1989 Daihatsu Charade CX review from UK and Ireland

The engine was blown when I bought it, I put in a new engine, (surprisingly easy)

Transmission refused to kick-down, I cleaned the kick-down switch, and it cured the problem.

The distributer (still the original from 1989) broke down, this was replaced and the car is running like a clock again.

Just changed the timing belt, it took 20 minutes.

Although the list I have given above may sound like a lot of trouble, the car has been faultlessly reliable over the past 11,000 miles.

The Daihatsu dealers in Ireland have no information on pre 1992 cars, and this led to problems getting the distributer parts.

The interior of the car has held very well, and is still like new.

The bodywork is still rust free.

The Automatic transmission does take from the performance of the 1.0L engine, but it is quick off the mark in town, and will hold it's own at motorway speeds.

The 3 cylinder engine is very torquey, and it will rev safely past 5,000 RPM. with a lovely sound coming from in front of you.

The fact that the car is an automatic means that the fuel economy is not as good as the manual car. It is averaging about 40 to 45 mpg, compared to 45 to 50 for the manual.

The car is very comfortable to take on a long journey, and the cabin is surprisingly quiet when on the move.

The steering is unassisted, and therefore quite heavy when parking, but this doesn't cause too much bother as overall the car is very easy to maneuver.

Even with all it's faults, I absolutely love it!