The Daihatsu Terios Diva heralded a new era for female motorists in South Africa: for the first time, a vehicle had been launched that catered specifically to the needs of the fairer sex. Now the company has further upped the ante with the launch of the new Diva Deluxe.

According to the general manager of Daihatsu SA, Pedro Perreira, the Diva has been extremely well received by women in South Africa, who have welcomed the concept of a car designed for female drivers with open arms and chequebooks. “It is common knowledge that women in South Africa represent a substantial – and growing – market. The Daihatsu Terios Diva, and its successor, the new Diva Deluxe, is catering specifically to the needs of that highly selective and intuitive market,” he notes.

Perreira explains that there is another reason behind the launch of the Diva Deluxe too. “The sports utility market (SUV) is one of the most active sectors of the South African marketplace, with dozens of competitors within this segment. It is important to set yourself apart in this sector, and to offer an innovative package … something that is unique and truly special within this segment,” he explains.

And that’s precisely what the new Diva Deluxe achieves: it represents an innovative and highly targeted vehicle quite unlike anything else on the market.

While the Daihatsu Diva was quite the good looker, the Diva Deluxe is even more likely to turn heads – thanks to a number of exterior enhancements. The most obvious is the colour of the exterior decals and interior stitching. With the Diva, only one colour was available: orange. Now customers can choose from one of four colours: pink, turquoise, black and white. The new Diva Deluxe decals on the vehicle’s exterior then come in that colour, as does the interior stitching.

Other head-turning exterior features include the incorporation of new halogen headlamps, a funky rear boot spoiler and elegant silver door handles. The Daihatsu badge now appears on the hard wheel cover.

The Diva Deluxe is not only a prettier face – safety features have been improved too. For instance, side airbags have been added, so the Diva Deluxe will have a grand total of four airbags (there are driver and passenger airbags too). The passenger airbag deactivation switch is located inside the glovebox.

Additional safety features include unrivalled all-round visibility, a reversing camera, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, smash and grab, ISOFIX baby seat mounting points, a crash-sensing fuel cut-off system, front seatbelts (three-point ELR with pre-tensioners and force limiters), rear seatbelts (three-point ELR) and a high-level brake light. These features have earned the Diva Deluxe a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

The interior boasts a number of significant enhancements. Climate control has been added, while the entertainment system is massively improved. The existing CASKA entertainment system, which has received the thumbs-up from customers, has been retained – but two DVD screens have now been incorporated in the headrests. Those two screens have their own independent wireless headphones, meaning rear seat occupants can each watch their own DVDs.

Effectively, this means that three DVDs can be played at once in the Diva Deluxe (there’s also a main DVD screen up front, which plays through the car’s speakers).

Additional interior features include the new multi-info display/on-board computer (which displays fuel range, average fuel consumption, temperature and time), an all-new glovebox (which comes with a lock and lighting), chrome handles, a holder for sunglasses, a 12V AC socket in the boot and a stylish new gear lever.

The existing 1.5-litre petrol engine, which delivers 77 kW of power and 140 Nm of torque, has been retained. It offers more than enough power and torque for daily commuting and, significantly, it is economical too – meaning trips to the petrol station are few and far between. This engine is coupled to a five-speed manual transmission.

Diva fans will be delighted to discover that a number of other innovative features have been retained. These include those wonderful heel-protecting carpets as well as the seat and boot organisers. The seat organiser, which hangs behind the front seat, is ideal for storing anything from bottles and nappies to make-up and iPods. The boot organiser, on the other hand, helps to separate items carried in the cargo area.

Women are as passionate about technology as their male counterparts, and so the Diva Deluxe continues to tick all the boxes in this department too, with its Bluetooth, iPod support, an in-dash GPS, reversing camera, DVD/CD/MP3 Playback and USB support. Its built-in hard drive allows the driver to store up to 60 songs.

Naturally, the Diva’s intrinsic features are still there too. “We know that our female customers really appreciate the Terios’ high ride height, good loading capacity and ease of parking. Women are especially security conscious, so the safety film window coating in the Diva has also been retained,” says Perreira.

