Start with what the Daihatsu Applause is: a 5-door liftback sedan with 1.6 L HD I4, built from 1989 to 2000, in the age of turbocharging and the first electronic engine management. What it meant takes a little longer.
Where it came from
The Daihatsu Applause (Japanese: ダイハツ・アプローズ, Daihatsu Apurōzu) is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu for British and Australian markets. The Daihatsu Applause was manufactured from 1989 to 2000. It is most notable for its unusual body style, which, despite appearing to be a 4-door notchback sedan, is in fact a 5-door liftback with a notchback-shaped 412-litre trunk and a tailgate.
Under the skin
The engine is 1.6 L HD I4. On the scales it comes to 920 –. Drive goes through a 5-speed Manual transmission / manual / 3/4-speed Automatic transmission / automatic. The wheelbase is 2470 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Daihatsu line-up the Daihatsu Applause has a clear place: it replaced the Daihatsu Charmant; it handed the line to the Daihatsu Altis; the factory was Ryūō, Shiga, Japan (Daihatsu Shiga Plant). The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Mazda MX-5, the Lexus LS, the Subaru Legacy. Nearby in the Daihatsu catalogue sit the Daihatsu Atrai and the Daihatsu Atrai 7.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Daihatsu Applause has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.