The Daihatsu Charade is a supermini car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Daihatsu from 1977 to 2000. It is considered by Daihatsu as a "large compact" or "supermini" car, to differentiate it from the smaller, urban-oriented kei cars in its line-up, such as the Daihatsu Mira. It replaced the Daihatsu Consorte, although the Charmant took over from the bigger-engined Consortes, and did not share a platform with a Toyota product.
In China, the Daihatsu Charade was called Xiali and was produced by Tianjin FAW, under the registered mark of "China FAW". From September 1986 to 2009, it sold over 1.5 million units in that country. The second and third generation Charades also provided the basis for countless unlicensed Chinese copies, often depending on fibreglass moldings. Production ended in 2012.
First generation (G10, G20; 1977–1983)
The first generation (G10) appeared in October 1977. It was a front-engined front-wheel drive car, originally available only as a five-door hatchback, powered by a 993 cc three-cylinder, all-aluminum engine (CB20) with . Japanese market cars claimed JIS at 5,500 rpm. The three-door hatchback version ("Runabout"), introduced in the fall of 1978, received two small circular opera windows in the C-pillars. The Charade was a surprise best-seller in Japan, where ever tighter emissions standards had made many observers consider the one-litre car dead in the marketplace. The Charade became an overnight success and also became the Japanese "Car of the Year" for 1979.
The early G10 (Series 1) had round headlights and the later G10 (Series 2) had square headlights. The Series 2 was introduced in October 1980. Between the introduction in November 1977 and the end of production in December 1982, Daihatsu built 89,792 G10/G20 type Charades. In New Zealand, the facelift version was assembled locally by General Motors New Zealand starting in 1981; the original model had been imported fully built-up from Japan.
The Daihatsu Charade was very popular in Chile and some other Latin American countries during the 1970s and 1980s. Originally the same as in the rest of the world, later Chilean Charades (called G20s) came equipped with a downsleeved 843 cc version (CD) of Daihatsu's three-cylinder engine. This engine produced at 5,500 rpm and has also appeared in export versions of the Daihatsu Hijet. The G20 appeared in 1980 and was developed as a result of a Chilean decision to lower import tariffs on cars with engines of less than 850 cc in May 1979.
The G20 was able to run on low-octane fuel or even ethanol. The first G20 version (1978–1981) had round headlights, while the second generation G20 (sold from 1981 to 1984) received the same facelift as did the G10, meaning square headlights and slightly different rear lights. The three-door "Runabout" retained the larger 1-liter CB20 engine, and also received a five-speed manual transmission and a tachometer.
At 1981 Tokyo Motor Show, Daihatsu displayed a 1-liter turbo car concept in collaboration with Italian sports car maker De Tomaso Automobili. This car was based on the 3-door Charade XTE and known as the Charade De Tomaso. This idea was later applied for mass production on the second generation.
Greece The Greek Automeccanica company, founded in 1979, developed an off-road style torpedo design version of the Charade à la the Citroën Méhari. With a metal body, the "Daihatsu Zebra" used Daihatsu mechanicals, grille and headlights, and many other Daihatsu parts. Production began in 1981 and continued until 1985, by which point changing Greek tax laws meant that this "fun car" could no longer be registered as a commercial vehicle and the market evaporated.(eBook) The very first cars used the Series 1 round headlights; these were changed to the square Series 2 units before the first year of production had ended. Automeccanica also assembled regular Charades.
Competition
In 1979, two G10 Charades competed in the 2400-kilometre Tour of Malaysia Rally and finished first and second. The G10 continued its competitiveness by winning the 2/1 class at 1981 Monte Carlo Rally while finishing 28th overall (out of 263 participants). They also won their class at the 1982 Safari Rally, where they finished 17th out of 72 starting cars.
Uruguayan driver Guillermo Viera driving his Daihatsu Charade G10 with his brother Agustín Viera as copilot, had competed several times in the 19 Capitals Historic Rally of Uruguay. In 2011 they finished 41st in the overall rank, in 2012 they finished 18th, in 2014 they finished 9th, and in 2016 they finished second overall with a tight final difference with the winners of only two hundredths of a second after nearly 50 hours of competition. They were ranked seventh overall and first in its class at the 500 miles rally of Entre Ríos in 2011. They went on to win Category A in the Uruguayan Championship of Historical Tourism in 2013.
Second generation (G11/21/26/30; 1983–1988)
The second generation (G11) was released in March 1983, again as a three- or a five-door hatchback. It featured several new variations of the three-cylinder 1.0-litre engines, including a turbocharged version and naturally aspirated diesel or turbodiesel engines. The new 1.0-litre diesel engine "CL" was tested on 1 September 1983. To demonstrate the reliability of the new diesel engine, a Charade thus equipped was taken for 10 non-stop laps around the Japanese archipelago; the run lasted 117 days.
The turbo diesel first appeared in the fall of 1984. The base Charades received the naturally aspirated, three cylinder, 993 cc CB-series engines with . takes around 15–17 seconds. Japanese market models had twin carburettors as standard, while most export versions received a single unit which made marginally less power. This generation has drag coefficient of .
In Chile (and some other Latin American countries) this generation was called the G21, and like the G20 before it, it was equipped with the smaller 843 cc three-cylinder "CD" engine.W. Varela R., p. 7 The G21 was sold between 1985 and 1990 approximately.
