Daihatsu Charade

The Daihatsu Charade was a subcompact car sold from 1977 to 2000. Daihatsu considers the Charade considered a large "compact" car to differentiate it from other compacts in its lineup, such as the Daihatsu Mira/Cuore.

G10 (1977-1983)

The first generation (G10) appeared in 1977. It was available as 3-door or 5-door hatchback, powered only by a 993cc 3-cylinder engine with 50hp JIS (37kW).

G11 (1983-1987)

The second generation (G11) was released in 1983, again as a 3 or 5-door hatchback. It featured several variations of the 3-cylinder 1.0L engine, including a turbocharged version with 68hp JIS and a Diesel version. A 5-speed manual transmission was available for the first time. The G11 was produced with two frontends, coloquially known as "square-eyes" and "cat-eyes".

In Europe, the G11 underbody, engines and transmissions were used as the basis for the Innocenti De Tomaso, after Innocenti's contract with British Leyland expired. The G11 parts continued to be used by the Italian automaker until 1992.

G100 (1987-1994)

The third generation of the Daihatsu Charade (G100) debuted in 1987. It originally shipped with a 1.0L 3-cylinder engine (CB23) and 1.3L four-cylinder with single carburetor (HC-C). A 1.0L turbo diesel, a 1.0L twin-cam turbo (CB70), named GTti and delivering 105hp JIS (77kW), and a 1.3L fuel injected 4-cylinder (HC-E) were later added. It was released in a 3-door and a 5-door hatchback. A 4-door sedan was released with the 1.3L EFI engine in 1988. In Japan, the GTti was available with 4WD, and a deluxe version, dubbed GTxx, featured a sunroof, power windows, air-con and power steering.

The third-generation car was sold in the United States for just four years, from 1988 through 1992. The car sold poorly, perhaps because of its high price, poor sale sites, and unforunate translation in English, and the company withdrew permanently from the US market. Sales for 1989 were 15,118.

Not all export markets were featured with all the bodywork variants (eg. Singapore received the 3-door hatch only, while Malaysia got the 5-door), but Europe received all three variants (with the sedan reserved for Central Europe).