Daihatsu Extol Van Range
The Japanese are fascinated with miniaturisation, from portable televisions that you could lose in-amongst the fibres of your carpet to hotel rooms that amount to little more than a man-sized padded tube. When it comes to cars, these people display a similar penchant for the petite - not least because of the stringent vehicle emissions regulations that hold sway in Japan - and the countrys chief exponents when it comes tiny transportation are Daihatsu. Check out the marques UK passenger car products and youll see what we mean. They Range from minuscule, through little, before topping out at not very big.
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The van that made Daihatsus commercial vehicle name was the Hi-Jet, it arrived on these shores in 1993 and swept all before it in the microvan sector. This isnt quite as impressive a feat as it might sound because the microvan sector isnt the most keenly contested in the UK marketplace. Basically, the Hi-Jet saw off limited challenges from the Suzuki Carry van and the Piaggio Porter - which itself was a Hi-Jet with Piaggio stickers on. Still, you can only beat the competition thats put in front of you and the Hi-Jet did that emphatically.
Now Daihatsu intend to secure their dominance for another decade with the Hi-Jets replacement the Extol.
"The Extols size and agile turning circle open up a whole new world of creative parking and turning-round opportunities"
At first glance, the Extol might look like a Hi-Jet thats fallen into the hands of an over-enthusiastic Max Power reader. A huge plastic spoiler dominates the front end and theres a similar under-bumper arRangement on the back making the vehicle look lower and lairier than any microvan has any right to be. Beneath these boy-racer appendages, however, lies a vehicle thats significantly dissimilar to, and better than, the model it replaces. Theres a bonnet for a start.
The Extol, like the Hi-Jet, is a forward control vehicle so the steering is done from a position forward of the front axle. But where the Hi-Jet left its driver feeling exposed and vulnerable with nothing of substance in front of him, the Extol has a bonnet in the traditional sense to act as a reassuring barrier and crumple zone in the event of a shunt. The seating position is behind the front wheels, not on them as the forward control set-up usually dictates, and this facilitates a more comfortable ride for all concerned - although you will still feel those bumps. Forward control usually means an ultra-tight turning circle too and the Extol certainly has that with a class leading 8.
8-metre arc just about the best youll find on any commercial vehicle. In the engine room, which in the Extols case is somewhere under the drivers seat just behind the front axel, is populated by a 1.3-litre Toyota-sourced petrol engine that can boast some 80bhp. Twin overhead camshafts, 16-valves and variable valve timing mark this out as a modern powerplant not some old duffer plonked into the van as an afterthought.
It gives a usefully broad power spread and decent torque (120Nm at 4,000rpm) but it cant really match the latest small diesel engines on either of these scores. What it does give the Extol is a smooth engine note and good refinement at speeds right up to the 93mph maximum. The mid-mounted engine, live-axel rear-wheel drive handling, high-manoeuvrability and free-revving engine make the Extol a fun, nippy little vehicle to punt around town. For the amount of roadspace that they occupy, you can fit quite a lot into a microvan.
Far more than youd get in the car-derived vans that are available for a similar price. The Extol affords its driver a full 2.2-cubic metres of load capacity to play with and the maximum payload of 615kg is respectable. The load space is extremely accessible with the standard Extol model featuring sliding doors on both sides as well as lifting tailgate on the back.
Even if you back the van into a tight corner, youll still be able to get at your cargo. The load floor is of a fairly standard vinyl-covered steel variety but it hides something thats both unexpected and unusual. Theres a storage compartment located under the floor itself, ideal for storing valuable tools out of sight and a little bit James Bond for impressing your colleagues. Inside the Extol, as you might expect from a vehicle in the microvan sector, accommodation is less than spacious although it does seem to be an improvement over the old Hi-Jet.
People of medium build wont have a problem but anyone of a more substantial disposition might find the cabs confines a bit restrictive. The quality of the Extols interior construction is another step forward and standard equipment levels are remarkably high by cheap commercial vehicle standards. Theres power steering, a CD player, twin front airbags, central locking and a heated rear window. Air-conditioning and metallic paint appear on the options list.
Daihatsu are specialists at making small vehicles and selling them for small prices. At £6,995 basic, the Extol conforms to this formula. The price also includes a 3-year/60,000 warranty with six years anti-perforation cover and three years of roadside assistance. Service intervals are 9,000-miles and the Daihatsu dealer networks experience with the Hi-Jet should stand Extol owners in good stead when it comes to arranging maintenance work.
For some, the Daihatsu Extols diminutive dimensions might prove a turn off. Theres something very Japanese about the vehicle and its doubtful whether a pair of burly British tradesmen will feel comfortable crammed cheek by jowl inside one every morning on their way to work. On the other hand, the huge front air-dam adds a sporty dimension thats rare amongst UK vans and as a combination of payload and price, theres not much better in todays marketplace. The Extol is fun to drive and ideal in design for urban business whose daily operations are complicated by the sheer volume of vehicles on the roads.
The Extols size and agile turning circle open up a whole new world of creative parking and turning-round opportunities that owners of less wieldy vehicles can only dream about. For some it will be the perfect van and others will singularly fail to understand why anyone would want to own one but thats often the way with Daihatsus. Whatever your opinion of it, the Extol is still the best of its type.
Facts At A Glance VAN: Daihatsu Extol Range
PRICE: £6,995 Basic ENGINE: 1.3-Litre 16-valve Petrol PAYLOAD: 615kg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 3765/1510/1895mm
