All Daihatsu YRV reviews

"The YRV Turbo 130's exterior treatment is not for the retiring"

If you're the sort of person who catalogues their CDs in strict alphabetical order, always insists on the regulation meat and two veg in the evening and spends their holidays on the Norfolk Broads, we have a suspicion the Daihatsu YRV Turbo 130 may not be your sort of thing. One deeply conservative colleague of mine refused to countenance it on the basis that 'the side windows don't even line up'. If, on the other hand, you enjoy a car with a spark of rebellion, a car that refuses to follow the pack, then the Turbo 130 may well be worth a look.

Daihatsu bill the car as the most powerful 1.3-litre car on sale in the UK. Whilst that seems a grandiose claim, refer to the specification sheets and you'll soon discover that the YRV Turbo 130 isn't even the quickest 1.3-litre car Daihatsu sell, that honour being grabbed by the larger and significantly cheaper Sirion Rally 2. The reason the Sirion is that little bit quicker is due to the YRV's most contentious feature ' its automatic gearbox. Yes, you did read that correctly; the Turbo 130 deploys its 128bhp through a torque converter. The gearbox, which Daihatsu dub 'Steershift', uses steering wheel-mounted buttons with '+' or '-' legends to flick up and down the ratios. Unfortunately, like all automatic gearboxes, it saps power to the wheels and robs the YRV Turbo 130 of that half a second or so to 60mph that would mark it down as a genuinely brisk car. Nevertheless, 8.1 seconds for the benchmark sprint is a very respectable showing, especially when one considers that neither the Fiat Stilo 2.4 Abarth nor the Toyota Corolla T-Sport can match this figure, both these cars costing thousands more than the £11,495 YRV. Peak torque is generous at 125lb/ft, coming on stream at a modest 2,800rpm. With a combined fuel figure in excess of 40mpg and CO2 emissions pegged at a measly 165g/km, the Turbo 130 shouldn't cost an arm and a leg to run. The engine itself is a high-tech all-alloy unit with Dynamic Variable Valve Timing and a 16-valve cylinder head.

The gearshift is genuinely easy to use, the ratios plugging nicely into the turbocharger's power band. Two 'change-up' lights are incorporated into the YRV's instrument cluster. The first illuminates green at 6,200rpm to remind you that an upshift is due. At 6,600rpm, a red light shows advising the driver to hit the '+' button. If you'd rather trundle around town, selecting 'D' on the floor-mounted shifter will allow the Turbo 130 to function much like any other shopping hatch. The suspension has been given a thorough going over, with stiffer springs and a meaty rear anti-roll bar. The car's exterior treatment is not for the retiring either. The 'double wedge' window line gave the standard YRV an unconventional profile, but the Turbo 130 adds front and rear spoilers and deep side skirts. There's also an Impreza-aping bonnet scoop and fog lamp set up, 10-spoke alloy wheels and a standard panorama fixed glass roof. UK cars also get twin exhaust tail pipes, special badging and some rather OTT side stripes ' still, nothing that a hot kettle won't fix. Inside, you'll find an aluminium foot rest plus a leather-rimmed steering wheel, gear knob and gaiter. That's on top of air conditioning, anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution, a CD-based stereo, electric windows all round, remote central locking and twin airbags. The seating arrangement is particularly novel, the split/fold rear seats able to slide back and forth along a 150mm track. This allows a compromise between passenger and luggage space to be struck. From your position behind the wheel, the interior tries to appeal to Euro-tastes, but falls short in terms of plastics quality and a slight lack of a cohesive design theme. The dimple-effect fascia and door trims are almost up to VW standards, but the aluminium-effect display panel is not carried off with any great conviction. Nevertheless, the tally of standard equipment is long enough to shame many cars costing twice the YRV's price. As befits its largely urban role, the YRV has been designed to be safer to pedestrians in the event of collision. Indeed, Daihatsu can claim some expertise in this area, with the Sirion model being awarded three stars, the highest ever rating of any car, in Euro NCAP pedestrian crash tests. The YRV adopts a similar philosophy, with shock absorbing spaces in the windscreen wiper pivots, bonnet hinges and wings. Safety is given a high priority, with a chassis that deflects shocks downwards and a full impact sensing system that controls airbags, central locking, hazard lights and fuel pump. The YRV Turbo will doubtless appeal to the young and young at heart who want something a little less common than the standard hot hatchback. The YRV offers an interesting alternative. With four doors and a more aggressive Gran Turismo look to the front end it, marries that uniquely Japanese blend of practicality and performance appeal. It will never be a big seller, but it may just carve out a successful niche for itself.