The L200/201 was the third and thus far most popular generation of the vehicle, offered in a large number of variants. In the Japanese domestic market the "Cuore" name was dropped, as the differences between passenger and commercial versions were narrowed. The L200 (front-wheel drive) was produced with the Mira badge from the spring of 1990 until at least 1998, but the platform has lived on under other names. L201 was the chassis code used on export market cars, usually labelled "Cuore".
As with most Kcar, the 200-series came in two primary variants: The "V" Series is a windowed van style intended for light commercial use. This variant featured a fold down rear bench seat without seat belts. The "S" series, intended for private use, is largely similar but the larger, more comfortable rear seats are equipped with belts and are further to the rear of the vehicle with more leg room. While the seats still fold down, unlike the "V", the "S" does not offer a flat loading floor. These characteristics are due to Japanese tax preferences for commercial vehicles, which only allow for temporary accommodation in the rear and demand a flat loading floor.
The Mira could either be equipped with a three-speed automatic, or four- or five-speed manual transmission. A four-wheel drive variant known as the L210 was also available in V or S models, only with the five-speed manual. An electronically fuel-injected 12-valve (four per cylinder) turbo was the range topper, whereas the normally aspirated base versions made do with a one barrel carburetor. There was also a version with mechanical four-wheel steering (L220), so far the only Kei car to feature this option.
The L201 was sold outside of Japan primarily in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The three or five-door 201 retained the larger displacement engine of 847 cc (ED10K) and a choice of four- or five-speed manual transmissions, or a three-speed automatic option. This carburetted engine produced 41 PS (30 kW) (ECE) at 5,500 rpm. Van versions were also available in Australia, called Handivan (later shortened to Handi). The Van, sometimes with filled in rear windows, was also marketed in certain other markets (such as the Benelux countries) where the tax structure favoured it.
This generation of the Mira was chosen by Malaysia's Perodua to become its first product. The L200 went on sale in Malaysia as thePerodua Kancil in 1994. After several facelifts, production of the Kancil finally came to an end in July 2009. The Malaysian built Kancil was marketed as the Daihatsu Ceria in Indonesia between 2000 and 2006.The 200/201 had myriad market and model differences. Cuore badged L201's received a fog lamp on the left side. Later models of the Mira had fog lamps on both sides. The L201 had two license plate lamps while the L200 had only one. L200 Miras produced for Japan had no rear fog lamps, when sold in the United Kingdom (where Japan spec Miras were also available) they had a rear fog lamp mounted on the right hand side. Despite the Mira badge mostly being available in Right Hand Drive markets, left hand drive Mira-badged L201's were sold in the Dominican Republic.
A taller, highly customizable two-seat step-van variant ("Walk-Through Van") was also produced, solely for the Japanese market. This reached the maximum height allowed for kei cars, two metres.
DAIHATSU L500 SERIES (1994)
Production of the L500 Miras started in September 1994. The design of the car was slightly altered throughout but retained a look similar to that of the L200. The L500 Mira was badged outside of Japan primarily as the L501 Cuore. The 200 serie's Mira ceased sales in Japan but continued in some other markets, where it received the same engine updates as did the export market L500.
In the Japanese market the "Mira Moderno", a separate range of cars (non-commercials) was added in October 1995. This range received a minor facelift in May 1996, which was extended to the rest of the range in May 1997. In August 1997 the Mira Classic was added, a retro-look version. The Classic was available with naturally aspirated engines (40 PS or 29 kW as a front-wheel drive, 55 PS or 40 kW with 4WD) or a turbocharged option with 64 PS (47 kW). The Classic was succeeded by the equally retro-designed Mira Gino which was based on the fifth generation (L700). In January 1998, in cooperation with Sanrio, a "Hello Kitty" version of the Mira Moderno appeared. This was available in pastel colors and received various Hello Kitty details throughout the car, such as a Hello Kitty ignition key.
The L500 was Daihatsu's first kcar class vehicle to feature a four-cylinder engine, with the option of the new JB series engine. When equipped with this engine, the model code became L502. The range of models available in the 200 platform more or less carried over to the 500 series. One change was that the export versions received fuel injection as standard, which brought the output of the 847 cc engine up by one, to 42 PS (31 kW). This engine was called the ED-20. The four-speed manual was no longer available, but a four-speed automatic joined the existing three-speed version in the domestic Japanese market. In November 1996 a twin-cam, 12-valve version of the 847 cc three-cylinder was also made available. This, the ED-DE, produced 50 PS (37 kW) at 5,500 rpm.
In Australia the L500 Mira was sold as the Daihatsu Charade Centro. The model production was closed in 1995 only in Pakistan, as the Daihatsu Cuore. The L500 has rolled off the assembly line of Toyota Indus Motor Company between 2000 to 2012, with the 847 cc carburetor engine (ED-10) which has been used in export models since 1986.
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