: hey presto! One van. What I really like is that as these have aged they're even more the anti-lifestyle, non-yummy-mummy, zero fru-fru choice. If you're in one of these, it's for a good reason. You don't buy one of these because it's the right thing to be seen in. Terracan owners have the last laugh I think: simple, wonderful engineering and build quality, pretty quiet, pretty economical, no DPF, no Adblu. It just keeps going and is surprisingly rewarding to drive. Lots of little things: the doors close nicely, spare wheel can be accessed with a full boot, it warms up quickly but also has ferocious air conditioning. Mine has never put a foot wrong, never seen a warning light, has towed the trailer out of some really iffy places. I am super impressed. To celebrate its third full year here I've recently just stripped and waxed the whole underside and cavity waxed the chassis. It's kept pretty clean on top and people often ask what it is. Anyway, for something bought on a whim as a temporary solution it's turned into a bit of a long term winner.

Highly underrated, superb towing vehicle & although it takes a while to get used to its looks, underneath is an old fashioned solid ladder chassis. Road manners are civilised, if a little wallowy, but that's the trade off for respectable off road performance. Had my terracan for 18 months now & I love it. Not that it's been plain sailing, mechanically, but I do all my own work so no big deal. The achilles heel of this engine did strike me..... High pressure fuel pump wore out & broke up, sending metal particles through the fuel system to the injectors. My car was always a keeper, so fixed it. Cost was about £1200 in parts but I know it's basically got a new fuel system now. Quite a few owners have hp pumps fail at about 80k miles, like mine. Symptoms were lumpy tick over, engine management light and limp mode when accelerating hard. Fuel pump and refurbished injectors were £1k, the rest of the money was spent on timing belt, other belts and filters. My advice? Query previous owner on regular fuel filter changes! Other issues were rusty bumper brackets, abs tone rings, seized brake calipers, handbrake shoes devoid of linings, rear difficulty whine. But all these problems are expected with a 10+ yr old truck on my opinion. Make sure your mechanic knows how to use a grease gun on grease nipples...... your terracan has a few of these on the propshaft joints that need regular greasing. Service it regularly with semi synthetic oil and good quality oil filter, put good quality diesel in it, and you'll not go far wrong. I'm generally impressed with the Tonka toy mechanicals; the drive train is strong & well-proven, being lifted straight from the Mitsubishi shogun. Rear diff whine is normally cured with a diff oil change, making sure you use the proper LSD oil to prevent chatter of the LSD friction plates. Add a bottle of LSD additive if it still chatters after an oil change. Electrics have been reliable as have all the toys and gadgets. Suspension has needed a couple of steering joints, but again, normal wear & tear items. The exhaust seems to be made of extra thick steel and seems to last forever. Interior space and elevated driving position were my priorities & the terracan definitely ticks these boxes. Get one cheap, they don't seem very popular, so don't command high prices, & enjoy driving a best kept secret! If the fuel pump does go wrong, you're faced with a decision on whether you want to spend £1k diy or probably £2k garage bill, to get it fixed, but it is worth it if you like the vehicle & are going to keep it. There isn't much else available for this money that does so much for so little. I'd buy a newer one if hyundai still made them.

I purchased 06 terracan june 2013, it had 62000 miles. It has given great service so far,its a commercial by the way,I BOUGHT another one recently, Its an 07 as this is my fourth terracan, need I say any more, These jeeps must be the most under rated out there, They are very cheap to buy, do 32 mpg on average and give no hassle if treated properly,obey oil change periods etc and always remember the NUT BEHIND THE WHEEL is the most important nut.I have found after 50 years accident free driving if we obey what the service books recommend most vehicles would not complain much HAPPY MOTORING FOLKS

Ok so it's a Hyundai - It's not a top of the range Land Rover etc but to me it represents: Excellent value for money in the used market (UK) A work horse and great towing vehicle 2.9 common rail unit pulls forever it spot on Auto box is excellent Standard 2wd with 4 high and low switchable drive Good mpg for its size mid 30's on a long road trip Load space is exceptional Generally does what it says on the tin Im fine with how it looks others hate it or have no idea what it is (in the UK) which is a positive in my book On the other side: Ok I won't do any (real) off roading but the original suspension wallows and sways which I'm sure is nothing new to experienced owners but you get used to it after time. It's not expensive to upgrade the suspension if you want a stiffer ride. As usual full service history offers no guarantee, mine has 43k on the clock and was mothered by the previous owner. I've just had to a sort a diff whine, rear discs, pads and a caliper but no complaints as I factored in part of the diff costs in when purchased. The interior (cloth) is a light grey but what were Hyundai thinking putting a light colour in a work horse is beyond me so I plan to replace the load space with a dark grey/black fitted carpet. Not fussed about the lack of electrical gizmos to me it just more to go wrong, with air-con, decent audio, the rest is functional it's fine. The plastic wood effect is err "naff" but might change that to piano black later on and I'm surprised at such minimal cubby holes for "stuff" So there you go IMO it's a great buy and all round super value 4x4 but I'm taking out an AA recovery policy just in case...

Terracans are fairly rare in the UK and as such are generally cheaper to purchase second hand than similar large equivalents such as Landcruisers ,Shoguns etc .They are very large inside , quite nippy and extremely reliable in my experience .As I do almost all my miles in short urban drives of under 4 miles I struggle to average over 25 mpg , but on occasional longer journeys I manage 30-35 mpg . Very comfortable with high equipment levels , these cars are great for the family or as workhorses to move quite large loads. I would recommend as a good second hend buy , but be aware that because they are not so numerous it is hard to get some spares other than from main dealers , so they can be pricey.