2002 Daihatsu Sirion 1.0L review from Australia and New Zealand

Nothing at all, besides the dealer.

The air-conditioning had to be installed after purchase (not fitted on overseas model).

The dealer installed it and scrathed the dash, they repaired it after I blasted them.

Then at the first service they put grease on the front mats and seats, another blasting which I cleaned and then it was sold.

Note: the only reason I sold it was for quick cash, I loved the car.

Note: In terms of the performance rating, I gave it a high mark simply because the car performed very well for a 1.0L.

The car was always smooth on the road and the cabin was relatively quiet, though on course bitumen the tyre noise resonated through the cabin.

The suspension was firm, yet allowed too much body roll through corners and on sharp bumps was very abrupt.

The steering was light and the turning circle was excellent.

The cabin was modern and cheery to say the least, yet the interior plastics are very hard, cheap and scratch too easily. A small compromise.

The seats were comfortable to a degree, a little firm, but I felt they failed to hold you in position through corners.

Getting to the performance side of things the motor is spirited for its size, moving the car of the line reasonably fast. It doesn't mind being pushed and gets to 100KM/H (62MP/H) with no trouble, despite its 40.5KW specification.

One annoyance is that the higher you rev the more the motor screams and without a tachometer you aren't sure when to ease off.

The Air-Conditioning doesn't help the performance, yet still allows you to drive normally.

Be warned! Don't expect an enjoyable ride when the car is fully loaded i.e. 5 passengers (really only fits 4) because the extra weight makes it perform rather sluggishly.

The legroom is what you would expect from a car in the super-mini class, acceptable, but nothing impressive, head room is not a problem. I'm 176cm tall.

Boot capacity is good for its class (235Litres), with the seats down and the parcel shelf removed there is about 900-1000 Litres of space.

The four-speed automatic transmission in conjunction with the motor was great with smooth shifts and great economy. Abrupt kick downs to second gear when pushing the accelerator down in third gear though, works in speeding up the car though.

Summing Up: for a cheap car there are plenty of features, a 3 star safety rating and a reasonable performance, what more could you expect for $13,490 on-road.