The Daihatsu Charade is a supermini car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Daihatsu from 1977 to 2000. It is considered by Daihatsu as a "large compact" or "supermini" car, to differentiate it from the smaller kei car compacts in its line-up, such as the Daihatsu Mira. In Japan, it offers buyers more interior space and a larger engine that allows for the car to also be used outside of urban areas. It replaced the Daihatsu Consorte, although the Charmant took over from the bigger-engined Consortes, and didn't share a platform with a Toyota product.
In China, the Daihatsu Charade was called Xiali and was produced by Tianjin FAW, under the registered mark of "China FAW". From September 1986 to 2009, it sold over 1.5 million units in that country. It also provided the basis for countless unlicensed Chinese copies, often depending on fibreglass moldings taken from the second generation Charade. Production ended in 2012.
First generation (G10, G20; 1977–1983)
The first generation (G10) appeared in October 1977. It was a front-engined front-wheel drive car, originally available only as a five-door hatchback, powered by a 993 cc three-cylinder, all-aluminum engine (CB20) with . Japanese market cars claimed JIS at 5,500 rpm. The three-door hatchback version ("Runabout"), introduced in the fall of 1978, received two little round opera windows in the C-pillars. The Charade was a surprise best-seller in Japan, where ever tighter emissions standards had made many observers consider the one-litre car dead in the marketplace. The Charade became an overnight success and also became the Japanese "Car of the Year" for 1979.
The early G10 (Series 1) had round headlights and the later G10 (Series 2) had square headlights. The Series 2 was introduced in October 1980. Between the introduction in November 1977 and the end of production in December 1982, Daihatsu built 89,792 G10/G20 type Charades.
The Daihatsu Charade was very popular in Chile and some other Latin American countries during the 1970s and 1980s. Originally the same as in the rest of the world, later Chilean Charades (called G20s) came equipped with a downsleeved 843 cc version (CD) of Daihatsu's three-cylinder engine. This engine produced at 5,500 rpm and has also appeared in export versions of the Daihatsu Hijet. The G20 appeared in 1980 and was developed as a result of a Chilean decision to lower import tariffs on cars with engines of less than 850 cc in May 1979.
The G20 was able to run on low-octane fuel or even ethanol. The first G20 version (1978–1981) had round headlights, while the second generation G20 (sold from 1981 to 1984) received the same facelift as did the G10, meaning square headlights and slightly different rear lights. The three-door "Runabout" retained the larger 1-liter CB20 engine, and also received a five-speed manual transmission and a tachometer.
At 1981 Tokyo Motor Show, Daihatsu displayed a 1-liter turbo car concept in collaboration with Italian exotic sport car maker De Tomaso Automobili. This car was based on the 3-door Charade XTE and known as the Charade De Tomaso. This idea was later applied for mass production on the second generation.
Greece
The Greek Automeccanica company, founded in 1979, developed an off-road style torpedo design version of the Charade à la the Citroën Méhari. With a metal body, the "Daihatsu Zebra" used Daihatsu mechanicals, grille and headlights, and many other Daihatsu parts. Production began in 1981 and continued until 1985, by which point changing Greek tax laws meant that this "fun car" could no longer be registered as a commercial vehicle and the market evaporated. The very first cars used the Series 1 round headlights; these were changed to the square Series 2 units before the first year of production had ended. Automeccanica also assembled regular Charades.
Competition
In 1979, two G10 Charades competed in the 2400-kilometre Tour of Malaysia Rally and finished first and second. The G10 continued its competitiveness by winning the 2/1 class at 1981 Monte Carlo Rally while finishing 28th overall (out of 263 participants). They also won their class at the 1982 Safari Rally, where they finished 17th out of 72 starting cars.