2000 Daihatsu Mira 1.0 from Egypt

Summary:

Amazing, speedy and stable

Faults:

When the car has 4-5 persons in it, the space between it and ground is very small. This can be annoying in some cases.

General Comments:

The car has an amazing performance on road.

The car accelerates too fast.

The car's stability is great.

Very fuel efficient.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th September, 2008

1991 Daihatsu Mira L200 .65 3 Cylinder 660cc from North America

Summary:

Amazing gas mileage surprisingly roomy

Faults:

Not much has gone wrong with the car.

Brake Shoes were worn out and had to be replaced.

No Day-time running lights, had to install some to pass Alberta inspection.

Tires on all 4 wheels were worn out, kind of normal I guess. The tires however are 10" x 3.5" and are expensive and hard to find.

Drivers seat needs to be re-upholstered.

A semi truck kicked up a rock that broke the right park lamp.

General Comments:

This car likely has the best fuel economy of any car in Canada right now. A full tank in this car can run me under $14.00 Canadian on regular fuel. The car seems to get over 55mpg so a small tank that lasts a really long time.

The car has excellent performance for such a small engine. The car can cruise at highway speeds of 110km with a maximum speed of 130km You sit so low to the ground that 100km feels like 150km!

The handling of the car at high speeds leaves something to be desired, you really do need to keep both hands on the wheel, as the thin small tires like to be carried away by any heaves or dips in the road. The power steering the car has is not necessary and makes the steering incredibly touchy.

This car is great to drive through snowy conditions, while other cars are getting stuck and spinning out the Mira is putting them to shame. The 3.5" wide tires are perfect for cutting through snow.

This is an excellent city car, the vast area of Calgary is no problem to drive around in for the great fuel millage, the small size makes traffic easy to navigate in, changing lanes and merging and parking.

The interior has 4 seats, but only the 2 front ones are actually usable. There are no seat belts equipped in the back seats, and leg room is non existent. The back seats fold down however to provide cavernous cargo space for such a tiny car.

The instrument panel is well laid out, and the lighting system is fantastic.

The seats are really comfortable, and there is plenty of headroom. The peddles on the drivers side however are really small and it takes a lot of getting used to especially if you have big feet, you will accidentally be stepping on the gas and brake at the same time.

A weird note though, only a sun visor was included on the drivers side, so passengers can expect to be annoyed by sun glare.

I also find that due to the car being low to the ground, you have problems with the glare of headlights and daytime running lamps from other vehicles in your mirrors.

The biggest problem with the car is parts. Daihatsu does not exist in Canada anymore so replacement parts are expensive require lots of time to ship in and can be hard to find, and the most basic parts can kind of cancel out the great fuel economy.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th February, 2007

1992 Daihatsu Mira J 0.7L from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Reliable and cheap

Faults:

Timing belt replaced at 125,000km.

New Muffler at 144,000km.

Rear vision mirror fell out of the roof once, straight forward fix.

Red paint faded, but it had no garaging nor a carport.

General Comments:

This was a very reliable car right up until it was written off (it got sandwiched between two other cars in an accident).

The clutch would have required an adjustment if it was still around, it would have cost approx AU$750 as the entire engine would have to be removed to get to the clutch.

The car didn't hold up well in the accident and it was stationary, if travelling at speed I'd hate to think what would have happened.

It was VERY cheap on fuel and could park anywhere, I miss my Mira!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 30th December, 2006