A fun roadster for small hatchback price
05/09/09 18:06 Filed in: Road
tests
If British Leyland executives in the
1970s hadn't forgotten the importance of playing to our strengths,
then something like the Daihatsu Copen might have wearing an Austin
Healey Sprite badge today.
Instead, as we know, they axed all the desirable cars from their range – MG Midget, MGB, Austin Healey Sprite and Triumph Spitfire which had a worldwide following – and started producing such charismatic style icons as, err, the Austin Allegro, Morris Marina and Leyland Princess. Corporate insanity!
The Daihatsu Copen concept is similar to the axed models. A small, affordable, fun two-seater sports car with a small reasonably economical engine and the emphasis on fun rather than sophistication, or performance.
So, if you are looking for a sophisticated, refined and spacious performance car, I have a simple message for you. “Move along, now! Nothing to interest you here.”
If, on the other hand, you want an affordable car, but are tired of boring characterless hatchbacks and are willing to suffer just a tad to broaden the grin on your face, this could be the car for you.
The Copen is tiny. At 3440 mm it is 259 mm shorter than a Mini and 208 mm narrower. The reason for its diminutive size is to comply with the Japanese Kei car category. In Japan, Kei cars or K-cars give favourable tax and insurance rates to cars that fit within certain dimensions.
So if it is that small, how well do larger-sized Europeans fit? Well this particular one fitted much better than he feared. Legroom was adequate... just. I am notorious for wanting my seat well back, but anyone of longer leg should check they fit before parting with their money.
Similarly, headroom was also just adequate for me. Those of loftier heights should also check they fit. Then, if you have a passenger, the narrowness means your elbows will be on good talking terms before you reach your destination.
There are of course just two seats and the boot is small, even without the roof being stowed. Just 14 litres of space in sun-worshiping mode and 201 litres if you put the roof up.
But that roof is quite an asset. Only recently have steel folding roofs gained popularity with many manufacturers. At the time the Copen came out, it was available on only a handful of cars.
To drop the roof, you just unclip the two catches at the top of the windscreen and press and hold the button. Putting the roof back up is equally simple and takes just about 15 seconds. (A minor annoyance is then having to hold the two window switches to complete the weather proofing.)
It works well and, in my book, is a definite selling point for the Copen.
OK, now to the downsides. Take the ride for a start. It is fine on good roads, but can be pretty horrible on corrugated surfaces where you experience what can best be described as a “lumpy ride”, with noticeable scuttle shake. Combined that with a bit of suspension flutter and you will be in for an occasional vibro massage.
The steering feels a bit light and lifeless, meaning the driver doesn’t get the sports car feedback he, or she, might crave.
But, at the end of the day, the Copen is about fun and style on a budget. You have to expect some sacrifices.
If you are prepared to accept average performance, sometimes unrefined ride quality and a lack of space, what you do get is a stylish and distinctive sports car. With its chrome rollover hoops, little perspex wind deflector and red leather inserts on steering wheel, the Copen looks a little like an Audi Roadster that shrunk in the wash.
I also found that it comes with a free smile, which was fixed to my face all the time I drove the Copen (even when it was jiggling a bit on poor surfaces).... apart from one. On this occasion I was in a queue of slow moving traffic on a two-way A-class road grinding along at 40 mph behind a truck that obviously had something rather disgusting under the tarpaulin over the back.
With the roof down, for mile after mile I was stuck in this mobile pong parade with my nose being assaulted by the smell of something very dead.
Unlike the current vogue for a myriad of options, Daihatsu make your choices quite simple with the Copen.
Do you want it, or not?
There is only the one model. It comes with a 1.3 litre engine and costs £11,745.
So you get a sports car for the price of a mid-range small hatchback. Acceleration takes 9.5 seconds 0-62 mph. The combined fuel consumption is 47.1 mpg and CO2 emissions are 140 g/km.
Instead, as we know, they axed all the desirable cars from their range – MG Midget, MGB, Austin Healey Sprite and Triumph Spitfire which had a worldwide following – and started producing such charismatic style icons as, err, the Austin Allegro, Morris Marina and Leyland Princess. Corporate insanity!
The Daihatsu Copen concept is similar to the axed models. A small, affordable, fun two-seater sports car with a small reasonably economical engine and the emphasis on fun rather than sophistication, or performance.
So, if you are looking for a sophisticated, refined and spacious performance car, I have a simple message for you. “Move along, now! Nothing to interest you here.”
If, on the other hand, you want an affordable car, but are tired of boring characterless hatchbacks and are willing to suffer just a tad to broaden the grin on your face, this could be the car for you.
The Copen is tiny. At 3440 mm it is 259 mm shorter than a Mini and 208 mm narrower. The reason for its diminutive size is to comply with the Japanese Kei car category. In Japan, Kei cars or K-cars give favourable tax and insurance rates to cars that fit within certain dimensions.
So if it is that small, how well do larger-sized Europeans fit? Well this particular one fitted much better than he feared. Legroom was adequate... just. I am notorious for wanting my seat well back, but anyone of longer leg should check they fit before parting with their money.
Similarly, headroom was also just adequate for me. Those of loftier heights should also check they fit. Then, if you have a passenger, the narrowness means your elbows will be on good talking terms before you reach your destination.
There are of course just two seats and the boot is small, even without the roof being stowed. Just 14 litres of space in sun-worshiping mode and 201 litres if you put the roof up.
But that roof is quite an asset. Only recently have steel folding roofs gained popularity with many manufacturers. At the time the Copen came out, it was available on only a handful of cars.
To drop the roof, you just unclip the two catches at the top of the windscreen and press and hold the button. Putting the roof back up is equally simple and takes just about 15 seconds. (A minor annoyance is then having to hold the two window switches to complete the weather proofing.)
It works well and, in my book, is a definite selling point for the Copen.
OK, now to the downsides. Take the ride for a start. It is fine on good roads, but can be pretty horrible on corrugated surfaces where you experience what can best be described as a “lumpy ride”, with noticeable scuttle shake. Combined that with a bit of suspension flutter and you will be in for an occasional vibro massage.
The steering feels a bit light and lifeless, meaning the driver doesn’t get the sports car feedback he, or she, might crave.
But, at the end of the day, the Copen is about fun and style on a budget. You have to expect some sacrifices.
If you are prepared to accept average performance, sometimes unrefined ride quality and a lack of space, what you do get is a stylish and distinctive sports car. With its chrome rollover hoops, little perspex wind deflector and red leather inserts on steering wheel, the Copen looks a little like an Audi Roadster that shrunk in the wash.
I also found that it comes with a free smile, which was fixed to my face all the time I drove the Copen (even when it was jiggling a bit on poor surfaces).... apart from one. On this occasion I was in a queue of slow moving traffic on a two-way A-class road grinding along at 40 mph behind a truck that obviously had something rather disgusting under the tarpaulin over the back.
With the roof down, for mile after mile I was stuck in this mobile pong parade with my nose being assaulted by the smell of something very dead.
Unlike the current vogue for a myriad of options, Daihatsu make your choices quite simple with the Copen.
Do you want it, or not?
There is only the one model. It comes with a 1.3 litre engine and costs £11,745.
So you get a sports car for the price of a mid-range small hatchback. Acceleration takes 9.5 seconds 0-62 mph. The combined fuel consumption is 47.1 mpg and CO2 emissions are 140 g/km.