Daihatsu Copen Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Daihatsu Copen
Prices: £11,745 - on the road
Insurance Group: 9
Emissions: 140g/km
Performance: Max Speed 112mph / 0-60mph 9.5s FUEL
Economy: (urban) 36.7mpg / (extra urban) 56.5mpg / (combined) 47.1mpg
Safety: Twin Airbags / ABS with EBD / seatbelt pretensioners
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height 3440/1475/1245mm

COPEN SEASON

Our Rating: 6.3 / 10

Now packing 1.3-litre power, Daihatsu’s Copen roadster offers great value and a unique personality but is it your cup of tea? Steve Walker reports

It’s rare for a mass-produced car to come along and offer something genuinely unique in the marketplace and those that do don’t generally stay unique for very long. Rival marques are always quick to jump on any bandwagon that looks like it could be a goer and that’s what makes Daihatsu’s Copen an interesting case study. There was nothing quite like the Copen when it arrived in 2003 and there’s nothing quite like it now. Sales of the little roadster have never been spectacular but with 1.3-litre power, the Copen looks better equipped to make an impact.

The flat refusal by other manufacturers to follow Daihatsu down the trail they blazed with the Copen could be taken in a number of ways but the fact remains that if you’re after a tiny sportscar with a folding hard-top roof and a small economical engine, your options are limited to one. The Copen was developed in Japan where the Kei-car regulations offer tax and insurance benefits to vehicles below a specific size and engine capacity but it was reengineered to meet European legislation and offered for sale in the UK.

The Copen originally arrived on these shores with the 660cc turbocharged engine that it needed to creep under the Kei-car regulations in Daihatsu’s home market. It only had 63bhp but it revved all the way up to 8,500rpm and it made the Copen quite a hoot to drive. With a low-slung seating position and less than optimum chassis rigidity that was highlighted with the roof down, it was one of those cars that made it feel like you were going a lot faster than you actually were. Today’s Copen has a 1.3-litre petrol engine which is less highly stressed for improved fuel economy and lower exhaust emissions. It’s also more powerful with an 86bhp output at 6,000rpm and quicker, with 0-60mph taken care of in 9.5 seconds instead of 11.7 seconds in old car.

As long as you don’t lever yourself into the Copen expecting a veritable feast of finely honed driving dynamics, you’ll enjoy it. The power steering is direct and accurate while body roll is well contained through the corners, giving you the confidence to press on. The suspension is firm and can become tiresome over poorly surfaced roads but it’s adequate on the flat. The amount of flex in the car’s chassis increases when you pop the hood down but wind in your hair and the engine buzzing in your ears is still the way to enjoy this car. Having said that, the Copen’s size, short overhangs and nimble handling make it a good companion for urban driving where a whole range of creative parking opportunities open themselves up – the car is less than 3.5m long after all.

The roof is the Copen’s party piece and the car looks good with the hardtop folded or deployed. Fabricated from aluminium, it’s a lightweight structure and it flips neatly up and down, courtesy of a series of electric motors, in 25 seconds. There are two catches on the header rail to flip and then a dash-mounted button does the rest. What’s more, a proper metal roof makes a lot of sense in the city, proving a less tempting target for knife-wielding idiots. The interior is nicely, if a little unadventurously, styled and features a compartment behind the seats for odds and ends. Otherwise, the boot space is briefcase-sized, due to the fact that the roof ‘cassette’ impinges into the luggage bay. If you commit to driving with the roof up, you’ll achieve more room.

The curvy, retro styling of the Copen is always going to divide opinion. Let’s just say that it isn’t particularly macho and leave it at that. Owners absolutely love the way the Copen looks and that’s despite them having to shoulder the odd Noddy jibe hurled in their direction. This ‘Toytown factor’ should always be considered before you specify your Copen in Yellow or offer a lift to friends who could be considered over-endowed in the ear departmen