Terracan Set To Become King Of 25 Lands

A father and his teenage son are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime, covering 25,000 miles from London to Sydney in a Hyundai Terracan – and aiming to raise £250,000 for charity in the process.

Neil White, owner of Hyundai dealership TW White, will set off on the epic trip in August, with son Alistair, 18, as navigator. They will cover 25 countries, and arrive in Australia in December.

Naturally Hyundai’s tough Terracan was the only choice for such a trip. The Terra part of the name means ‘of the land’ while the can part refers to khan, meaning king. Therefore Terracan means ‘king of the land.’

The Terracan 2.9 CRTD is designed to offer the best of all worlds; full off-road performance combined with solid on-road ability, as well as high equipment levels, at the highly competitive price of £18,495.

The Terracan features part-time four-wheel-drive, with a ‘shift on the move’ facility which allows the driver to switch between high ratio four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive at speeds of up to 50mph. There is also a low ratio four-wheel driver setting, for difficult conditions or awkward manoeuvres.

All money Neil and Alistair raise will go to the SOS Children’s Villages. The charity provides housing and support for hundreds of children all over the world who have been orphaned or abandoned due to war, famine, poverty or disease.

The charity is also present in nearly all of the 25 countries covered by Neil and Alistair’s route, which includes Romania, Turkmenistan, India and Cambodia.

Neil said: "A friend and I were originally going to take part in an organised expedition of 40 4x4 vehicles, driving from London to Sydney in 2003. However due to the war in Iraq, this was cancelled and after many discussions my friend decided to pursue other activities."

"I knew that I could fund the venture myself and still wanted to reach my goal of raising £250,000 for a children’s charity, but I also knew that I could not complete the trip without a co-driver. My son Alistair had arranged to take a gap year before starting university and bravely offered to come with me."

So how do father and son feel they will get on during the trip? Neil said: "I’m sure we’ll get on really well! I’m sure there’ll be the odd argument, and each of us will need our own space, but the only way to tackle a trip like this is through co-operation."

Neil confessed though that he’ll miss his comfortable bed while away, while Alistair, a keen sportsman, said he’ll get withdrawal symptoms from not playing golf, tennis and rugby.

Neil and Alistair now have another month to get the final logistics in place before they set off on their four month epic journey on 19 August.

If you wish to make a donation or keep up-to-date with Neil and Alistair’s progress, you can access their special website at www.sos2oz.com

All new Hyundais, including the Terracan, are covered by a five year, unlimited mileage, fully transferable warranty.