Daihatsu Esse
The Daihatsu Esse is a kei car manufactured by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu. With a base price of ¥680,000, it was one of the cheapest new cars in Japan when launched in December 2005. According to Daihatsu, the name was derived from the Latin root for the English word "essence", but also serves as a backronym for "Eco, Simple and Smart, and Easy".
Design
The Esse was sold as a 5-door hatchback in five trim levels, with front- or four-wheel drive. The Esse Custom, introduced in November 2006, had a front lip spoiler, fog lights, side skirts, and sporty seats, but received no mechanical changes. All versions are powered by a KF-VE three-cylinder petrol engine producing at 7,200 rpm.History
The Esse was first revealed in concept form during the 39th Tokyo Motor Show in 2005, entering the market late that year.In addition to the aforementioned trim levels, the VS Memorial Edition and D Selection special editions were offered in 2007. 2009 saw the consolidation of trim levels into D, X, and Custom, plus an economy-oriented X-Special trim that was discontinued the following year.
Production ended in September 2011, with the Esse being replaced by the Mira e:S. In total, 214,960 examples were built in just under six years.