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 Daihatsu
Sirion
Well, it accelerates like you know what off a shovel, it handles
like the proverbial dream, it's got everything that opens and shuts,
and it comes in at around R100 000 - with a 3-year /100 000 km
warranty plus 5-year anti-corrosion guarantee.
Problem is, it's got no yuppie snob appeal. So those who want to
drive a REAL car, one which out-accelerates anything in its engine
size range - and many with much bigger motors - probably won't even
look at this new Sirion.
What is so great about this car? Lets start with the engine.
Daihatsu has long been a champion of smaller engines that produce
lots of power, and this one is certainly no different, the K3-VE
four-cylinder DOHC 16-valve fuel-injected 1 298 cm3 unit churning
out no less than 75 kW at a screaming 7 000 r/min and 120 Nm at 4
400 r/min, and pushing a weight of only 870 kg, despite having air
conditioning, electric this and that, and lots of safety features.
What's more, thanks to what Daihatsu calls DVVT (Dynamic Variable
Valve Timing), there's no need for lots of gear changing, with
pulling power coming in from quite low revs, and torque peaking at
120 Nm at only 4 400 r/min to give a smooth and fuss free driving
experience when the traffic starts to thicken, and it's time to
chill…
And when you want to eat Citi Golfs - drop a couple of gears, and
let that beautiful motor scream round to the 7 500 r/min red line,
cutting out a gear change on the way to a 0-100 km/h sprint time of
just 9,6 seconds, and a top speed of 177 km/h.
Another big booster with this car that we noticed after two weeks
of driving - both quickly and in traffic - is that it's remarkably
frugal. Which means it doesn't use a lot of petrol even when driven
hard, returning overall averages as little as 6,3 litres/100 km
without being careful.
 Then
try air conditioning, power steering, electrically operated windows
(front and rear) and electric mirrors both side, central locking,
rear window wiper and demister, cup holders, and remote fuel and
boot openers.
And on top of that dual airbags in front, side impact beams, ABS
brakes with electronic force distribution, and a special built-in
passenger cell that retains its integrity in an accident, while
kinetic energy is absorbed by crumple zones and the fact that the
engine is designed to break away and go under the car so it doesn't
end up on your lap!
Oh yes, good news for car allowance buyers is that service
intervals have been extended to a whopping 15 000 km - which in some
cases can equate to once a year!
And we deliberately haven't made a fuss about the automatic
version, which has an F1-style steering wheel gearshift.
Engine:
Type K3-VE Type, water-cooled, 4-stroke, 4-cylinder, 16-valve, DOHC,
DVVT, petrol
Displacement 1 298 cm3
Max. output kW/r/min 75/7000
Max. torque Nm/r/min 120/4400
Compression ratio 11.0
Fuel system EFI
Fuel tank capacity 40 litres
Previous review: Toyota
Corolla RXi
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