Tribute to Daihatsu in SA

Where did it start in SA?  The first local car from this then-unknown brand was the Daihatsu Charade.  It arrived in SA in the mid 1980s, offering a low-budget price, as an alternative to other hatchbacks like the Mazda 323, before Toyota had a hatchback locally.  But a few years later the brand pulled out of SA.

In the 90s Daihatsu was re-introduced to SA.  Some of the more memorable Daihatsu vehicles available locally include the Daihatsu Charade, Cuore, Gran Move, Sirion, YRV, Copen, Materia and Terios.

The Daihatsu Cuore (cuore is heart in Italian) arrived, again with unusual 3-cylinder engine, which, again, surprised South Africans.  This car was smaller than anything else on the road.

A new Charade was introduced in early 2000s, as a small high square hatch, ideal for city and students.  Then the 2007 Charade arrived, but with names like Classic and Celeb it seemed to try to hard.  In 2011 the Charade was withdrawn.

The first Sirion was a small round (overly oval-inspired) design hatchback with a first-of-its-kind – the option of an automatic gearbox named Steershift had a switch on the dashboard which the driver activated, then gears could be shifted using switches on the steering wheel spokes.  The 2nd Sirion became a bigger square hatch, which offered large space for its segment and price when it was launched in 2005.  By 2014 it was old and out-priced.

The YRV was one of the very first cross-over types, except they didn’t call it that back then in 2001.  It was a new kind of vehicle – a mix between high hatch and small van-like body, offering space in an easy to drive package.  It also had the Steershift automatic option, and a small number of YRV Turbo models were imported, using a 1.3 turbo and Steershift.

The Copen was a small cabriolet with folding hardtop, with the emphasis on small.  More like tiny.  This roadster is a comic sight, with even usually small cars seeming large against this baby roadster.  It was only produced for a short time (2006-2009) and was by far the cheapest roadster available.  With the hardtop roof folded into the boot, the volume left was 14 litres – yes, just 14 litres, which in luggage terms is no space.  A cute open-top car that was fun to drive, and with a 1.3 engine was nippy thanks to 850kg kerb weight.

Another bright idea was the Materia – an MPV with huge headroom, open-space dashboard, and as easy to drive as a hatch.  It had an unmistakable strong character assured by its custom-van looks.  There was also a limited-edition Turbo, converted in SA, which was great fun.  The Materia also makes for a great meter taxi, thanks to huge space and high roof with low running costs.  The tiny taillights and truck-style flat bonnet, with available colours including lime green, lilac and dark purple, only added its individual personality.

The original Terios was also pioneering, in being the first really small 5-door SUV (forerunner of today’s compact cross-over).  The 1st Terios was properly tiny, and something really different when a small number was shipped in locally, much to the amusement of many.  The 2nd Terios was the most affordable compact cross-over SUV, taking over from the original Toyota RAV4 (itself a pioneer) size-wise.  It was also the lowest-priced 4x4 one could buy new, and had an enviable reputation of being very capable off-road, benefitting from light weight and smallish size, which are great advantages in the bush.  The local team also spotted a gap – Terios is popular with the ladies, so they introduced women-favoured models called Diva and, later, Diva Deluxe.

The company also tried its hand at a 4x4, but the Rocky was too crude, and disappeared soon.  In 2009 the Gran Max commercial bakkie was marketed as a 1-ton pick-up with space, and was awful to drive thanks to a fixed upright bench seat.

If you are in the market for a vehicle, the ones from Daihatsu to be recommended are Materia and Terios.

Never one for big engines, the Daihatsu had a simple line-up of mainly 1.0, 1.3 or 1.5 petrol engines, and some cars had the 1.3 turbo or 1.5 turbo.

A small car company that was best at small and innovative cars.  Farewell, Daihatsu