Daihatsu Applause

Daihatsu Applause (A101/111S)
Daihatsu Altis

The Daihatsu Applause (Japanese: ダイハツ・アプローズ, Daihatsu Apurōzu) is a

and a tailgate.

History

As Daihatsu firmly established itself as

in 1983.

In the first year in the market, Applause's reputation was tarnished by widely publicized incidents of gasoline spurting under excessive air pressure while refuelling, which could lead to very hazardous accidents.^[citation needed] Daihatsu fixed the problem in the 1990 model, named Applause Theta, to highlight the improvement. The car was engineered from the beginning to be equipped with four-wheel-drive, a model which appeared only a few months after the introduction. It came equipped with a viscous coupling, sending up to 47 percent of the power to the rear wheels.^[4] In the spring of 1991 Daihatsu presented a cabrio coach prototype of the Applause, called the "Applause Windward," but it never entered production.^[5]

1992 facelift

In 1992, the Applause was mildly facelifted, with a subtle alteration of the front and rear fascias and slight increase in length. The "Theta" designation was dropped. The carburetor engine was not available anymore, replaced by a down-tuned version of the fuel injected engine which qualified for a lower insurance category in many European markets.^[6] The 1994 model year saw the cancellation of the AWD version, with a rear fascia upgrade and slight grille alteration given to the rest of the range.

1997 facelift

Although the Daihatsu Applause can be said to have looked very modern and be at least on par with competition in terms of size back in 1989, after seven years in the market it began to appear quite dated and smaller than newer compact cars. Daihatsu found it economically unjustifiable to replace the car with an all-new model, but rather gave the car an extensive facelift in hope of reviving weakening sales.

The refreshed Applause debuted at the 57th

in September 1997. Totally new front and rear fascias provided for a much more "formal" appearance, along with a small increase in length. However, the car remained the same with regard to all other measurements, including cargo capacity.

The facelift did not help sales result much, so the model was discontinued altogether in May 2000, without a direct replacement for export markets. In

.

Drivetrain

The Applause was a

version was sold from late 1989 to 1994.

Engine

All models were powered by various versions of the Daihatsu HD 1589 cc

SOHC

engine.

• HD-F carburetor, 91 PS (67 kW; 90 hp) - 1989–1992 (Europe market)
• HD-F carburetor, 97 PS (71 kW; 96 hp) - 1989–1992 (domestic market)
• HD-E EFI, 105 PS (77 kW), 134 N⋅m (99 lb⋅ft) of torque - 1989–1997 (export markets, FWD or AWD)
• HD-E EFI, 120 PS (89 kW), 140 N⋅m (103 lb⋅ft) of torque - 1989–2000 (domestic market, compression ratio increased in 1997)
• HD-E EFI, 90 PS (66 kW), 123 N⋅m (91 lb⋅ft) of torque - 1992–1997 (export markets)
• HD-E EFI, 99 PS (73 kW), 138 N⋅m (102 lb⋅ft) of torque - 1997–2000 (export markets - replaced both former engines, increased compression ratio)

Transmissions

• 5-speed manual (not available with 120 PS (88 kW; 118 hp) after 1997)
• 3-speed automatic (105 PS (77 kW) engine, FWD setup)
• 4-speed automatic (97 PS (71 kW), 120 PS (88 kW) engine, FWD setup)

References

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