Daihatsu Charade Five of the Best First Cars From Yahoo UK & IRELAND

Daihatsu Charade

The Daihatsu Charade was a supermini sold from 1977 to 2000. Daihatsu considers the Charade a large "compact" car to differentiate it from other compacts in its lineup, such as the Daihatsu Mira/Cuore.

Daihatsu Charade / G10 (1977-1983)

The first generation (G10) appeared in 1977. It was available as 3-door or 5-door hatchback, powered only by a 993 cc 3-cylinder engine with 50 hp JIS (37 kW).

The early G10 (Series 1) had round headlight and the late G10 (Series 2) had square headlights.

Daihatsu Charade / G11 (1983-1987)

The second generation (G11) was released in 1983, again as a 3 or 5-door hatchback. It featured several variations of the 3-cylinder 1.0 L engine, including a turbocharged version with 68 hp JIS and a Diesel version. A 5-speed manual transmission was available. The G11 was produced with two frontends, coloquially known as "square-eyes" (Series 1) and "cat-eyes" (Series 2).

In Europe, the G11 underbody, engines and transmissions were used as the basis for the Innocenti De Tomaso, after Innocenti's contract with British Leyland expired. The G11 parts continued to be used by the Italian automaker until 1992.

Daihatsu Charade / G100 (1987-1994)

The third generation of the Daihatsu Charade (G100) debuted in 1987. It originally shipped with a 1.0 L 3-cylinder engine (CB23) and 1.3 L four-cylinder with single carburetor (HC-C). A 1.0 L turbo diesel, a 1.0 L twin-cam turbo (CB70)(CB80) , named GTti and delivering 105 hp JIS (77 kW), a 1.3 L fuel injected 4-cylinder (HC-E) and 3-cylinder (CB90) were later added. It was released in a 3-door and a 5-door hatchback. A 4-door sedan was released with the 1.3 L EFI engine in 1988. In Japan a deluxe version was available, dubbed GTxx, featured a sunroof, power windows, air-con and power steering.

The third-generation car was sold in the United States for just four years, from 1988 through 1992. The car sold poorly, perhaps because of its high price, poor sale sites, and unfortunate translation in English, and the company withdrew permanently from the US market. Sales for 1989 were 15,118.

Not all export markets were featured with all the bodywork variants (eg. Singapore received the 3-door hatch only, while Malaysia got the 5-door), but Europe received all three variants (with the sedan reserved for Central Europe).

In the Australian market the GTti was unavailable and the turbocharged petrol Charade used the carburettor engine (CB60/61) from the previous generation.

Daihatsu Charade / G102 (1989-1991)

Four door sedan Charade Social begun to sold in Japan since 1989. Next generation of this car in frame G203 and G213 was manufactured since 1994 to 1999 in 2 modifications: "pose" and "SX".

Daihatsu Charade / G200 (1994-2000)

The fourth generation was introduced in 1994, again with hatchback and sedan bodies. A 1.0 L engine was the base model in Japan, but in many European countries, the SOHC 1.3 L was used. The sedan, introduced in 1994, featured a 1.5 L engine with optional 4WD. The Diesel models were dropped in all markets where they were previously available.

The turbocharged GTti version was replaced by a more conventional GTi with an SOHC 16-valve 1.6 L engine. This version was engineered by Italian ex-racing driver De Tomaso (the previous owner of Innocenti), including racing-derived camshafts, and was capable of 124 hp JIS (91 kW) in the Japanese market. The export version was detuned to 105 hp DIN (77 kW). De Tomaso also added their own bodykit, Recaro seats, a Nardi Torino steering wheel, and Pirelli sports tyres. A total of 120,000 Charade GTi were produced following this joint effort.

The Charade was restyled in 1996, only two years after release (with the codename G203), with the 'smiley face' grille and changed headlights, looking more like it's Toyota sibling - the Starlet, and it was produced until 2000, when it was replaced by the Sirion/Storia.

Daihatsu Charade / Safety

In Australia, the Daihatsu Charade was assessed in the Used Car Safety Ratings 2006 as providing "significantly worse than average" protection for its occupants in the event of a crash.

Daihatsu Charade / Nameplate return

In 2005, the Charade name was resurrected in the UK and Australia. The new Charade is now a rebadged Daihatsu Mira (Cuore in other European markets), and it is positioned one market segment below its previous generations. It is available only as a 5-door hatchback with a 1.0 L engine.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org