- Doors and Seats
3 doors, 4 seats
- Engine
1.0i, 3 cyl.
- Engine Power
40.5kW, 88Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 5.3L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Cor! Cheerful and cheap at $10,750
The good: Willing, zippy engine, dead cheap
The bad: Not built for long drives or country roads
Rating: Three stars (out of five)
If you're looking for a cheap new car, then it doesn't get much better than this - at least in Australia. Daihatsu's latest hatchback, the Cuore, is the most affordable new car on the market, with an asking price of $10,750, minus air-conditioning and the dreaded on-road costs.
Still, it's a car and a new one at that, complete with a warranty that means you won't have to worry about breakdowns, rust - or any other dramas that keep owners of many used cars stressing - for the first three years, or 60,000km of ownership, whichever comes first. And given Daihatsu's track record for building fairly bulletproof little cars, there's a good chance it'll soldier on for a lot longer before you'll experience any major problems.
The Cuore is essentially a Handi van with more car-like suspension, a couple of extra seats in the back and a lot more equipment. That means it's only a four-seater, but then again there's not exactly loads of space in the two-door body to stretch out and relax.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the Cuore is not the world's most comfortable car - but it's not designed to be. The design brief is pretty simple: keep it cheap. As a result, the seat trim looks tough enough but it's not exactly inviting and won't set any standards in fashion. But while everything is very obviously built to a price, it doesn't look as if it's about to disintegrate, as many other cut-price cars often do. Equipment is thin on the ground, though, without so much as levers inside the car to adjust the mirrors. Instead, you'll have to wind the windows down and push them into place. Then again, once they're set, they're set.
You can f orget such luxuries as power windows or central locking, although interestingly, a single-slot CD player is standard fare, reflecting the wants of the young target market more than anything else. There are also twin front airbags.
Perhaps the most annoying omission is remote levers for the boot and fuel releases, meaning you need to take the key out of the ignition for either. And air-conditioning will set you back another $1490.
The narrow body looks fairly cramped from the outside and, granted, it's a long way off the dimensions of your average family sedan. But the tall roof means there's actually a fair amount of headroom to easily accommodate taller bodies, even in the back seat. Legroom in the back is a bit cramped, though.
Getting to the back is a relatively easy process, with the front seat folding forward.
The Cuore's boot is limited in its capabilities. It has quite a shallow floor and is not overly deep, although the 60/40 split-fold rear seat certainly opens things up and adds to the versatility.
That diminutive size makes the Cuore a cinch to manoeuvre around town. With power steering standard, it's light to drive, while being pretty easy to judge the corners of the car, because in reality you're not that far from them. At less than 3.5 metres in length, the Cuore is also the shortest car on the market, making it dead simple to park.
Looking at the specifications for the engine, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Cuore will be a slug. With only 40 kilowatts (kW) of power (compared with, say 152kW for a V6 Commodore), it's not about to set any land-speed records. But with only 720kg of body around it, the performance isn't that bad.
The 1.0-litre three-cylinder, which is the same engine that powers the five-door Sirion, buzzes along with a familiar high-revving note to it. You'll find yourself flat out most of the time, but the engine is up to the task and has a willing character, even if it's far from quick.
A five-speed manual is standard, and offers light changes without much fuss. The three-speed auto costs another $750 and still offers respectable performance, which is against the norm for such small-engined cars. However, with only three gears, the auto feels in desperate need of another cog once you pass 80km/h.
Not surprisingly, the Cuore is a miser on fuel, thanks in no small part to its lightweight frame. Anything above seven litres per 100 kilometres is a little extreme, even around town. And without being cruel, you wouldn't really want to take the Cuore beyond the city limits, such are its driving dynamics. It struggles up hills once up to speed and the lightweight body does nothing to inspire confidence.
You get the impression that safety is not the Cuore's strong point. Commodores and Falcons start to look pretty big when you're in this little thing, and there's not much metal between you and them. Safety experts say that size has a lot to do with the safety attributes of a vehicles, which doesn't say much for the Cuore.
While you'll be making lots of compromises on equipment and comfort with the Cuore, there's no getting around the fact it is a well-built new car that just happens to be the cheapest on the market.
DAIHATSU CUORE
How much? $10,750 (manual), $11,500 (auto)
Insurance: Premium $694, $400 excess (RACV wholly owned, driver 30 plus, rating one, medium risk suburb)
Warranty: 3 years/60,000km
Engine: 0.989-litre, DOHC, three-cylinder. 40kW at 5200rpm, 88Nm at 3600rpm.
Transmission: Five-speed manual or three-speed automatic, front-wheel-drive.
Steering: Power assisted rack and pinion, 3.7 turns lock to lock. Turning circle 8.6m.
Brakes: Solid discs front, drums rear.
Suspension: MacPherson struts, front. Torsion beam, rear.
Wheels/Tyres: Steel 13-inch, 155/65.
How big? Length 3410mm, width 1475mm, height 1420mm, wheelbase 2360mm.
How heavy? 720kg
How thirsty? 6.7L/100km, unleaded.
Fuel tank:
40 litres.
Equipment: Airbags - yes, two; air-conditioning - optional; cruise control - no; central locking - no; power mirrors - no; power windows - no; immobiliser - no; sound system - radio/single CD, two speakers; cup holders - yes, four.