CarBrandLogos archive · Daihatsu · 1997

DaihatsuTerios

A small SUV that kept the tall body and the rear-drive layout when rivals gave both up.

Photo: Wilzz99 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Daihatsu history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Daihatsu Terios, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Launched in 1997 to replace the Rocky, the Terios took the compact off-roader idea and shrank it: a five-door body on a short wheelbase, a raised ride height, and a rear-drive-based layout with optional four-wheel drive at a time when most small SUVs were becoming front-drive hatchbacks on stilts. Japan also got a Terios Kid, squeezed inside kei dimensions.

2002 Daihatsu Terios-Lucia 01 · Mytho88 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

That configuration gave it a genuine advantage on rough ground and made it popular well beyond Japan, particularly in Southeast Asia, where it has been built and sold in large numbers. Toyota sold rebadged versions as the Rush and, in some markets, the Cami — a reflection of how thoroughly Daihatsu had become Toyota's small-car arm.

2002 Daihatsu Terios-Lucia 02 · Mytho88 · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

Later generations grew, dropped the four-wheel-drive option in most markets and moved further towards the crossover mainstream, but the tall, narrow, high-riding proportions that made the original useful survived.

1999-2000 Toyota Cami Q Aero Version · TTTNIS · Public domain

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1997–present

Body

5-door SUV

Technical specification

The Terios, in detail.

Production: April 1997 – present
Class: Mini SUV (1997–2017) ; Compact SUV (1999–present) ; Kei car (Terios Kid, 1997–2012)
Body style: 5-door SUV
Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive (1997–present) ; Front-engine, four-wheel-drive (1997–2017)
Manufacturer: Daihatsu

Explore Daihatsu Read the full reference ↗

Badge at launch