The Daihatsu Terios Diva costs just R269 995, and it’s available from dealers countrywide – who will also service the vehicle every 15 000 km or once a year, depending what occurs first. It is covered by a three-year/75 000 km warranty.

“We are thrilled with the success of the Diva and, given the array of enhancements, we expect to attract even more customers with the Diva Deluxe. It truly is a deluxe offering … and it’s purpose designed specifically for women,” concludes Perreira.

“It has an urban street fighter look that lends itself to some go-faster tuning and I wonder how long it will be..?”

Well, a little more than a year later and in response to his question, we’re proud to launch our “Urban Street Fighter” – the Materia DRD, here, at JIMS ‘08.

The After Sales Team at Daihatsu had a field day when they were given the green light to start with the development of the new DRD. The strong base that they had to start from included the Materia’s very distinctive look, its short gearing, light steering and tight turning circle, the 1.5 litre engine (with variable valve timing), distributorless ignition system and the fact that the wheels are set solidly right at all four corners, ensuring exceptional road holding as well as loads more interior space.

Imagine taking the well rounded package that is the Daihatsu Materia and adding a turbocharger, intercooler, performance free-flow exhaust, upgraded induction system, Uni Q performance chip and MOMO racing steering wheel!

That’s exactly what they have done and the result is the Materia DRD (Daihatsu Racing Development), Limited Edition.

Performance

Power is up from 76 kW to 110 kW at 5 000 rpm and the torque has jumped from 132 Nm to a very impressive 195 Nm at 4 400 rpm, this is an increase of over 40% in power and torque from this still unstressed 1.5 litre, but now force fed powerplant.

With the boost set up to run at 0.3 bar at 3000 rpm and a conservative 0.6 bar at 5000 rpm, maximum boost is achieved at maximum revolutions per minute, in 5th gear. (A close to perfect setup for performance AND everyday driveability.)

Acceleration times have come down dramatically, the benchmark 0-100 km/h sprint is a massive, minimum 2 seconds quicker, the ¼ mile flashes past some 10 km/h faster, and the longer 1 km sprint is also taken care of a whole lot quicker than before. Numbers now good enough to rival many a mini hot hatch costing substantially more.

Top speed is limited to 200 km/h and achieved easily and effortlessly, but more importantly, at 120km/h the fuel consumption stays around the 14 km / litre mark, a traditional Daihatsu trait that has not been compromised on with this upgrade.

Suspension

• Fitted with 30mm Eibach lowering springs
• 205X40X17 Tyres
• 17” Mag wheels, standard

Interior

• OEM fitted MOMO steering wheel
• Leather upholstery
• Colour-coded dashboard inlays
• Upgraded audio system

Exterior

• Rear roof spoiler
• Bonnet air intake for interior cooling
• Tinted window

Daihatsu is well known for their innovative approach to performance orientated motoring and this has been proved once again with our new “mini hotrod with attitude”, the Materia DRD, that has been turned into something even hotter and taken the DRD concept to new performance heights!

Now of course, the race to get hold of one these limited edition models, is definitely on.

The Daihatsu Materia DRD: Versatility, Safety, Spaciousness and NOW, with Daihatsu Racing Performance!

Daihatsu is a 101 year old Japanese company which was originated in 1907.  From the outset Daihatsu has placed huge emphasis on economy in our design, allowing us to produce fine engines and economical cars for everyday people right through to our more sophisticated range.

Daihatsu design also focuses on the efficiency and environmental friendliness of all our vehicles. As a company we pride ourselves on our ability to solve technical challenges as well as strictly adhering to ‘kaizan’ or, the principle of continuous improvement, all of which manifests itself in every model, every year.

Daihatsu Motor Corporation vehicles have been the overall winners, in the petrol class, of the Total Economy Run in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008. It is Daihatsu’s advanced and innovative technology which allows us to win these, time after time.

