- 311
Daihatsu Copen!! 
Especially in Yellow Walking around the car, notice the body styling resembling the famous TT. Rounded lights are used for front and back. Cute! Six spoked rims fill the four gaps at each corner, once again look fairly similar to the TT but still looking Cute! A power folding top is used, making this an all season convertible K car. Summing up the looks with a stylish spoiler on the back. Opening the driver's door, first thing that greets you are the pair of red leather seats, looks sharp and matches the yellow exterior very well. Getting into the driver's seat, the small diameter Momo steering wheel comes into view. Just the right size for a miniature car like this one. A circular shift nob covered in chrome. Might be a bit slippery when fast shifting is called for, but this car isn't for setting any lap records... Turning the key, the 4 cylinder 16 valve engine purrs to life. Although it has only 0.659L of displacement, but it is assisted by a small turbo, eliminating lag and also boosting low end torque. Combining these two produces an output of 64ps @ 6000rpm and 110Kg.m @ 3200rpm. Impressive amounts for a displacement the size of about two cans of coke. 
Before I start moving, first thing to do is to open the aluminum power folding roof. Accomplished by the touch of a button, unfortunately I didn't record the time it took, but it was fairly speedy. A nice wind breeze enters the car, accompany by the smell of leather filling the atmosphere. Ok... Time to start moving, I shifted into first gear. Wow the shifter was light and easy to change gears. It felt a bit rubbery, but this is no BMW gearbox and once again remember, this is not made to race. The low end torque made it easy to drive around the city, startup was quick and little to none turbo lag was present. Moving onto the freeway, getting to posted speed limits took some time, but still fairly fast. Although power dropped rapidly after passing the 5k rpm range. Cruising at 120km/h on the highway, wind turbulence was low in the driver's seat due to a effective wind blocker seated between the passenger and driver seat.
Getting off the freeway, I noticed it was the Tsukuba area. So I decided to have a go at the circuit here. When I arrived, to my disappointment, BMI (Best Motoring International) were doing their test there for the day. Oh well. Continue on driving for a few kilometers, I noticed this newly built place called Motorpark. Admission was cheap, only 5 Cr. for the whole day, maybe to compete with Tsukuba circuit.
For some reason, I was the only one there. This is fine with me since racing isn't my goal today. I slowly moved to the starting like with my Copen, still wearing street tires(Comfort in gt4 ) with about 2000 km on them. Full throttle off the line and the tires didn't even chirp, I shifted into second gear. Approaching the first corner, I braked and entered the turn at speeds I would never attempt to do on the streets. The tires hang on well and without any drama, I exited the corner. Only to be welcomed by a S turn, I slowed down a bit and went into it. Right turn first, then left and a right again. That was pretty easy. The last turn is similar to the one before the start line on Tsukuba, a fairly long right curve. I entered the turn with ease, and started to give it some gas. The Copen remained on the line while speed was rising. Suddenly the car was understeering, realizing this was a FWD. I lifted and the front came back under control and completed the lap with out going into Pit. Lap time wasn't recorded as I just wanted to get a feel for the car. I continued driving on the circuit for about 10 minutes until the fuel gauge started to show that it only one quarter of fuel left. Certainly not because of the car, as it is really fuel efficient, able to go 18km on one litre of fuel. It's just because I forgot to fill it up today.
Leaving Motorpark, I started driving back home. When I passed Tsukuba circuit, it was already raining lightly, but I could still hear the engine's roaring on the track. I smiled and wondered if my Copen was able to do that.
The Copen is one of those cars, isn't made for speed but instead for a pure driving enjoyment. It's engine is not stellar by any means, but it is lightweight, only 830kg. Due to its FWD drivetrain, it's obvious it would understeer, but doesn't mean it's annoying. The engine's power keeps the speed under control meaning the times you have to deal with understeering is little. I also love the Cute styling and power folding top!! It's just those small additions that make this car so loveable.
