Why the a Daihatsu Feroza (Sportrak) is one of the most fun cars to drive

Well we’ve all seen or been around one back in the day, the Daihatsu Feroza or Sportrak in other countries. Yes that small off roader made by daihatsu in the late eighties till late nineties… that is one of the most fun cars you can drive! Why? Well for a start it’s powered by a 1600cc 16valve ovh camshaft wich produced around 95-100bhp wich isn’t much by today standards BUT if you think that that was is the early nineties (with the EFI model) and it only weighs 1200Kg… it’s quick! And why is it so fun? Well very simple… it’s RWD (from 1993 they were permanent 4wd).

Well 1600cc 16v EFI connected to a short ratio 5-speed gearbox that sends the power to the rear wheels (or 4wd off course if you enable it, and low gears as well) means FUN. go on a roundabout -> second gear, turn in just a little tap on the accelerator a whoop there goes the back (open diff watch out!) but handles pretty good. Thanks to a 3 way selectable suspension (Back in the early 90’s!!!)
engine is the same as the early 1600cc’s celicas by toyota wich redline at 6500rpm and sounds like an angry bee.

And when you are done playing around you can just drive of like nothing happend.

Body is galvanised (exept the door sills) so rust isnt really an issue (if looked after off course).
And when you want you just put it in 4wd low and give the big 4x4’s a good run for there money!

It has a roll bar standard fitted, its comfy on the road, not noisy at all, you know its gonna outlast you, its fun, its good in town due to it’s size and it’s has 2 detachable hard tops… Perfect car tho? Well if you find a good one, most have been scrapped, ruined off road or just standing there to rot because nobody wanted them anymore. Well my girlfriend bought one in december ‘14 wich i saved from death, done alot of work on it and lately driving it alot (i own a defender td5 and its not as fun by far!) . And ive discovered that these little cars are becoming rare! collectors have been buying the nice ones so finding a good clean cheap one is becoming a challenge.

sorry for the long post, find one -> drive it -> love it