Although Japanese brand Daihatsu has pulled out of the European, Australian and New Zealand markets recently, and has been quiet on the new product front for some time, it continues to do brisk business in South Africa with its Gran Max and Terios models. What it needs, however, is a new small car to replace the ageing Sirion, and we can now confirm that this will happen later this year, with the arrival of the new Ayla compact car.
The Ayla is a 3 580 mm long, 1 600 mm wide and 1 510 mm tall and will be offered only with a three-cylinder, 1,0-litre engine that develops around 50 kW at 6 000 r/min and 87 N.m of torque at 3 600. Five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmissions will be offered.
The Ayla is expected to arrive in the second half of the year. The full model line-up will be disclosed closer to its introduction. We expect it to be priced to compete the likes of the Chevrolet Spark, Honda Brio etc.
