... (The dealer said Daihatsu is a division of Toyota but I doubt that is right)
* The engine is quite silent on idle. It does start getting a bit noisy but the performance it delivers between the 2,000 to 4,500 rev band is well worth it. Eventhough the car I tested was a tiptronic, it had ... Read review
Advantages: Reasonable price, unexpectedly high performance Disadvantages: Excruciatingly high maintenance costs ! Expensive to maintain and run
...Corolla' s. (The dealer said Daihatsu is a division of Toyota but I doubt that is right)
* The engine is quite silent on idle. It does start getting a bit noisy but the performance it delivers between the 2,000 to 4,500 rev band is well worth it. Eventhough the car I tested was a tiptronic, it had awesome pull.
* The engine manages to grab and pull out of incredibly low engine revs. Cool for city driving...
...high gear/low engine rev and accelerate during highway cruise which is especially important during overtaking) of the car is average though. It takes precious seconds which mean the difference between a wreck and a succesful overtake worries. Better not try to race the car... Eventhough I downshifted two gears during the try, the car failed to shoot ahead...
* Consumption economy is not one of this car' s best assets... I calculated ... more
While searching for my wife's car (which I ultimately decided on the New-Spec Hyundai Getz 1.4 16V) I also checked this car out.
Here goes for you folks :
1) Looks and Design : * This body version is called the "Classic" here. There is also a new body version which frankly looks much better. (Did not try it out yet though)
* The chrome trim (especially the side guards) is way out of whack. Too much and ugly on such a small car.
* The design comprises of weird curves here and there. Gave the impression that Dali or Picasso had a couple of doodles in the overall design but both are long dead...
* The body is quite sturdy but fender and etc panels are very thin. I guess the "soft shell, tough pit" consept is followed here. With a lot of crumple zones provided but the actual inner shell where the passengers reside is very hard. Fair...
A thru C pillars are quite hard and made of thick metal. Gives a trusty feeling. But the engine hood gives a worrying feeling that during a hard head on it may enter the cabin thru the windshield and cause massive injuries.
The paintjob is good but the black Sirion I was testing had bubbles and dried out flows and globs at the end of each flow. These were rather at areas which were out of sight but if all cars are painted like this, I would worry about uneven paint coating and very quick oxidation and corrosion... Again yet, it may be a very isolated case where one of the robots somehow failed and ruined the whole job...
* My all too famous "half-on-the-curb test" proves that the body has a bit of twist but not too serious. However, the repeated body twists may result in loosened panel joining areas and worse yet, some mechanical components to get loosened in time.
2) Interior : * Typical Japanese / far eastern taste and layout. All too familiar. Nothing to write too long about.
* All features already those on your 1990 Mazda 323 you took to the wreckers yesterday...
3) Engine : * Now this section deserves merit and credit...
* I was told the engine is devised from the well proven Toyota VVT-I engine, those used on the post-2003 Corolla' s. (The dealer said Daihatsu is a division of Toyota but I doubt that is right)
* The engine is quite silent on idle. It does start getting a bit noisy but the performance it delivers between the 2,000 to 4,500 rev band is well worth it. Eventhough the car I tested was a tiptronic, it had awesome pull.
* The engine manages to grab and pull out of incredibly low engine revs. Cool for city driving...
* The "elasticity" (ability to pull out of a high gear/low engine rev and accelerate during highway cruise which is especially important during overtaking) of the car is average though. It takes precious seconds which mean the difference between a wreck and a succesful overtake worries. Better not try to race the car... Eventhough I downshifted two gears during the try, the car failed to shoot ahead...
* Consumption economy is not one of this car' s best assets... I calculated some 7.6 liters / 100 kms which is quite high for a 1.3 liter engine...
* The power the engine delivers is remarkably higher than many other machines out there. But oddly, the torque falls short of that... Or at least it IS there but the gearbox hampers that...
Conclusion :
Not too much to be said, it took me only 4 hours to test this car and thank the dealer (was a very very pretty young lady) before I turned and walked away looking for another candidate....
