SUPER CITY MINI CAR (some text hidden) --NONE--

BY STEVE WALKER

Introductionword count: 126

Small is beautiful, or so they say. Who says it? Well, being Japanese, the people at Daihatsu may not but they would probably concur with the sentiment. If there's one thing that most obviously binds Daihatsu models together, it's smallness. The Sirion is a supermini by Daihatsu's reckoning but its dimensions correspond better to what the rest of the market dubs a city car. It has small petrol engines like a city car and a lively lightweight feel like a city car. From new, it was even priced like a city car. In the end, where the Sirion fits into the grand scheme of things isn't too important. What could be is that Daihatsu knows small cars and the Sirion is a small car from Daihatsu.

Modelsword count: 9

Models Covered: 5dr hatchback 1.0, 1.3 petrol [S,SE, SX]

Historyword count: 176

It's the second generation of the Sirion that we're examining here. The original model arrived in 1998 and was shoehorned into a Daihatsu range that already included the Cuore, the Move and the Grand Move, all of which were small city cars not unlike the Sirion. An effort to differentiate the original Sirion from its stablemates in this overcrowded line-up could be the thinking behind its billing as a supermini but it was better justified then in any case as that was before the leading superminis grew so much bigger. Today, superminis routinely exceed four meters in length while city cars tend to huddle around the three and a half meter mark, the second generation Sirion as introduced in 2005 is 3.6 meters from nose to tail so if it is a supermini, it's not a big one. The Sirion was launched with two engines, a 1.0-litre and a 1.3-litre but a 1.5-litre unit was introduced late on in 2007 to bolster the range. Trim levels run from S through SE to SX in that order.

What You Getword count: 303

We've established that it's fairly hard to determine which market sector the Daihatsu Sirion belongs in but what's certain is that the car offers lots of interior space for a vehicle of its compact dimensions. There's no shortage of headroom inside the Sirion. Six footers should find no issues in either the front or the rear and legroom is also surprisingly good. It's even possible to adjust the rake of the rear backrest. Naturally this abundance of cabin space comes at a price and rear luggage space isn't the best. The Sirion features a multitude of cup holders, stowage spaces, trays and cubbies and it also includes a split level glovebox, neither compartment yielding much in the way of useable space. Rather surprisingly, the seats are firmer than you'd expect and give good support, even to broad shouldered drivers. There is some evidence of cost cutting in the materials used inside the Sirion and some of the plastics used will seem a little low rent compared to the top supermini or citycar offerings. The counterpoint to this is the Daihatsu's generous interior. The dash is adventurously styled with a silver centre console and a quirky cowled fascia pod. If your model has a rev counter, this clips to the outside of the binnacle rather like the aftermarket turbo boost gauges seen on Japanese evo cars. The front end of the car has been designed to do well in pedestrian safety tests, the deformable bumper and nose cone section and ample space below the domed bonnet being a whole lot friendlier than many rivals. Front, side and curtain airbags are standard on all models, as are ISOFIX child seat fixings in the outer rear seats and a trio of three-point seat belts in the rear. Anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution are also included.

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