Daihatsu Charade (G10/G20). 1977–83 (prod. 89,792). 3- and 5-door sedan. F/F, 843, 993 cm³ (I3 OHC). Daihatsu rethought the small car with the Charade, designed to be fuel-efficient. Well packaged for the era. A surprise hit for the company, thanks to the fuel crisis at the time. Three-cylinder engine surprisingly refined thanks to balancer shaft driven in parallel with the crankshaft. Very manœuvrable and compact, marketed with the fact it occupied 5 m² on the road. Car of the Year in Japan for 1977–8. Runabout three-door, with unusual opera windows, introduced September 1978. Mid-term facelift in 1980 with square headlights. Charade de Tomaso shown at Tokyo Show in 1981, featuring a tuned engine developing 75 PS.

Manufacturing location: Ikeda, Osaka, Japan

Marque: Daihatsu | Model: Daihatsu Charade | Predecessor: Daihatsu Consorte | Successor: Daihatsu Charade (G11)

q.v. De Tomaso

Off-site link

• Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc.: ‘240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology: Daihatsu Charade’