Daihatsu Cuore 2007- Budget Car Review

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PakWheels.com is once again back with another budget car review and this time it is Daihatsu Cuore 2007 CX Eco. Most Pakistanis belong to middle-class, so they want to opt for a car under a specific budget, and PakWheels has started these budget car reviews to help people find a car in their budget.

Daihatsu Cuore

Indus Motor Company (IMC) launched Daihatsu Cuore in Pakistan back in 2000. Before venturing into the review first let me tell you about an important thing which many of you might not know, and that is Daihatsu and Toyota were two different companies, but globally in 1998 Toyota acquired 52.1 percent shares of Daihatsu. And that is why many imported cars of both Toyota and Daihatsu come into the country which each other badge such as Toyota Passo and Daihatsu Boon etc. Vehicles of both companies are made in a single plant, and the holding company of that plant is Toyota, that is why many Daihatsu and Toyota car exchange badges with each other.

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When Indus Motor Company launched this car in 2000, in that particular time Pak Suzuki’s Mehran was the single-monopolizing entity in the 800cc category segment in Pakistan. But when the company introduced this vehicle in the country, not only people liked it but also became popular as well. IMC launched this vehicle in six variant, and that were as follow:

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The basic difference in CL and CX was that CX came with matching color bumpers with car’s body while CL came with different color bumpers. The company also introduced CNG CL and CX variants in the market namely CL Eco and CX Eco. Moreover, CX also came with two other options one with the automatic transmission without CNG kit (CX Automatic) and other with both CNG kit and automatic transmission (CX Ecomatic). All variants of the Daihatsu Cuore featured identical styling in every aspect.

Cuore remained in production till 2012 in the country. It is to be noted here that IMC introduced the automatic variant of Cuore in 2007-8. The car which we reviewed housed manual transmission.

The main competitors of the Daihatsu Cuore at that time were the Suzuki Mehran, and the Hyundai Santro, etc.

Exterior:

The exterior of the car is not much sleek and aerodynamic. Many economy sector cars don’t possess sleek design; they are made keeping in view the performance, durability and fuel consumption as they are aimed at a middle-class segment of the country. When the car was first launched in 2000, it came with non-crystal headlights; however, the company introduced crystal headlights soon after. The car which we drove had crystal lights as it a 2007 model. Moreover, as mentioned above Cuore also came with matching bumper, and if we compare it with Mehran which in 2000 didn’t come with matching bumpers, so basically Cuore enjoyed a little edge over Mehran.

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Additionally, the side mirrors of the cars are same as Suzuki Mehran. As far as the rear of the car is concerned with one look, one can easily say that it is an economy class hatchback. The rear doesn’t even house a wiper; it was a basic vehicle which the company introduced. One should never argue about the physical appearance of the economy sector car; the main focus should be resale, fuel consumption and availability of the spare parts.

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If we compare this 2007 Cuore with Santro 2nd generation, Hyundai Santro came with rear wiper, while as mentioned above Daihatsu didn’t possess a rear wiper. So, in this sense, Santro had the upper hand over Daihatsu Cuore. The rear wiper helps to wash out water in the rain and gives a clear view of the driver.

Talking about the dimensions of the car, Daihatsu is ‎3300 mm in length, ‎1395 mm wide, and 1445 mm in height. The car was 10mm shorter in width compared with Mehran, but the overall height of the car was 35mm high than Mehran.

Read Also: Buying your first used car? Here are our recommendations!

Interior:

The headroom of the car is relatively good for both the passengers sitting in the front and the back. Legroom, however, is good at the front, but the space at the rear is not great. In our opinion, only four adults can sit in the car. A small child can also sit in the back if you are traveling within the city, but on a long journey, it is not feasible to travel with five people.

With one look one can easily say that it is a small hatchback just like Suzuki Mehran; however, the boot space of the car is relatively bigger than Mehran. If one wants to carry more than two luggage bags, one can fold the rear seats and increase the space of the boot.

Furthermore, the interior of the car is much better than Mehran, the dashboard of Cuore was no less than premium cars being produced locally at that time when the car was launched. Just like Civic and Toyota, the ac controls of the car was placed separately at the center of the dashboard, unlike Mehran whose ac control or all other control buttons were clustered at the same spot. The material from which the dashboard of the car is made is superior to Mehran as after so many years the interior of the car is still intact.

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There is no rpm meter in the car; however, there is speedometer in the car which tells one the speed of the vehicle. Additionally, it has mileage meter as well. The company launched the car with a cassette player and two speakers, but now many who owns this car people replace the cassette player with cd player. Furthermore, one can also install extra speakers as well.

Also Check Out: Mehran for Sale

The car didn’t possess a defogger, while its competitor Hyundai Santro came with a defogger.

Performance and Comfort:

The acceleration and engine performance of the car is many times better than Suzuki Mehran. Daihatsu Cuore is equipped with 850cc engine coupled with 5-speed manual/ 3-speed auto transmission, while on the other hand Mehran still comes with 800cc engine mated to a 4-speed manual transmission. So, Cuore has a clear advantage over Mehran both in engine and transmission.

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The engine of Cuore makes 40 hp and 65 Nm of torque. The important thing to mention here is that the car was launched with Carburetor engine whereas EFI engine was never available in the car till its discontinuation. Not launching the car with EFI engine was one of the reasons its production suspended in the country. One of its competitors at that time Hyundai Santro was available with EFI engine, so Cuore was at a clear disadvantage. Even Pak Suzuki to continue the production of its Suzuki Mehran launched the car with EFI engine.

Moving onward, suspension and ground clearance of the vehicle is excellent and. We have talked to several people who own Cuore, and they all agreed that the suspension, ground clearance and engine performance of the car is pretty well.

Cuore’s ac is relatively better than Mehran, the people sitting at the front will not feel too hot in summers, but those sitting in the back might feel uncomfortable on a hot summer day.

Spare parts availability and maintenance:

Having upper hand in engine performance and other things, the spare parts of Daihatsu Cuore is costlier than Mehran such as the headlight set of Cuore will cost you around PKR 5500, while you can get the headlight of Suzuki Mehran in just PKR 1200. The price of Cuore’s bumper is double the price of Mehran’s bumper. So, in simple terms as the car has been discontinued; maintaining the car and acquiring its spare parts would cost you twice then Mehran.

Milage:

According to our findings, the fuel economy of the car while using the ac is 9-10 km/l, and without the ac, it gives 12-13 km/l.

Verdict:

The car has good engine performance, and the ac is good also, but the spare parts of the car are expensive than Mehran. It costs around 5 to 6.5 lac, and in this league, this is one of the best cars one can get. And If you are seriously thinking about buying a used hatchback on a smaller budget, in our opinion, this is the car you should buy.

Watch PakWheels Daihatsu Cuore video review below:

Until next time, think wheels, think PakWheels.

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