But then you realise that the Sirion is not quite as cleverly conceived as it first appears because the split-level

Posted by admin · · Jump to comments

But then you realise that the Sirion is not quite as cleverly conceived as it first appears, because the split-level glovebox has a meagre volume and none of the storage areas has rubber or even flock lining. Expect myriad rattles from chattels, and watch out for flying mobile phones.Now, with that tall build, there must be some MPV genes around somewhere. The dashboard sits above a wide, open shelf, and is stark and simple in a way that Japanese dashboards never once were. The main instrument cluster sits in an oval, silver pod which moves with the steering column; the speedometer dominates this with a scale right around the edge. Grander versions get a second, round pod atop the fascia, which contains a rev-counter. Silver is also the finish for the rotary heater controls (the top version's air-conditioning is a bit feeble, by the way) and the built-in stereo/CD-player with its large, simple controls.Hard plastic abounds, which is to be expected in a cheap car nowadays.

Tall, vertical tail-lights frame a broad rear hatch; aesthetically, the Sirion is as on-the-pulse as the old one was off it.The same goes for the cabin. There is little overhang at the snub nose, and the tail is similarly abbreviated. Just how topologically altered it is from the previous Sirion is shown by its considerably greater width, height and wheelbase, within an overall length down by 3.7in. It can be family-friendly - there is a remarkable amount of room inside, possibly the best in the class - or it can be a little style statement, with its bulbous wheel-arches covering the ample wheel width. It bears the name Sirion, as did its oval-grilled predecessor, but has little else in common with that car, apart from the 1.3-litre engine, itself modified. Daihatsu also builds this engine for its parent company, Toyota, for use in the Yaris 1.3.

As before, there is also a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder unit, a new version developed for the new model.If I tell you that the new and pleasingly cheap (from £7,500) Sirion looks particularly fetching in pink, you will get the idea of its visual vibe. Toyota's Yaris is tall, too, and so will be the trio of smaller superminis to be built in the Czech Republic as a joint venture between Peugeot-Citro?and Toyota: 107, C1 and Aygo.Into this upwardly mobile m?e is pitched a new car from Daihatsu, noted small-car specialist and the first Japanese carmaker to import cars here. Such is the expanse of a modern front bumper that changing this alone can entirely alter an automotive visage. It also looks good in metalflake black and as the "Sporty Package", in which the usual smiling face is ousted by a square-jawed frown. It started with the Fiat Uno, much admired for its sense of interior space but copied by remarkably few.