Feroza No Style-setter But Beats Compact Rivals In Rough Going
The Age
Thursday November 23, 1995
IN THE battle for supremacy in the compact four-wheel-drive market, otherwise known as the recreational 4WDs, the Daihatsu Feroza is often left out of the equation as buyers and motoring writers eye off the more fashionable Suzuki Vitara and Toyota RAV4.
While the Feroza cannot compete with those two vehicles in the style stakes, it certainly has no problem leaving them behind when it comes to off-road abilities.
Daihatsu has angled its rugged Feroza at the youthful, sporty market, which is similar to the Toyota tactic. Suzuki, particularly with the Vitara Estate, likes to muscle in on the ground occupied by the larger four-wheel-drive wagons, presenting itself as a serious alternative.
The Feroza is not an attractive vehicle, and the company's designers have done little in the past seven years to change the look of the off-roader. A wider track and new paint treatments have been some of the few luxuries afforded the Feroza.
Powered by a 1.6-litre, 16-valve four-cylinder engine, the Feroza is not found wanting when the driver asks for low-down torque off-road. The engine is willing and has ideal gearing for rough conditions. If you intend to drive the Feroza on- road for most of the time, get used to the coarse sounding engine, which is also a little too loud in the cabin.
The Feroza sits on double wishbones, torsion bar spring and stabiliser bar at the front and a rigid axle with leaf springs at the rear. There is still a touch too much bounce and jump in the Feroza, a trait that plagues almost every short-wheelbase vehicle.
The recent introduction of a wider track on the range-topping SX model has improved the Feroza's ride, coupled with a halving of the number of leaf springs in the rear, which has softened the ride a little.
If you are after an inner-city cruiser, then perhaps the Feroza is not the compact four-wheel drive you should be looking at. This vehicle is designed as an off-roader with sufficient level of polite road manners for sealed sections.
It is not a fashion statement, as the RAV4 and Vitara have been accused of perfecting. So, of course, it is rough and rugged on the inside. The cabin is slightly too cramped for my liking, and the driver's knees are always uncomfortably close to the centre console (which was a problem when I hit a large pothole).
It looks old fashioned and at times it feels old fashioned.
But that is selling the Feroza short. People rarely complain that Nissan hasn't changed the basic design of the Patrol for donkey's years.
Although there was some talk from Daihatsu a while back about a longer wheelbase version, there is no four-door available.
But the Feroza is available in a number of models.
The base model is the Soft Top, followed by the Hard Top, the CXI with a removable resin top, a four-speed automatic transmission model and the SX wide track. These range in price from about $21,500 through to $28,500.
The top-of-the-line SX features electric windows and mirrors, central locking, cloth seats, remote rear door lock, centre floor console, tilt adjustable steering and a four speaker cassette stereo.
Most of the Feroza models also come with a tachometer, freewheeling hubs, sunroof (it is removable on the Hard Top), front and rear mud flaps, door mirrors both sides and a soft-feel steering wheel and gear knob.
Don't discard the Feroza as an option if you are looking to move into that recreational four-wheel drive market. The Feroza has proven itself to be a tough nugget over the years and its off-road abilities are matched only by the big guns.
So just consider exactly what you'll use the vehicle for - posing or off-roading.
© 1995 The Age