2004 Daihatsu YRV Turbo review from UK and Ireland

Rear anti-roll bar had broken mounts. Main dealer has agreed to replace them under warranty.

Generally a nice drive. The torque is useful in town and motorway driving. The engine is a modified version of the Toyota Yaris 1.3 and has a turbo.

The specs promise 130 lb/ft of torque. This is noticeable at times, but I don't think I am able to get the required performance at all times. There seems to inconsistency in the power delivery in day-to-day driving. Sometimes, you put your foot down and it will deliver the goods, at othertimes, you will wonder where all the power has gone!

The nice feature of the car is its ability to perform with the big cars at motorway speeds. It cruises at 80-90 mph with around 3100 rpm on the tacho. This means it's a relaxed drive at high speeds, if you wish to accelerate upwards from this speed its got the pulling power. But if you want to accelerate even faster, it will kickdown and accelerate to around 110 mph towards the redline.

Overall economy is good, you will get around 40 mpg without trying too hard. But you might get better economy if you are prepared to take it easy.

The steering is light and accurate. The general feeling is the car is weightless. It's a similar feeling to driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo (without the extreme acceleration :- ().

Down sides is that because of the firm suspension, the trim has a tendency to have minor rattles. So you may have to open up some of the trim and ad some soundproofing or bolting down the loose bits.

The auto gearbox is superb for cheap car. The changes are extremely smooth.

The car grows on you. I've had the car a few weeks. I decided to drive it to work (60 mile round trip) a couple of days a week. But now I am finding it a joy to use this car most days of the week to commuting. My other car is a Mercedes C43 AMG. So driving this car to work makes me feel good, cos its kinder to the environment whilst not being a bore to drive :-)