Innovations & Technology

• Weight reduction

• Use of high tensile steel for exceptional strength without extra weight.  Throughout the Daihatsu range our vehicles have a very low gross vehicle weight (GVW), yet they still offer all of the safety and rigidity of other, heavier vehicles.  As an example, the Sirion’s GVW is a mere 1450 kg.
• Use of polymer plastics, which are stronger and lighter, in the bumpers, dash and headlights. The polymers used are also made of recycled plastics which reinforce Daihatsu’s commitment to the environment as well as our policy of the 3 R’s: Reduce, Recycle and Re-use.  The polymers used on Daihatsu’s are all highly scratch resistant and do not fade or crack.
• Aluminium engine in the Charade.
• Not only does weight reduction contribute to the low fuel consumption of the vehicles it also ensures the best possible performance from their compact engines.  The final result, zippy in-town performance, great acceleration and exceptional fuel economy.
• Engine management

• Every engine has a single coil per cylinder.  This means that the spark voltage and timing is exact for every cylinder, allowing for more sophisticated engine management and combustion control
• Every cylinder is dual timed
• Ion current combustion control
• Knock sensor
• These allow the engine to time the spark to each cylinder, exactly; ensuring optimised fuel burning efficiency.

• Polymer intake manifold

• Brings the engine up to optimum operating temperature within 5 minutes of starting.
• Reduces the amount of time in which inefficient burning takes place.
• Dynamic Variable Valve Timing (DVVT)

• Every engine has two overhead cams.
• Working with the engine management system this controls the timing of the valve opening and closing.
• This extra control means that when driving uphill the valve opening is optimised to provide more fuel to the cylinder resulting in more torque being produced
• On straight cruising, the timing is slowed, providing more air in each combustion and therefore, greater efficiency.

Environment & Economy

Combined with our extensive environmental policy, Daihatsu provides exceptional fuel economy: our 1 l engine winning The Engine of the Year, 2007  (sub 1 litre category). Frugal on fuel without being tardy around town, it uses a mere 4.5l / 100 km (over 22 km per litre) and produces a minimal, 130 g CO2 /km. Given the current situation, driving the Charade is an environmental act of kindness. In manufacturing, Daihatsu remains at the forefront of environmentally acceptable and eco-friendly production technologies.

Some of these include:

• Single application undercoat paint technology which not only minimises the energy usage for the process it also reduces wastage of paints which otherwise would have to be disposed of.
• Use of water borne paints only, to minimise solvent damage to the environment.
• Our manufacturing philosophy of reduced material use and the re-use of materials, where possible ensures that materials used in the manufacturing are recyclable when the car reaches the end of its life – even if they are not able to be re-used by Daihatsu, itself.
• Daihatsu Motor Corporation can boast that it has achieved <1% of its 1990 waste levels that need to be disposed of in landfills. All the rest is recycled or re-used.
• There is a huge focus on the reduction of the CO2 produced throughout the manufacturing process and Daihatsu is the world leader in minimal CO2 production, per unit sold.

Three additional areas of focus:

• Paint:Paint technologies requiring fewer layers and less drying time to minimise
  power usage.
• Foundry:  Cogeneration technologies to recapture energy that is lost during the various  stages of melting the metals before casting them.
• Machining:  Improved processes to reduce the amount of machining required.

Eco-friendly running due to a focus on:

• Minimal transfer loss in the drive train.
• Fluid simulations for reduced wind drag.
• World first in self regenerating catalytic converter which means that catalytic converter effectiveness stays unaffected by driving of the vehicle. In other cars the catalytic efficiency wears off, gradually
• Prompt catalyst activation by controlling the ignition through the measurement of deionisation in the piston chamber. This process makes the computer far more accurate determining the optimal timing for an engine spark, than other makes of cars. Essentially, this wastes less fuel and reaches operating temperature faster, allowing the catalytic converter to work sooner.

Models

Charade – Compact, streetwise and sexy.

Sirion – Fun and versatile

Materia – Spacious, stylish and practical.

Terios –Award winning design, exciting and robust