The Charade Turbo and Charade De Tomaso models had the upgraded 1.0-litre "CB" series engine, called the CB50 and CB60. The CB50 was fitted with a very small IHI turbocharger, which increased its power to (JIS) in Japanese market cars or CB60 producing (DIN) in European export models. The tiny turbocharger meant that an intercooler was not necessary. The suspension was lightly upgraded, with thicker anti-roll bars and slightly stiffer suspension, and the car also received alloy wheels rather than the standard steel items.
The turbo version was available in both bodystyles. Singaporean-market Charades received the same (JIS) engines as used in Japan. The Indonesian-built 5-door Charades (CKD and still labelled with Japanese "J" code on the VIN instead of Indonesian "MF-MK" VIN code) also received the same engines as its neighbor, the turbo model appeared in July 1986 and also the first turbo car to go on sale in the country.
There were high roofed versions available in some markets, either with the three- or five-door bodywork. This was called the "Dolphin Roof" in Japan. The three-door model was also available in a Van model for commercial use, offered with the naturally aspirated diesel or petrol engines and fitted with the higher roof. Depending on market requirements, the Charade Van was also available with blanked rear windows. To escape quotas and some of the ADR strictures, the high-roof van version was sold in Australia as the Daihatsu Charade Duet in parallel with the passenger models.
The G11 was produced with two front end treatments: with square headlights (Series 1) and with rectangular "cat's eye" shaped headlights (Series 2). The facelift was first presented in the summer of 1985. In Europe, the G11 underbody and various engines and transmissions also formed the basis for the Innocenti Minitre after Innocenti's contract with British Leyland expired. The G11 underpinnings continued to be used by the Italian automaker until 1992. Aside from four- and five-speed manuals a two-speed automatic option called the "Daimatic" was also available.
In Australia the range began with the high roofed two-seater, three-door CC model, while the rest of the range (CS, CX, CX-A, and turbo CX-T) had five-door bodywork.
Taiwanese assembly began in 1983 or 1984. In 1987 they also presented a locally developed longer notchback version of the five-door, similar to the Subaru Tutto and Nissan March Cubic, sold as the Daihatsu Skywing. Developing a model locally also gained the assembler a three percent tax subsidy. In New Zealand, the naturally aspirated petrol model was assembled locally at General Motors' plant in Trentham. The Turbo was also sold there, imported fully built-up.
For China, the G11 Charade was known as the Tianjin TJ730 as a CKD from 1986 to 1988. It was then replaced by the popular G100 Charade.
In South Africa, Alfa Romeo's local subsidiary assembled Daihatsu Charades beginning in March 1983. The only model available was the naturally aspirated petrol 1.0, with five doors and the high roof. Power is , and either a four- or five-speed manual transmission was available.Tutte le Auto del Mondo 1985, pp. 30–31 These Charades were also exported to Italy to circumvent Italian laws hindering the import of Japanese cars. South African assembly ended in late 1985, when Alfa Romeo closed down their South African subsidiary. The Charade represented nearly half of Alfa Romeo's South African production in 1985.
Charade 926 Turbo In October 1985, at the 26th Tokyo Motor Show, Daihatsu introduced the 926R, a prototype of a mid engine Charade, developed together with De Tomaso and designed to take part in the World Rally Championship for cars under 1,300 cc. With a 1.4 equivalence factor for forced induction engines, this meant that the downsized engine was classified as being of 1296.4 cc. The 926R had a mid-mounted 926 cc twelve valve, twin-cam, turbocharged three-cylinder "CE" engine, moving the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission and delivering .
The 926R weighed and had wider fenders to cover the 205/225 15" wheels. However, following significant crashes in the 1985 championship, Group B was banned and the 926R project was called off. Previously, There was also a limited homologation series of 200 units Charade 926 Turbo launched in October 1984, equipped with the SOHC 6-valve version of the 926 cc engine and producing .
Competition The second generation Daihatsu Charade did see some rally usage. Charades (both Turbos and normally aspirated cars) were entered in the 1984 through 1988 Safari Rallys. They won the A5 class and runner-up in A6 class in 1984. In 1985 they won both A3 and B5 categories. The Charades were finished at 13th, 14th and 19th overall out of 71 contestants, impressive for the little car. In 1986 and 1987 the Charades won the A5 class. The Swiss Daihatsu importer campaigned a Charade Turbo in their national Group A rally championship in 1985, with Florence L'Huillier as a driver.
Third generation (G100; 1987–1993)
The third generation of the Daihatsu Charade (G100) debuted in January 1987. With styling by Daihatsu chief stylist Hiroshi Aoki and colleague Hideyuki Ueda, the more rounded design was able to reach a drag coefficient of .
It originally shipped with a carbureted or fuel injected naturally aspirated (CB23/36/37/90) and turbocharged (CB51/61) SOHC 6-valve 1.0-litre three-cylinder engines, also available as a diesel and turbodiesel (CL series). In New Zealand, this generation was available with a 846 cc ED10 three-cylinder engine. The little 1.0-litre diesel engine continued to be one of the most fuel efficient cars in the world at the time. At a steady , a Charade turbodiesel fitted with the five-speed manual transmission was capable of a claimed .