The original Daihatsu Terios J100 carved out a unique niche as a featherweight, narrow-bodied off-roader combining true permanent four-wheel drive with genuine urban agility. Unlike modern soft-roaders, proactive Daihatsu Terios maintenance is imperative to keep its robust mechanical transfer case, live axles and cooling hardware performing safely over rough terrain and motorway mileage alike.
Power is supplied by the 1.3-litre 16V petrol engine (HC-EJ or later K3-VE), including the rare turbocharged K3-VET in select markets. Early HC-EJ units require scheduled cambelt kit replacement, whereas K3 engines adopt a timing chain. On the driveline front, the standard full-time four-wheel-drive system features an electro-pneumatic centre differential lock, which must be tested on loose surfaces to confirm that the dashboard indicator illuminates and the differential disengages smoothly without mechanical binding.