At 2006 Geneva Motor Show, Daihatsu introduced another of its retro-flavored small cars, this one dubbed the Trevis. The 3400mm-long, four-door minicar already is on sale in Japan as the Mira Gino. The Euro-market city runabout openly apes the front graphic of the original Mini, albeit with a pair of extra doors. The throwback design doesn’t extend as completely into the interior as some other heritage-minded vehicles, but the layout is simple and clean.
The little ‘Hatsu is powered by a 58 horsepower, 1.0-liter DOHC tri-banger, which gets around 49 mpg on Europe’s city/highway combined cycle when hooked up to the standard five-speed manual.
One might think that economy takes a back seat to performance, but the Trevis’ 0-62 mph time takes 12.2 seconds, more than respectable for a car in its class.
The price is also not that bad for the European market. The basic Daihatsu Trevis Junior comes as low as €9,990, and the regular Trevis may be ordered for some €10,990 with such options as, for example, MOMO leather steering wheel. A car with automatic transmission will cost €970 more.
Sources: news.windingroad.com, autoweek.com, daihatsu.de
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