Daihatsu Mira
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| Manufacturer | Daihatsu |
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| Also called | Daihatsu Cuore Daihatsu Domino Daihatsu Charade Handivan Handi |
| Production | 1980–present(7th Gen presently) 2000-Present(Pakistan only-4th Gen) |
| Class | Kei car or City car |
| Body style(s) | 3-door Hatchback 5-door Hatchback |
| Related | Daihatsu Leeza Daihatsu Move Daihatsu YRV Daihatsu Copen Daihatsu Opti Daihatsu Trevis Perodua Kancil Perodua Kelisa Perodua Viva |
The Daihatsu Mira (also known as the Cuore, Domino or Charade outside of Japan), is a kei car-type vehicle built by the Japanese car maker Daihatsu. It comes with a variety of options and chassis variations, with the latest variant having four models: "Mira", "Mira AVY", "Mira Gino" and "Mira VAN". The Mira is basically an upgraded and renamed version of the Daihatsu Fellow. It was sold alongside the names of Mira and Cuore. The commercial version was dropped when the Mira was released in later years as a Charade. Outside of Japan, the Mira was also offer with 850 cc engine. In Australia, the two-seater version was known as the Handivan and was later renamed as just Handi. [1]
In July 1980,[2] the Daihatsu Mira arrived to replace the Daihatsu Max Cuore. The second generation (L70) of the Mira was introduced in 1985, and the third generation (L200) in 1990. The third generation of Mira also was identical in look to the 1986-1992 Daihatsu Leeza. The fourth generation (L500) was introduced in 1994 and was still based on the same chassis as the L200. October 1998 saw the fifth generation (L700) introduced, the sixth generation was introduced in 2002 (even though the Mira Gino (L700) was still in production until 2004), and in 2006 the seventh generation model was introduced.
The L200 variant (1990–92) had two engine sizes: a 0.65L 3-cylinder 660 cc engine was available in Japan, while in Australia and other parts of the world, a more powerful variant with a 847 cc and a 4-speed manual gearbox was in use from 1990–91. A 5-speed manual transmission became available in 1992. The L500 Mira is the first kei car from Daihatsu which offered a 4-cylinder 660 cc engine.
The 660 cc Japanese variant of the Mira had a rather unusual feature for a modern car: the rear passenger seats were designed and manufactured without rear seat-belts being fitted.
The Daihatsu Mira is one of the lightest four-seat passenger cars in the world weighing just 580 kg (1,279 lb).
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[edit] L200/201
The L200/201 was the third and most popular generation of the vehicle. The L200/201 was produced under the Mira badge from 1990 to at least 1998 depending on the market it was sold in but the 200/201 platform lived on in other badges.
The L200/L201 was offered with a wide variety of variants. The L200 a two wheel drive,three door hatchback variant equipped with a 659cc of displacement in order to conform to Japan's specifications for the kei vehicle class.
There 200 series came in two primary variants. The "V" Series is a van style intended for light commercial use. This variant featured a fold down rear bench seat without seat belts. The S series is similar to the van series but the seats are equipped with belts and are further to the rear of the vehicle with more leg room.
A four wheel drive variant known as the L210 was also available in V or S models. All variants could either be equipped with a three speed automatic, four or five speed manual transmission. All variants could come with an optional turbo equipped with electronic fuel injection instead of the one barrel carburetor.
The L201 was sold outside of Japan primarily in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The 201 featured a larger displacement of 847cc and a five speed manual transmission. The 201 also came with five doors. Rear Wipers and Rear Defog. Van versions were made available in Australia with the larger engine size.[3]
The 201 had various market differences, The United Kingdom version of the Mira had a rear fog lamp equipped on the right hand side, while L201 badge Cuore's had a fog lamp of the left side. Later models of the Mira badge had fog lamps on both sides. The L201 had two license plate lamps while the L200 had only one. L200 Mira's produced for Japan had no rear fog lamps.
Despite the Mira badge mostly being available in Right Hand Drive markets, left hand drive badged Mira's in the L200/L201 series was sold in the Dominican Republic.
Daihatsu produced a ute version that was offered in the Thailand domestic market from 1993 to 1995. The ute version was built with a pickup bed, tail gate and redesigned taillights.
A Larger highly customizable two seat step-van variant was also produced solely for the Japanese market.
[edit] L500 Mira
Production of the L500 Mira's started in September 1994. The designed of the car was slightly altered but retained a similar look to the L200. The L500 Mira was badged outside of Japan primarily as the L501 Cuore. The 200 serie's Miras sales ceased in Japan but continued for other markets.
The L500 was the first kei class vehicle to feature a .659cc displacement four cylinder engine. The range of models available in the 200 platform carried over to the 500 series.
The model remains in production today in only Pakistan as the Daihatsu Cuore since 2000 with 847cc carburetor engine (as of November 2009) at the assembly line of Toyota Indus Motor Company. [1]
[edit] L251 Mira
The L251 Mira unrelated to the earlier 200 series is the most recent generation of the car. The car is produced as the Mira in Japan. The L251 platform was also shared with the most recent version of the Daihatsu Charade in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere the Cuore was badged and sold based on this platform.
[edit] Gino
A retro version of the Daihatsu Mira based on the L700 platform began production in 1999. The Miro Gino was produced with features and options of the regular variant but styled with a retro look. The Mira Gino was only offered with a .659cc engine in Japan. A car based on the Gino with a 1L engine was sold as the Daihatsu Trevis in other markets.
[edit] Gallery
 2002 6th generation of Daihatsu Mira, front view |
 2002 6th generation of Daihatsu Mira, rear view |
2006 7th generation of Daihatsu Mira |
 4th generation Daihatsu Mira [1994-1997].Still remains in production in Pakistan only as Daihatsu Cuore [2000-Present] |
[edit] See also
- Perodua Kancil - The rebadged third/fourth generation of the Mira produced by Perodua.
- Perodua Kelisa - The rebadged fifth generation of the Mira.
- Perodua Viva - The rebadged sixth generation of the Mira. It was released not long after seventh generation JDM Mira was announced in Japan.
- There is also a version of the third generation of the Mira (known as the Daihatsu Ceria) in Indonesia between 2000-2006.
[edit] References
- ^ Daihatsu Mira / Handi / Handivan Retrieved from www.microcarforum.com on 5 February 2009
- ^ "History of Daihatsu Kei Jidosha". xs4all.nl/~mjs/daihatsuk.html. http://www.xs4all.nl/~mjs/daihatsuk.html. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
- ^ "Daihatsu Mira / Handi / Handivan". Microcar Forum. December 2, 2005. http://www.microcarforum.com/1980s/daihatsu-mira-handi-handivan.html.
[edit] External links
Daihatsu catalogues (Japanese):
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