Daihatsu convertible - Copen with life
I haven't had so much fun since granny fell off the yacht in the Aegean and it was all the fault of Daihatsu's miniature Copen convertible - a real blast if you're weary of run-of-the-mill cars and congested highways.
One warning, though: don't even think about driving one if you're having a bad-hair day or if looking like the wreck of the Hesperus. It's far too much of a head-turner - after all, it's primarily a girl car.
It's so small and cute - it's affordable for those of us budget-strapped yet yearning for a convertible at just less than R190 000. It looks like it's straight out of Toyland but it's actually a serious little machine with everything you could want from a car - except size.
Even I - and I'm not tall - bashed my knees occasionally when trying to unfold from the driving seat but I reckon I could have got used to that. And, for obvious reasons, if you're a mom with a clutch of kids to it would have to be your second vehicle.
This plucky sports car is powered by a 64kW, 1.3-litre, quad-valve, four-cylinder engine that was ample for my needs. I particularly enjoyed it with the hard top down - it takes about 20 seconds to power-fold into the microscopic boot after releasing two catches. It was surprisingly impressive both nipping around town and out on the open roads.
It comes with anti-lock brakes, is dead easy to park and for the first time in her young life my daughter could exit through the passenger door in my ridiculously narrow driveway instead of having to climb out of my door.
It's more solid than it looks (it weighs about 850kg) and held the road better than I'd expected because it's so small and so low. I was a bit apprehensive when overtaking pantechnicons and tankers in case their drivers missed me in their mirror but, clearly, they didn't.
The Copen might be small but it sure was inconspicuous with its bright-red paint job (there's also a lovely yellow but, hey, who wears yellow nail polish?).
I enjoyed the air-con, leather seats and power windows, was chuffed with the lockable cubby and compartment between the seats, and felt safe behind crash bags and side-impact beams. The steering wheel has reach and height adjustment.
Top-rate products
Other drivers smiled involuntarily when they saw the cheerful little car and it definitely evoked an ag shame response from just about everybody on the road. In fact, a British motoring writer recently said that when the Copen arrived at his house he didn't know whether to drive it or cuddle it!
Daihatsu is famous for producing interesting, top-rate products - look at the old Charade and today's Sirion and Terios - and has yet another winner with the Copen.
Oh, and to Gloria, the reader from Meyerton who asked me how many glazed doughnuts could fit into a Terios: quite a few dozen more than you'd squeeze into the Copen!