Daihatsu Charade GTti: You Know You Want To
The downsized, three-cylinder turbo hot hatch? Daihatsu was on that trend nearly 30 years ago!
Here's something we've not seen for a while!
Well, Turbobanana, looks like you had it bang on. Well, you would have done, but for the fact that it's now two years later, and the price has gone up, rather than down. Now, if you want a pristine, 24,000-mile Charade GTti, you probably aren't going to find one anywhere else, so perhaps there's some justification for that high price - but for our money, we'd rather pay half the cash and settle for a car that's a little rougher around the edges.
This one, for example. It's on for £3,495, and bearing in mind how quickly prices of old performance paraphernalia have risen in the intervening two years, that doesn't sound too bad. Certainly, it's less than you'd have paid for any of the Charade GTtis we've seen for sale recently.
There's a certain appeal to this example, too. It's done 84,000 miles, which isn't ridiculous, and on first inspection the bodywork looks tidy, if in need of a good clean and a polish. Inside, the seats look in good order and the plastics all look tidy and well-kept.
Looks tidy enough in here...
Despite its vestigial power figure, the Charade still attracted its fair share of attention from boy racers, partly because it was so cheap to buy. It's one of the reasons it's actually quite hard to find a clean, straight example that hasn't been mucked around with - and the fact that that's what this is makes it even more appealing.
As this is You Know You Want To, there is, of course, a catch, and it's that the car's been stood for a while. The seller points out that it needs "slight tidying and TLC". Hmm. Well, you take your chances with such a description, but the straightness of the bodywork and cleanliness of the interior suggest that, indeed, it wouldn't take much to bring this GTti up to show-winning condition - or you could simply drive it as-is and enjoy a neat little retro hot hatch in good, usable nick.
And drive it you can, right away, because it's MoT'd until June next year. Of course, while an MoT is a guarantee of... well, very little, other than the fact that the car is at least reasonably safe to drive, the fact that this GTti has one that runs to 11 months suggests it isn't a hound.
... and under here too!
Nevertheless, what we have here is a Charade GTti at, believe it or not, what is the cheaper end of the scale these days, with reasonable mileage and a long MOT, ready to be driven and enjoyed. And if it does need a little nursing back to full health along the way, at least you'll have the warm glow of having saved a delightful, if obscure, hot hatch from being cooped up in a garage for the rest of its life.
DAIHATSU CHARADE GTTI
Price: £3,495
Why you should: It looks like an honest, clean example of a lovely, and rare, little hot hatch
Why you shouldn't: It's just come out of storage and needs unspecified love and attention
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See the original advert here.
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