A real little beast, my Daishatsu Charade. Underneath the tiny exterior there's a real racing car just waiting to be unleashed. I've had some very surprised looks from people driving much beefier cars when I've overtaken them at the last minute.
The Charade looks great from the outside (a bit like a Nissan Micra on steroids is what I've always said) and feels great when you sit in it. Reliability-wise it's not perfect. I've had a few running problems with my Charade but I mainly put this down to overuse and asking a bit too much of it (I confess that I was a bit of a boy racer in my time).
Overall though I've got a real affection for this little beast and I don't plan to get rid of it any time soon. I think what will eventually do it for me is practicality issues and the pretty high cost of replacing parts. Plus my racing days are over so I'll probably go for something a bit more practical in the end.
By far the best pocket rocket I have ever owned. I bought 5 of these in total, always going back because I missed the instant buzz of the acceleration from a measley 1 litre 3 cyclinder engine. I dare anybody to drive one without a massive grin on their face! Unbeatable economy from the fastest production 1 litre car.
This was my first ever car and remember it fondly. It was smooth and easy to drive, never gave me any probs and due to its size gave good mpg and was easy to manoeuvre. would highly recommend.
Now I know that Daihatsu Charade is a bit of a silly name. My hubby and I always make a silly little mime at each other instead of saying the name of the car. Well anyway that's about as silly as this car gets. It's a lovely little buggy, really goes the distance and does the job, but surprisingly cheap. We were looking at a Fiesta or a Yaris when we first saw this, and picked it based on the low ticket price and the feeling that it was just higher quality inside and outside as well. We certainly haven't been disappointed.
The best thing about the Daihatsu Charade, especially these days with petrol prices what they are, is that it gets almost 60 miles to every gallon (you can get almost 70 if you're really good), which beats the pants off our other car. Tax and insurance are also dead cheap - small car that probably attracts safer drivers.
It drives nicely, surprising power for such a piddly engine! The steering takes a bit of getting used to though, and can start to slide a bit too easily in heavy rain. I mean you won't be careering off the road at the slightest wet patch, and you can always tell when it's losing grip, but it's not really a car to be a daredevil in.
The other brilliant thing about my Charade is that it's so easy to get into small spaces, and the turning circle is just tiny. The boot is HUGE for such a little car as well, fantastically practical. And I mean the whole inside of the car is just massive compared to what it looks like outside, a real tardis.
The suspension again is better than you might expect, but the tyres seem to squeak a lot, really loudly in an indoor car park. Really startles people at times! The car has been extremely reliable for us. We had to get a door handle done last year, and the tracking and balancing during the last MOT, but really it's been a dream in terms of reliability.
There's other fun little extras in this car that always make me giggle. The display that says 'hello' and 'goodbye' really tickles me. There are little popout cup holders at the front too. They can be a bit impractical if you've got stuff sitting in the space below them, but they work fine and it's just so handy the way they pop in and out. Love it :)
My other half rewired the stereo and that was an easy job. He did actually say that it would be much harder on our other car because that doesn't have a standard slot for a stereo. The Daihatsu Charade has just got a regular space so you just pop out the original one and in goes the new one.
Of course the big problem with a 3 door is always getting people into the back, but it's as easy as it's ever going to be here, and there's oodles of space once you get back there. Good enough for two big adults.