Road Test: Daihatsu Terios Diva

We’re no bunch of girls here at SACarFan, so when Daihatsu got in touch about their new Terios Diva, we called in our favourite female guest writer Carri Anne Kelly, to tell us whether the Terios is worthy of her Maybelline or just a ‘maybe’.

Women often lament that no one listens to them when they speak. Good news Ladies, the attentive powers that be at Daihatsu South Africa were listening, have heard and have taken action. Welcome to the ‘new’ Daihatsu Terios Diva.

Based on the standard, five-door, rear-wheel drive Terios, the Diva boasts a few add-ons to make a woman’s life easier, as well as some exterior details that make it more attractive than the rest. Before I continue, however, let me tell you how the Diva came about.

Daihatsu noticed that 80 percent of their Terios sales are driven by female buyers. Take a look around for a Terios the next time you’re in traffic and, except for my neighbour’s son and the guy down the road who’s henpacked, you’ll find the majority of drivers are in fact female. What followed were phone calls to existing female Terios owners and prospective new clients, asking the all important question of, ‘what would they want in a car?’ As it turns out, what women want is the standard, imported, Daihatsu Terios 4×2 with all the features and then some on top.

This means that under the bonnet, the 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder, 16-valve petrol engine, shared with the rest of the model range, remains unchanged, which is a shame, as it is slightly under-powered with 77 kW and 140 Nm of torque. The lack of punch is most notable when you’d like to go singing through a mountain pass or climb a hill, but the engine note itself is pleasant and the drivetrain feels solid and sturdy. Flat open roads or highway driving prove to be comfortable, with the 200 mm ride height being advantageous for seeing ahead of the traffic flow and providing a feeling of security. On that point, I’m not entirely happy with the idea of the Diva using drum brakes at the rear, but guess that’s a trade-off for affordability. I’d have liked to have given you a real-world fuel consumption figure too, but the Diva doesn’t have an average fuel consumption reading on the trip computer – nor a multi-function display for that matter.

What us ladies do get, however, are exterior details that include an orange motif on the bonnet, together with colour matched ‘Diva’ emblazoned on the two rear doors and boot. Other exterior highlights include fog lamps, alloy wheels, roof rails, a rear windscreen wiper and window defogger, as well as colour-coded bumpers.

Inside, the Diva colour scheme is continued (Divas know the curtains must always match the carpet!), with black leather seats complemented by orange trim stitching and the word ‘Diva’ embossed on the backrest of each seat. A touch-screen infotainment system is mounted in the centre console and features Sat-Nav, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, is iPod compatible, supports DVD/CD/MP3 playback and has a 60GB hard drive to store your music on. It has a definite aftermarket feel about it and, even though I consider myself car gadget savvy, it took me a while to figure out how to work various functions. The Sat-Nav system takes about 20 seconds to initialise, and in so doing almost mutes the volume on the radio. It’s not a major issue, however, as the Sat-Nav itself is a pleasure to work and even provides house numbers as you drive along.

The driving position caters for the vertically challenged or blessed, with a height adjustable driver’s seat and tilt adjustable steering wheel that features built-in audio controls. Effective power steering leaves little chance of clipping small walls, fences, or in my case, those cursed little plastic scooters that the kids leave lying around, plus, the greatest addition to the Diva in this respect must surely be the rear camera.

Being a business women, mother, or just full-time Diva, means we usually have accessories and necessities to rival Paris Hilton’s luggage, with the result that sometimes you lose the smaller items in a bid to store everything ‘successfully, (my reading glasses were once found wedged in the seat mechanism). To this end, the Diva has six cup holders throughout, storage pockets behind the front seats, as well as a nifty seat organiser, which hangs behind the front seat and boasts a multitude of compartments to hold chargers, pens, make-up, note pads, snacks, nappies, sunglasses, reading glasses, make-up brushes, teething rings, etc. Now everything is in one area and nothing will go A.W.O.L.

When hanging behind the passenger seat the organiser is a godsend by virtue of being within easy reach – perfect for stowing that mascara tube as the lights turn green, or for storing the house keys in a place you’ll remember. I was concerned that it may be a safety hazard when parked, but the Diva’s tinted safety film on the rear windows is dark enough that you cannot see it. Larger items that don’t fit into the seat organiser can now be held in the boot organiser – like the 3 pairs of shoes needed daily, wet swimming costumes, or the contents of your handbag that’s become overloaded and needs to be emptied in a hurry in light of that impending meeting. To top it all, there’s a lamp in the luggage compartment to illuminate proceedings to make life a little easier.

Daihatsu have a knack for making smaller, stylish cars that don’t compromise on internal space and the Terios Diva is no exception. Should the wet costumes be accompanied by surfboards, for example, the practicality of 60:40-split folding rear seats will not go unnoticed. Alternatively if you’re driving around with little Munchkin in the back, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that the Diva has ISOFIX baby seat mounting points, coupled with a 4-Star Euro NCAP safety rating thanks to driver and passenger airbags, ABS and more.

Essentially then, the Daihatsu Terios Diva is all encompassing in terms of the needs of the modern women. Plus, all the new additions over that of the standard Terious, are installed here in South Africa, so you can be a Diva that helps the economy grow, not just a pretty face. There is one last thing though…

The oddest reaction whilst driving this car was from men, who were of the opinion that the Diva “is a bit of an offensive title”. Ironically, however, not a single woman thought so. Ladies, we do know the difference between a Diva a’la Beyonce and a ‘gold digger’, (think Kardashian), and so to all men (and let’s not discriminate, any dogmatic feminists too), who might be opposed to the wording of ‘Terios Diva’ for their various reasons, I’d like to remind them what the feminist movement was all about. It was about a woman’s right to be heard, have a voice that counted towards the weighting of socio-political outcomes and, most of all, to have a choice. With this in mind, I celebrate and exercise my divine feminist right to preserve my R300 manicure and use the can of Tyre Weld, so generously provided by Daihatsu, to painlessly remedy a punctured tyre. Then I can drive the Diva to a nice man, who chooses to not notice what his nails look like, and let him fix the affected tyre. Viva la Diva!

Comments

comments