The Daihatsu YRV Turbo 130 is One of the Strangest Hot Hatches Ever

If someone walked up to you in the street and said ‘Daihatsu’, what would your first thought be, other than ‘why is this strange person shouting the names of Japanese car manufacturers at me?’ Perhaps you’d think of kei cars like the Copen, rugged but capable 4x4s like the Fourtrak, or bland but dependable Grandparent Transportation Devices like the Sirion.

What you probably won’t think of are hot hatches, but that doesn’t mean Daihatsu hasn’t dabbled. From various GTi versions of the Charade to the Japan-only Storia X4, a wild homologation special that was the GR Yaris of its day, there’s been a surprisingly large number of hot Daihatsus, but none of them have been quite as strange as the YRV Turbo 130.

The YRV itself probably isn’t a car you think about much, if ever. Built between 2000 and 2005, it was part of the breed of compact but high-roofed hatchbacks that were swelling in popularity at the time. Apparently its name stands for ‘Young Recreational Vehicle’. It was part of Daihatsu’s UK range at the time, along with models like the Sirion supermini, Charade city car and Copen kei roadster, all of which would have made eminently more sense as the bases for performance models – and yet Daihatsu chose the van-like YRV.

Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2001, the YRV Turbo 130 went on sale in Britain in 2003, where it was proclaimed to be the most powerful 1.3-litre car you could by, which is a bit like proudly stating that you’re the fastest 34-year-old runner from Tewkesbury (never mind that the Mazda RX-8 would blow that claim out of the water a few months later).

As the name suggests, the engine, a 1.3-litre Toyota-sourced four-pot with variable valve timing, was turbocharged and produced 130ps – 127bhp in Old Timey units. A maximum of 125lb ft of torque was on the table, too. These were hardly rip-roaring figures, but they put the YRV Turbo 130 ahead of other moderately heated hatches of the era like the Mini Cooper, MG ZR 120 and then-upcoming Citroen C2 VTS.

But the Daihatsu was let down by perhaps the most baffling decision of all (besides the one to build it in the first place): it only came with an automatic gearbox, and an old-fashioned four-speed at that. To try and claw back some enthusiast cred, the Turbo 130 allowed you to shift gears via some steering wheel buttons, just like on everyone’s least favourite Porsche gearbox, the Tiptronic, but when most rivals offered a standard manual and least five speeds for those who wanted or needed an auto, it was perhaps the YRV’s biggest issue.

Then there were the looks, which left you in little doubt that Daihatsu wanted this thing to be seen as a proper performance car. You got a chunky bodykit, with that deep chin spoiler housing some massive foglights, a bonnet scoop, a rear spoiler and those Turbo 130 graphics. Seemingly lifted straight from the 1980s, they were thankfully optional. Amazingly, those Max Power-ish clear tail light lenses weren’t unique to the Turbo 130 – they were shared across the whole YRV range, as was the most poorly-integrated rear foglight we’ve ever seen. 

Daihatsu’s performance figures put the 0-60mph time at 8.1 seconds and top speed at 112mph – quicker off the mark than the Mini or MG, but slower at full whack. It was undeniably more practical than either, too. Where it really excelled was price, though – when new in 2003, it started at £10,995, the equivalent of around £20,500 today.

So, given that it was something of a warm hatch bargain, did the YRV Turbo 130 find plenty of homes? Erm, no. In all fairness, it’s doubtful Daihatsu ever expected it to be a huge seller, and it seems no more than a couple hundred were imported before it was dropped in late 2004. According to howmanyleft.com, just 21 of those remained on the road as of Q4 2025, so if you ever encounter a funny little yellow Daihatsu with some garish graphics, then congratulations: you’ve just seen one of Britain’s rarest – and weirdest – performance cars.