Daihatsu Redesigns The Mira e:S From The Ground Up

Already available to order in Japan, the Mira e:S is priced from as little as 842,200 yen for the FWD CVT model in the most basic of configurations. At the other end of the scale, the G SA III grade in AWD form is 1,339,200 yen. Converted at current exchange rates, that’s $7,388 to $11,748. So what do you get for the money, then?

First things first, a ridiculously low fuel consumption. Rated at 35.2 kilometers per liter (2.84 l/100 km or 82.8 U.S. mpg), the Mira e:S employs a 658 cc engine. Would you care to guess just how much oomph this baby packs? 49 ponies (36 kW) and 57 Nm (42 pound-feet). Other than the engine, the ridiculously low fuel consumption can also be attributed to the Mira e:S all-new vehicle architecture.

Dubbed DNGA, the platform focuses on two things: efficiency and drivability. At heart, it is Daihatsu’s respose to Toyota’s new global platform, the TNGA employed by the Prius, C-HR, and the Camry. And boy, is the Mira e:S tiny by western car standards! At 3,395 millimeters long, it’s considerably shorter than a Volkswagen up!

The Mira e:S is also light. Tipping the scales at just 650 kilograms (1,433 pounds), it’s 80 kilos lighter than the preceding generation and a whopping 276 kilos short of an entry-level Volkswagen up!. Heck, the Lotus Elise is a bit of a fatty at 856 kilos (1,887 pounds).

Be that as it may, even the most spartan of trim levels comes with essential goodies, and then some. As for optional extras, the most important of the lot is the Smart Assist III. Priced at 60,000 yen, the system bundles automatic braking with auto high beam.