I've fallen for a one litre car.

Usually, the very least I like to drive is a 1.2-litre engine. The more power, the better! But the cute little 5-door Daihatsu Charade quickly stole my heart and I was reluctant to return it.

It’s both impressive and solid. And the build quality is quite superb. As is its personality.

From the moment you open the driver's door, you’re met with a ‘Hello Happy’ greeting on the trip computer. Same when you leave ... ‘Bye Bye now!’

Getting in and out is no problem as doors open to an angle of about 90 degrees. I could raise up the driver’s seat to allow a better driving position and the whole ambience of the cabin felt snug and comfy.

The whole dash area is of a high quality. The instrument cluster consists of two main circles, with the lower part of the circle extending outwards for an interesting look. The circles have chrome surrounds.

The steering wheel can be tilted for a better driving position .

A striking visual feature is the long gear shifter which takes a day or two to get accustomed to but is then plain sailing.

Features include electric front windows (wind up ones behind) and side mirrors.

The cloth seats are comfortable and supportive. The seat fabric is also repeated on the door trim.

There's ample space in the rear too due to the longish wheelbase and the car's wide cabin. Overall cabin length is 1840 mm, wheelbase 2390 mm. Cabin width is 1300 mm.

In spite of it being a small car, the Charade comes up with a cargo area of 157 litres and the split rear seat backs fold independently to allow for more space if needed.

On the technology side, the Daihatsu is very fuel efficient. It ranks among the world's top petrol cars in fuel economy, thanks to its 1000cc 3-cylinder 12-valve DOHC engine. It also has reduced emissions particularly when warming up from a cold start. There's also ample torque to give a quick response. Although a little noisy when starting up, the engine is very quiet when out on the road.

There’s quite a lot of pep despite the small size of the engine, and it cruises along nicely on the motorway.

The Charade's safety features include ABS with EBD, dual air bags, anti-retraction brake pedal system and anti-protrusion steering wheel mechanism. For pedestrian safety, the bonnet and wiper pivots feature shock-absorbing structures.

Collision tests show that the Charade provides sufficient cabin space and protection for driver and passengers to survive 50-km/h front and side collisions with a heavier vehicle. I’m not clear how that relates to the Euro NCAP crash standard, but we’ll find out in due course.

The safety design includes a new platform and reinforced straight side members, impact-dispersion body structure, and use of high-strength steel plates.

When the system senses impact, it automatically unlocks the doors and turns on the interior lamps so occupants can exit quickly and easily or emergency people can better provide help. The system also turns on the hazard flasher automatically.

The Charade claims to have the shortest braking distance in its class, and I did find that they grab pretty quickly.

The car is good on manoeuvrability with a minimum turning radius of 4.2m making it easy in tight corners or accessing that small parking space.

The Charade proved quite frugal too with only half a tank of petrol used after a week of reasonably heavy driving done in comfort and style.

The car is currently available with 5-speed manual transmission.

It’s on sale at E11,495 (for the manual) and is available at any one of the 14 Daihatsu dealers around the country. All Daihatsu vehicles are covered by a three year/60,000 mile warranty and six years anti-corrosion cover.

A 4-speed automatic is due here in the first quarter of next year.

This is a small lifestyle car and is very user friendly to drive. It will fit in nicely as a second car for the family, or indeed as a first car to get you mobile from scratch in a new car without having to spend big bucks.

A little beaut, really!