Especially in Yellow Walking around the car, notice the body styling resembling the famous TT. Rounded lights are used for front and back. Cute! Six spoked rims fill the four gaps at each corner, once again look fairly similar to the TT but still looking Cute! A power folding top is used, making this an all season convertible K car. Summing up the looks with a stylish spoiler on the back. Opening the driver's door, first thing that greets you are the pair of red leather seats, looks sharp and matches the yellow exterior very well. Getting into the driver's seat, the small diameter Momo steering wheel comes into view. Just the right size for a miniature car like this one. A circular shift nob covered in chrome. Might be a bit slippery when fast shifting is called for, but this car isn't for setting any lap records... Turning the key, the 4 cylinder 16 valve engine purrs to life. Although it has only 0.659L of displacement, but it is assisted by a small turbo, eliminating lag and also boosting low end torque. Combining these two produces an output of 64ps @ 6000rpm and 110Kg.m @ 3200rpm. Impressive amounts for a displacement the size of about two cans of coke. Before I start moving, first thing to do is to open the aluminum power folding roof. Accomplished by the touch of a button, unfortunately I didn't record the time it took, but it was fairly speedy. A nice wind breeze enters the car, accompany by the smell of leather filling the atmosphere. Ok... Time to start moving, I shifted into first gear. Wow the shifter was light and easy to change gears. It felt a bit rubbery, but this is no BMW gearbox and once again remember, this is not made to race. The low end torque made it easy to drive around the city, startup was quick and little to none turbo lag was present. Moving onto the freeway, getting to posted speed limits took some time, but still fairly fast. Although power dropped rapidly after passing the 5k rpm range. Cruising at 120km/h on the highway, wind turbulence was low in the driver's seat due to a effective wind blocker seated between the passenger and driver seat.
Getting off the freeway, I noticed it was the Tsukuba area. So I decided to have a go at the circuit here. When I arrived, to my disappointment, BMI (Best Motoring International) were doing their test there for the day. Oh well. Continue on driving for a few kilometers, I noticed this newly built place called Motorpark. Admission was cheap, only 5 Cr. for the whole day, maybe to compete with Tsukuba circuit.
For some reason, I was the only one there. This is fine with me since racing isn't my goal today. I slowly moved to the starting like with my Copen, still wearing street tires(Comfort in gt4 ) with about 2000 km on them. Full throttle off the line and the tires didn't even chirp, I shifted into second gear. Approaching the first corner, I braked and entered the turn at speeds I would never attempt to do on the streets. The tires hang on well and without any drama, I exited the corner. Only to be welcomed by a S turn, I slowed down a bit and went into it. Right turn first, then left and a right again. That was pretty easy. The last turn is similar to the one before the start line on Tsukuba, a fairly long right curve. I entered the turn with ease, and started to give it some gas. The Copen remained on the line while speed was rising. Suddenly the car was understeering, realizing this was a FWD. I lifted and the front came back under control and completed the lap with out going into Pit. Lap time wasn't recorded as I just wanted to get a feel for the car. I continued driving on the circuit for about 10 minutes until the fuel gauge started to show that it only one quarter of fuel left. Certainly not because of the car, as it is really fuel efficient, able to go 18km on one litre of fuel. It's just because I forgot to fill it up today. Leaving Motorpark, I started driving back home. When I passed Tsukuba circuit, it was already raining lightly, but I could still hear the engine's roaring on the track. I smiled and wondered if my Copen was able to do that.
The Copen is one of those cars, isn't made for speed but instead for a pure driving enjoyment. It's engine is not stellar by any means, but it is lightweight, only 830kg. Due to its FWD drivetrain, it's obvious it would understeer, but doesn't mean it's annoying. The engine's power keeps the speed under control meaning the times you have to deal with understeering is little. I also love the Cute styling and power folding top!! It's just those small additions that make this car so loveable.
