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By
EWAN KENNEDY
21 March 2005
Daihatsu
has been one of the few Japanese makers to persist with the
importation of mini cars to Australia. In this land of cheap
petrol, ample streets and voluminous car parks, we have
generally regarded cars in this class as simply being too small
for our needs. Yet a few inner city dwellers have seen the
advantages in owning cars that can be squeezed into tiny parking
spots and which are frugal to run.
Daihatsu is very much a small car specialist and builds some
excellent vehicles in this class. Its Mira, Centro and Cuore are
amongst the best and have enjoyed a certain degree of success in
Australia, mainly because of the company’s excellent
reputation for building reliable machines, with the larger
Charade and Applause having won many admirers over the years,
and selling in much larger numbers because of their extra size.
Interior space is surprisingly good in the front, but the back
seat is pretty cramped for adults. Boot space is fairly small,
but can be increased substantially by folding the seatback down.
Ride comfort and general levels of noise are not good, Centro is
noticeably better than the older Mira. They are not too tiring
around town when you are only spending moderate lengths of time
at the wheel.
These little Daihatsus are not really suited to long distance
Aussie country trips as you have to work their little engines
hard to keep them moving up hill and down dale. In a pinch they
can run at 100 to 110 km/h on the flat bits but the hills really
do knock them around. Be very aware that the car may have been
driven too hard to the extent that it’s worn out before its
time.
Power for the Mira and Centro comes from a three-cylinder
fuel-injected engine of just 660cc. Low gearing and light weight
means it gives more performance than you might expect, but you
do have to work at the gearbox to get decent acceleration in
undulating territory. The Cuore, introduced here in July 2000,
has a bigger engine, a three-cylinder 1.0-litre unit. It’s
more suited to country driving than its predecessors, but still
struggles at times.
The manual box is a nice little five-speed unit but the
automatic transmission only comes with three ratios and can be
pretty buzzy if the going is fast.
The Mira was launched in Australia as a car in December 1992,
though it had already been here in van form for a couple of
years before then. Mira vans were sold throughout the
vehicle’s life. The Mira van came with an 850cc carburettored
engine and a four-speed manual gearbox.
Daihatsu Centro, introduced to Australia in March 1995 should
correctly be called the Charade Centro despite the fact that it
has nothing of any significance in common with its bigger
brother the ‘proper’ Daihatsu Charade. The duplication of
the names was done as a marketing move to try to cash in on the
reputation of the Charade. Australian buyers being a
well-educated bunch didn’t fall for the stunt and Centro
didn’t sell well, quietly disappearing from our market late in
1997. These last cars will have a 1997 build plate, so be wary
of the sales guy who insists it’s a 1998 if it was first
registered in that year.
As with the Mira, a few Centros also reached us in van form.
Beware of vans that have had windows and a back seat added to
try and pretend they are cars, they could have had an
ultra-tough life as knockabout delivery vehicles. True Mira and
Centro cars are either three or five-door hatchbacks.
Spares are generally easy to find. These days Toyota runs
Daihatsu in Australia and is better organised than the previous
operators. Prices aren't too bad, though they can be high in
relation to the value of an old car that's now only worth a few
thousand dollars.
Working on these little cars can be a pain because there's not a
lot of room under the bonnet. For anything more than minor jobs
it’s often better to simply remove the engine for proper
access to it.
After struggling on for a little over three years, imports of
the Daihatsu Cuore ceased in September 2003 and as we go to
press Daihatsu mini cars are again absent from the new-car scene
in Australia.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
The tiny Daihatsus are well built and inherently reliable,
but can suffer at the hands of drivers who thrash them along to
keep up with the traffic.
Check that the engine starts within a second or so of turning
the key, even when cold. It should idle at a steady speed,
though the three-cylinder layout means its never super smooth so
don't expect too much.
During the test drive feel for hesitation when accelerating and
look for oily smoke from the exhaust when you are getting away
from the lights or working the car hard up a hill. After the
drive, look for fumes from the oil filler when you remove the
filler cap. Also feel for excessive heat in the engine bay.
Try some fast changes down through a manual gearbox, feeling for
hesitation and listening for crunching sounds. Check the clutch
isn't slipping during fast take-offs.
Have a good look over the complete interior, paying special
attention to the condition of the driver’s seat and the floor
mat in front of it. Severe wear in the luggage area is likely to
mean the little Daihatsu has had some commercial use, perhaps as
a courier in a major city, and that's pretty tough stuff.
Look over the lower parts of the body, including those that are
out of sight, for rust, but the cars are normally pretty well
protected in the factory.
CAR BUYING TIP
Buy a car for the correct usage and it will generally look
after you, but try to force a mini car to do duty as a family
machine and you may soon regret the move.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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