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| Daihatsu Move - more smiles per litre | |||||||||
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| There is not too much
cluttering the dashboard, with basic instrumentation
consisting of speedo, temperature and fuel gauge, while
the standard equipment includes a driver's airbag, rear
window wiper and 2-speaker stereo. Options consist of a 3-speed auto transmission and air conditioning.And each of the rear seats can slide back and forth by 15cm, so rear passengers are seated in surprising comfort - rear legroom is actually on par with a Falcon or Commodore, with a little bit of luggage space left over, or they can be folded flat to create an astonishing 560 litres of cargo space. Small item storage is disappointingly poor however, with no door pockets and just a small open glovebox, even without a passenger airbag. And the minimal storage area behind the rear seat leads to oddly disquieting moments at first, when vehicles behind come too close. But there were some real surprises on the road. Move's three cylinder engine is just 847cc in capacity, so it does not exactly leap away from the traffic lights in a cloud of rubber smoke (and we're still not sure what the roof-mounted airfoil is for), though we should remember that the legendary Mini Minor started with an engine of similar size. There's a bit of noise because that little engine seems to be revving its tail off, yet at highway speeds you can lighten the throttle right back and cruise comfortably at 110kmh. Handling is also much better than expected, with a surprisingly smooth ride. Move is great in traffic as you sit high enough to see what’s going on ahead, it’ll fit into the tightest parking spot you ever saw, and creates another smile at the petrol pumps - 5.6 L/100km (50mpg). It may be the strangest looking car seen in some time, but Daihatsu Move can guarantee one thing - a lot more smiles per litre.
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Nuts-N-Bolts
