Daihatsu put a lot of effort into the new Move. They employed Italdesign for styling (although in my opinion it looks no more beautiful than its predecessor). The body remains very tall ( 1695mm, versus the width 1475mm) thus provides unlimited headroom. Leg room is vastly improve by the 60mm longer wheelbase. Moreover, since the shifter pedal mounts on the steering column, the transmission tunnel is eliminated thus frees up more leg and foot room.  

Packaging used to be the strongest aspect of the Move. Sporty-looking dashboard, chromed stereo panel, optional satillate navigation screen, arm rest-installed front seats, five-spoke alloy wheels, optional circular headlamps and aggressive aero kits are just some of the examples. The most special is the versatility of the seating plan - for easier access, front seats can be rotated 45 degrees towards the doors. All seats can be folded down to form a bed. Alternatively, rear seats can be folded down and create a big cargo space.  

From the wide range of engines, you can see how serious this car is. There are 4 engines for the domestic market, the cheapest one is 3 cylinder single overhead camshaft with 45ps. Next one has dohc and variable valve timing, capable to output 58ps. The third one is added with a turbocharger. Power reached the maximum limit of 64ps. The top-of-the-range is a 4 cylinder version, with the same output but peak torque occurs 400rpm earlier. For European market, Move is powered by a 1.0 litres inline-3, which is carried over from the Sirion.  

Choice of engines :   

• 659c.c. Sohc inline-3, 4v/cyl, 45ps, 5.6kgm.
• 659c.c. Dohc inline-3, 4v/cyl, VVT, 58ps, 6.5kgm.
• 659c.c. Dohc inline-3, 4v/cyl, turbo, 64ps, 10.9kgm.
• 659c.c. Dohc inline-4, 4v/cyl, turbo, 64ps, 10.9kgm.
• Europe : 988c.c. Dohc inline-3, 4v/cyl, 54hp, 9.0kgm.

Cuore

Kei-Car

Based on this dimension, most K-cars use space efficiently by locating the wheels right at the corners, then extend the height which is not restricted by the regulation. Power all come from 4-valves engine, some even with turbocharger and intercooler to compensate the lack of capacity. The main selling point is price and running cost, but fun factor is also important. Recent K-Cars usually offer Recreation Vechicle-like cabin layout flexiblility plus a lot of storage space and funny styling. Most customers are young people.  

In recent years, K-Car sales boomed because of economic depression. Suzuki Wagon R and Daihatsu Move both ever topped the domestic sales chart, beating the mighty Toyota Corolla. Since 1999, the regulation was loosen further to 3400mm length and 1475mm width, hopefully K-Car will be more popular.