What A Pimped Out Car!
Absolutely. And all that pimp is standard. From the air scoop on the bonnet, to the round front foglights, the integrated front grille, those black wheels with a red outer lining, clear rear lights, roof spoiler and the single exhaust pipe. The diving line from the A pillar rises ever higher as it approaches the D pillar, rendering the rear windows visibly smaller than the front ones. Very pimp! Admittedly it’s not to everybody’s taste, but it certainly is to mine. I haven’t seen this car in any other colour but white, and the contrast with the black & red wheels is just stunning.
What About Inside?
That’s a slightly different story. Those plastics that interact with the driver and passenger are not of the best quality feel. On the other hand the piano black inserts are perfect, sweet to the fingers and bring a cool shine about them. A leather-covered MOMO steering wheel emphasises this, although it has no satellite controls for the audio. Headroom is exemplary, giving the Materia Turbo an airy feeling and spaciousness. I would have expected a car retailing at R220 000 to have leather garb around its seats, but that was too much expectation on my part.
That Speedo Must Irritate.
Certainly does. I can never understand why some auto manufacturers insist on placing the speedo and the tacho in the middle, requiring the driver to always glance leftwards (right in the case of left-hand-drive cars) to see how fast he’s driving. I suppose Daihatsu shareholder Toyota sneaked it in as it was finalising the design of the Yaris, which has the same setup.
Does The Drive Make Up For It?
More than. The 1.5-litre turbo engine is sprightly and punches above its own weight. When prodded through the accelerator it whistles out a course whisper, reassuring the driver that all is still well under the bonnet. Therein lies that 4-cylinder petrol with a turbine that helps it make 110kW and 190Nm of torque. Such figures are comparable to an Audi A3 1.4 TFSI, and so will performance, at least on the straights.
What Do You Mean?
If you recall, at the South African launch we took these little can-do Daihatsus around the Zwartkops Raceway too see how well they could stay on the black around a racing track. They impressed.
Any Drivetrain Concerns?
Yes, the gearbox is a little on the loose end, sometimes requiring more muscle than normal to plug it into the right slot, especially when shifting from second to third. You might not see it in the interior picture but the gear lever sits quite low and you almost have to lean on the side for a gear change.
And The Nice Stuff?
Well, the CD player accepts MP3s in addition to the usual sound format. Users can store six radio stations for quick access through the interface and there’s an auxiliary jack for external players like iPods. The rest is quite standard; air conditioning, electric windows, side mirror adjusters and a steering wheel that tilts upwards and down, never telescopic though.
Final Impression?
The Materia Turbo is a very competent mini performer with proven track credentials. What it lacks in finesse it makes up for in the fun-o-metre.
QUICK STATS
DAIHATSU MATERIA TURBO
ENGINE: 1.5-litre (1495 cc) 4-cylinder turbo
GEARBOX: 5-speed manual
POWER: 110kW at 5750rpm; 190Nm at 4800rpm
0 – 100KM/H: 9.5 seconds
TOP SPEED: 200km/h
FUEL AVERAGE: 9.0 l/100km
FUEL RANGE: 444km (combined)
CO2 e: 210 g/km
PRICE STANDARD: R219 900
NATURAL RIVALS: Opel Corsa 1.6 Sport, Peugeot 207 GTI, Toyota Yaris TS
*PRICE RIVALS: Daihatsu Terios LWB, Honda Civic 1.8 EXi, Mazda3 1.6 Dynamic, MINI Cooper auto, Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5 GLX, Nissan Tiida 1.8 Accenta, Peugeot 207 1.6 HDi, Peugeot 308 1.6, Suzuki SX4 auto, Tata Xenon 3.0 DC, Toyota Corolla 1.6, Volkswagen Golf 1.6 Trendline
BABE-MAGNETIC FACTOR: High
*A price rival falls within R20 000 or so of the subject’s price on either side of its price spectrum for cars over R350 000, R10 000 for cars of between R250 000 and R350 000 and R5 000 for cars below R250 000.
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