NEVER seen oil sludge this bad! Draining really old oil from my Daihatsu Cuore Avanzato TR-XX R4 to reveal some SERIOUS gunk. Let's get that out, and see if we can start the car for the first time!
The FAQs:
"So this is a Mira, right?"
- Yes, sort of. It is basically identical to the L500 (specifically, the L512S) Daihatsu Mira TR-XX Avanzato R4.
"Don't Mighty Car Mods have one of these?"
- Again, sort of. They're a very close relative of the Daihatsu MCM's Marty is a big fan of. The car in their Kei To The City film (and Marty's later conversion project) share much of this car's DNA.
"Didn't Regular Car Reviews drive one of these?"
- Yes! On the RCR UK trip, they drove an almost identical UK-spec Cuore Avanzato. I actually met the owner at the RCR UK meetup. It's actually my Suzuki Cappuccino that they mention in the video about the meet.
"What does Cuore Avanzato even mean, anyway?"
- It's Italian, actually. "Cuore" means "Heart", and "Avanzato" means "Advanced".
"I drove one of these in Gran Turismo, and it said it was front wheel drive, not all wheel drive?"
- They did 2WD/FWD versions of the turbo Miras in Japan, too, the "4" in the name is what denotes the AWD/4WD/4x4 version.
"Is it a kei car?"
- Yes, it meets the kei car regulations, though whether it "counts", being a UK car, is an interesting question.
"Is it JDM?"
- No, it's a UK model, there are some subtle differences/modifications for the UK market, though nothing earth shattering.
"Did they really only make 80 of them?"
- Of the UK road car version, yes, give or take a couple, plus there were about 20 rally-prepared ones. The Japanese equivalent is far more common.
"Is it a 3 cylinder engine?"
- No, it's a 4 cylinder, the Daihatsu JB-JL 16v engine, though it meets the same 660cc capacity limit for kei cars that the three cylinders used elsewhere do.
"Is it turbocharged?"
- Yes, with a small top-mount intercooler.
"How does the AWD work?"
- There is a selectable drive to the rear coming off the gearbox, with a viscous coupling between the rear differential and the propshaft to allow for the difference in wheel speeds when cornering.
"How much does it weigh?"
- 768kg, per the UK original specification sheet.
"Where can I get one?"
- To be perfectly honest, it's a lot easier to find a JDM one as an import than a UK car, but if you keep an eye on Ebay and forums, one might come up.
"Is it for sale?"
- I'm afraid not, no.
Title music:
"RetroFuture Clean"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...