TURN-ONS: * Reasonable price.
* High performance.
* Quite reliable.
TURN-OFFS: * Massive maintenance costs. (Ask your dealer for spare parts price list and labor man hour tariffs. Calculate say: an air filter, an oil filter, a fuel filter, 4 spark plugs, 4 liters of oil and "periodical maintenace manhours"... Add them all up and their ya go... "Whoaa !!!" I said, "I can maintain a Caddilac with these prices..." She said "well sir, these cars and their parts are imported ya know"... (As though Cadillacs are manifactured in Turkiye !!) )
* Burns higher than expected.
* Looks are not for everyone.
* Ugly and boring chrome inserts and parts everywhere. (I suspect they are actually metallised plastic; I did not care to go into further detail)
I did not try the new design yet. I do not plan to actually but it is fun driving different cars almost every week or the other...
Advantages: Fabulous car - what more can I say Disadvantages: Massive insurance costs, shame about the cd player
I bought a Daihatsu Sirion Rally 2 in January to replace me Fiat (see my review about that if you dare!!) I test drove practically every car for sale between 5 and 10 grand, and only 3 cars impressed me - the Micra, Citroen C3 and the RALLY 2. GOOD POINTS
It looks good. It is manufactured in Japan to full UK spec - which means all the benefits of a UK car but with Japanese build quality. Daihatsu does well for reliability and quality - which is ... ...drive that sold me; It drives like a really quite nice normal car, until you decide you are bored and put your foot down - around 4000rpm the engine will sound like you should change gear, until a minute later the speed kicks in. I had fun giving my friends minor whiplash for a few weeks when they didnt expect it! Sure its expensive, but you get the options; ABS and EBD (although with the accelaration you can get out of it, good breaks are a must!), ...
Gemma_and_max 28.06.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Daihatsu Sirion
Advantages: Fast, fun, economical, gets the looks Disadvantages: People think it is less of a car than it is
...Reliabilty (its based on a toyota yaris and built in Japan - Daihatsu are known for outstanding build quality)
Con's:
It comes with a poor stereo (nothing £100 cant sort)
A few rattles hear and there, Conclusion
Better than anythingelse in its class, although relatively unknown, ...
idontlivehere 27.08.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Daihatsu Sirion
Advantages: Nippy car, good handling, runs well Disadvantages: Expensive parts when things do go wrong
...car....
I bought my Daihatsu Sirion 1.3 almost 3 years ago, new from the showroom, and so far it has been very satisfactory. There have been only a few niggles : the showroom provided it with the wrong wheel locking nuts (easily remedied); one of the door locks failed on me (again, easily remedied under warranty), and I recently had a slow flat, which meant paying nearly £60 for a replacement tyre, which had to be ordered as it's not a standard ... ...It's a 5 door 1297cc hatchback, that nonetheless has enough room for my 6ft 4" husband to sit in the passenger seat, though he would be less than comfortable driving for any length of time, I'm sure. I've had 5 adults in the car without too much of a crush.
I have the automatic version, and the F-speed refers to the fact that you can press a button to convert to a 'Formula 1' type control, where you push buttons directly on the steering wheel to ...
ciaoname1 13.02.2004
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Advantages: Price, space, well made, 5 year warranty, reliable Disadvantages: Image, looks, engine too small
Anyone looking for a new small car will probably end up putting the Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio, Nissan Micra & Toyota Yaris on their shopping list.
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From July 2007 there is also the very similar DaihatsuSirion 1.0. The street price is around £7000 for the base 'S' model, which includes air conditioning, 5 doors, the rear hatch having a metal frame instead of being all-glass, 4 electric windows and two instead of one front windscreen wipers. It is marginally longer and wider, has a little more space, but employs the same excellent engine; while the body is different it is along similar lines, and uses the (old) Toyota Yaris floor pan - still looks neat but slightly more 'staid' than the trio. I think it has obviously better build quality and interior, as well as other advantages like the window buttons on the drivers door, and an interior petrol cap release, but no rev counter. The ride is said to be compliant but body roll evident, so it probably ...
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