It is big and very much ‘in-your-face’ but in a nice way. It is the new to South Africa Terron9 luxury double cab from the LDV stable and will be formally launched at the Festival of Motoring, but I had a quick ‘sneak peek’ at the imposing vehicle that will be available in three trim options.
All models are powered by the same 2,5 -litre turbo-diesel engine that generates 163,5 kW at 3 800 r/min and 520 Nm of torque from 1 500 r/min, driving through an 8-speed automatic gearbox that has a manual shift mode and multiple modes for highway driving (normal/eco/sport) and offroad with mud/snow/sand and tow options.
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With a maximum unladen climbing angle of 31 degrees, approach angle of 29 degrees and departure angle of 25 degrees, it sets its offroad credibility quite high but, besides the imposing front end and large running lights, the thing that set it apart for me was the impressive fold-out rear step into the ‘bak’ and the depth of the load area – 535 mm giving it a load capacity of 1 100 kg on the base Elite model and 850 on the Luxury and 825 on the Premium.
Although new to the local market, the vehicle has gone through several iterations in Australia where it has a 5-star ANCAP safety rating and comes to us with the Ozzies having ironed out any small issues – and it comes simply bristling with specification.
Autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane change assist, intelligent speed limit assistance, anti-lock braking, electronic brake force distribution, rear collision warning, traction control, vehicle dynamics control, front on demand differential lock and tyre pressure monitoring are just some of the standard features on the base Elite model.
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The Elite runs on 18-inch wheels with 265/65R18HT tyres with the the Luxury and Premium getting 20-inch wheels and 275/55R20HT tyres and all have a double wishbone front suspension setup with the Elite getting a leaf spring rear while the two more luxury versions have a multi-link independent setup at the back. Braking on all three variants is via ventilated disc at the front and disc at the rear.
All come with an 80-litre fuel tank and LDV claims a combined consumption of 7,9 l/100 km. Pricing will be announced at the launch at Festival of Motoring.
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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