Something For The Weekend?

Try The Daihatsu Copen

If you are looking for a car to get away from it all and blow off those cobwebs.. or you are young free and single on the quest for a motoring adventure, how about the Daihatsu Copen, the most dinkiest two-seater convertible around today.

This tiny, bright yellow two-seater car looks liked something out of a cartoon book and my son actually questioned if it were ‘a real car’. She is so cute, a real bubble car you used to draw as a child. But, my goodness, she is not for the light heated, as there is very little metal between you and the road thus every bump ricochets into the cabin along with the whistling wind noise. But it was fun and took you back to the days where you could really drive a car and not rely on all these safety features. The Copen reminded me of my old MBG GT and despite only a 660 cc turbocharged engine under her innocent body, gosh, she comes alive on the open road.

With a top speed of 106 mph and racing from 0-62 in just 11.7 seconds, all this actually seemed quicker due to the small dimensions of the Copen. She is only 3,440 mm in length, 1,475mm wide and 1,224mm tall. Bless her. But of course you could afford to drive her anywhere because being such a dinky small engine, she achieves 44.1 mpg on a combined cycle.

Any girl will fall for the Copen's cute looks, the gorgeous smile of a grille and the lovely teardrop light clusters. Inside was not as cramped as I expected and I am 5ft 11”, yet still had plenty of head, leg and elbowroom. The solid chrome ball of a gear lever sets the tone to the stylish interior with the red leather heated seats and door insets, plus leather steering wheel and all the controls looking and boasting very sports like.

But of course, she then converts into a very sweet convertible by simply unlocking two windscreen catches, press a button in the centre console and 20 seconds later, the electrically operated roof is down, folded neatly into the boot. Even in the dreadful depressing January, I had the roof down once, when it decided not to rain, much to my daughters delight. But I did sneak on the electrically heated seats!

For the weekend getaways, the roof will have to be up, to accommodate the suitcases, but once on location and the luggage is in hotel room, get the roof down. You will still have space for a picnic basket. Storage inside is obviously limited, but the glove compartment and central armrest are both very deep, the latter being home to the boot release. I only mention this fact as it took me ages to locate! The Copen features air conditioning, electric windows and door mirrors, central locking, radio CD and front fog lights.

Under her bonnet is a 16 valve four-cylinder engine for extra smoothness that is also turbocharged thus providing extra response when needed. The reason she only has 659 cc is the fact that all Japanese cars are limited to a 660 cc engine capacity. The Copen is very easy to drive being extremely responsive and agile thanks to the firmly damped minimum body roll and a low centre of gravity that means most of the weight is between the front and rear wheels.

Despite the size, she has power steering albeit the ‘old fashioned’ hydraulic rack and pinion as opposed to the more popular electric power assistance. But this works as the driver gains a much greater feel of the car that is more in keeping with a sports car of this calibre. So whether driving on the open road or town driving, the steering is naturally responsive.

The Copen is fitted with the latest life saving and injury reducing features such as seat belt pretensioners and force limiters to both seats along with Auto Locking Restraints which keep the belt in its most effective position. She also comes with twin airbags as standard, dual side impact door beams and extensive under floor bracing. The floor panel itself benefits from three different steel thicknesses for progressive energy absorbing deformation.

Just as well as you really feel close to the tarmac in the Copen. The braking system features servo assisted front ventilated disc brakes with, ABS and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution that further avoids the locking up of individual wheels during severe braking, just in case. Daihatsu has a much admired impact sensing system that acts as an emergency alert device by automatically unlocking the doors following an accident, activating the hazard flashers and cutting off the fuel supply and naturally the Copen’s equipped with this.

Giving us peace of mind is a three year unlimited mileage warranty, three year roadside assistance and six years anti-perforation cover.

But she is such a sweetie; you become very protective of her and would not tolerate even a scratch on her lovely bodywork. Men will problem hate her, as she a girlie through and through. But more importantly she is yours at a snitch of £13,495. Enjoy!