1994 Daihatsu Charade TR 1.3 16v

Summary:

Quick, unbelievably reliable, very economical, and reasonably comfortable

Faults:

Red paint has weathered quite badly - white patches on the bonnet/hood and roof.

It's starting to rust in places, probably because I only wash it about twice a year...

General Comments:

Lovely engine, excellent performance when pushed. It produces a great intake whistle sound (like a turbo) when accelerating onto the motorway. ;-)

Even though it's not always treated very well, the car has been utterly reliable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 8th June, 2001

1989 Daihatsu Charade CS 1.0 3 cylinder turbo diesel

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

It is a cheap car to drive, only a little bit noisy.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd April, 2001

16th Apr 2001, 01:30

I own a Charade. The engine was noisy. I bought this product call MotorKote 100 engine wear protector. When my car is due for an oil change, I got my mechanic to add it into both the engine lubricant and the transmission oil.

Run it in for a month. Oh! now I can enjoy my stereo without blasting it.

8th May 2001, 16:19

I have one and love it, bought it used. I want to know where I can buy parts, maybe another used one cheap, I live in Alabama.

Joy.

7th Jul 2001, 02:30

I own 1991 charade CS, but the engine is very noisy. Where can I get the MOTORKOTE oil in my country?.. I live in Malaysia.

30th Aug 2001, 01:49

Are you sure the noise isn't coming from your exhaust manifold? I have a CES, which I'm sure is very similar, and there is a whopping hole in my exhaust manifold just under the protective cover by the O2 sensor.

I live in California.

1989 Daihatsu Charade GTti 1.0 3 cylinder twincam 12v tur

Summary:

Really a high performance bargain

Faults:

Till now only the CV shaft is shut, engine is rebuilt because of tuning.

General Comments:

Lowered, rolling on 16s group N exhaust system, group a dump valve, turbo boost raised to 1.1 bar, increased fuel pressure, K&N open filter, bucket seats, and approx. 130 HP. This car is really mean and lets most bigger cars like BMW and Mercedes look in the exhaust. Real fun to drive.

And as a member of the Daihatsu club Holland I also noticed that there are some Charades with wide-arch body kits, very rare.

Bottom lowdown is that these cars are underestimated by a lot of people.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th March, 2001

27th May 2001, 21:34

I know what you mean about underestimated. My boyfriend has a GTti and it honks. It eats Mitsubishi GSR's and FTO's for dinner and I mean, for gods sake, they are only a 1.0L three cylinder twin cam turbo.

30th May 2001, 13:11

Really cool car, I am about to buy one 1992, 170000km, 80.000 BF. What did you say about tuning, where can I get info on that?

Please reply, I'm from Belgium.

29th Jun 2001, 11:18

The GTti is a super car to drive and also very rare, which at the moment is causing me problems. I need to get my hands on a cylinder head (12 valve), anyone have any ideas, Cheers! I'm from England.

15th Sep 2002, 11:59

For any one with a Daihatsu Charade Turbo G10,G11,G100 and G102, who is looking for a good car manual on the car. Look up Gregorys Automotive book on the net, No 254. The manual is printed in OZ and covers CS, CX, CC, TS, CR, SR, SG, XO, XG, XTE, XTES Series. There is a completed coverage of the engine, 1.0 L 3 Cyl, the turbo, 4 Cyl EFI and Turbo. I came across this while trying to a good book on the Charade.

Hope this is of some help for those who drive this little pocket rocket, my Charade is having a stripe down and clean up for the new year.

1991 Daihatsu Charade TS 1000 Van 1.0 3 cylinder CB23

Faults:

After running 2 other Charades, I ran this one from zero to 305,000 km.

Exhaust replaced (front 1x, rear 3x).

All 4 McPherson dampers replaced with used ones.

Radiator replaced at 138,000 km.

Starter engine replaced.

Clutch etc at 149,000 km.

General Comments:

Never ever had to walk since driving 500,000 km or so in several Charades (diesel / turbo diesel / LPG).

Easy to maintain car. I do everything myself. Very cheap to run.

I check it every 500 km, and do an oil change every 15,000 km with spark plugs / breaker points etc. Every 30,000 km it gets an air filter.

I took it on several trips to Poland, and recently to Mostar, Sarajevo, Tuzla and Banja Luka. Nice to know that it is unlikely they'll rob you when driving a Charade.

Update 22 May 2000:

In the meantime I took it for a trip to the Nordkapp, and on to the Norwegian-Russian border, and for a skiing vacation to France.

The engine is getting rather noisy (I guess a main bearing has degraded a little), but I just drive on.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd September, 1998