Daihatsu moves into the 1.3-litre market

Press, 9 December 1988, Page 37

Daihatsu moves into the 1.3-litre market

Slowly but surely the Japanese Daihatsu is growing up. Not long ago these tiddlers were almost in the micromini category, being powered by 846 cu cm and 993 cu cm engines, each of three cylinders.

The 993 cu cm, three-cylinder engine is still around, as Daihatsu New Zealand is still importing one in two-door and four-door hatchback form, as well as the sporty fuel-injected GTti version, which was reviewed in this column earlier this year. This is now retailing at $22,495 — a quite substantial $2500 reduction on the old price. In the up to IOOOcu cm market the Daihatsu has been dominant for the last five years. Now, however, Daihatsu is moving into a market five times the size and pitting itself against the likes of the best-selling 1.3 litre Toyota Corolla, the Ford Laser, the Nissan Sentra and so on.

John Hicks, marketing manager of Daihatsu New Zealand, stopped over in Christchurch last week in the course of a whistlestop New Zealand dealer tour to introduce the 1300 cu cm version. A somewhat brief 50-kilometre drive was enough to convince me that this four-cylinder lightweight should at least win a share of the 1.3-litre market.

It is a lively, good-handling car, but probably not as much a car as the average buyer expects a 1300 cu cm model to be.

Except for its relatively hightech engine, it is, in effect, the older three-cylinder Daihatsu, which, let’s face it, was a pretty good little car but was probably regarded as a step down in the market, when compared with the Corolla, Laser, Sentra, etc. This is probably the handicap the Daihatsu will have to overcome to win significant sales in the 1.3-litre niche, but I believe it has the stuff to do that

The new 1295 cu cm fourcylinder engine, with four valves per cylinder, arranged in a crossflow pattern, has pent roof combustion chambers. A die-cast aluminium alloy block and cylinder head keep engine weight down to a light 90kg. It develops 76kW at 6500 rev/min., producing 102 Nm at 3900 rev/min. In a car with a kerb weight of 800 kg, the power and maximum torque figures are above average and they add up to lively road performance. The 1.3-litre Daihatsu comes in manual and automatic gearbox forms. The car I sampled was a manual with an easy, smoothshift action. The automatic is a three-speed with electronic controls.

Brakes are of the disc/drum set-up, although the GTti has ventilated discs all round.

Apart from a slight tendency to hop from bump to bump when driven with the elan more temperate people might frown upon, the suspension is generally wellmannered.

In spite of its typically Daihatsu dimensions, there is sufficient room for four people within the car, although hyperactive occupants might feel a little repressed. There is also sufficient carrying space for a modest amount of luggage, ideally of the soft variety. Taken all in all, I’d say that this Daihatsu, which is attractively smooth-lined, will attract people who put more of a premium on performance than other factors.

It is to be hoped that a 1.3 Daihatsu will become available for a comprehensive test about February, but it has been announced already that the manual transmission model will carry an $18,495 ticket, while the automatic’s will read $19,495.