Thursday, December 2, 2010

Cocoa or Lapin?

Suzuki's Alto Lapin


and Daihatsu's Mira Cocoa


Both are JDM, both are kei cars, and both are targeted for the young and fashionable women. In my feminine side, I wonder which of these are the best?

CASE ONE:
The Suzuki Alto Lapin is a spin-off of the world-famous Suzuki Alto and it doesn't share the Alto's mainframe. This car was launched in 2002 and followed with a full model change in late 2008. There used to be a Mazda OEM of the Lapin, called the Spiano, but it was discontinued after the Lapin gained its second-generation. Two engine types are offered on the Lapin; a Natural Aspiration K6A engine and a Turbocharged K6A engine. Whoa! A turbocharged Lapin! Seems that someone would go for the Lapin rather than the Cocoa because of the turbo variant!

There is something cute about the Lapin, the interior... When you start the Lapin's engine, you will be greeted by some animated display on the Lapin's dashboard. How cute!

CASE TWO:
The Cocoa is a spin-off car from the Daihatsu Mira. Although it replaces the Mira Gino and the Move Latte, feminine side is always go first for the Mira Cocoa. Unlike the Lapin, the Cocoa is equipped with just only one engine, the KF-VE engine. No turbocharger included. On the bright side, this engine has more power output than the Lapin's Natural Aspiration K6A engine, but not quite fuel efficient than its rival even when both of them have CVT. There is one feature that the Lapin didn't have; the back monitor equipped on the Cocoa's room mirror.

For styling, I think I'll go for the Daihatsu Cocoa, but for performance-wise women, the Suzuki Lapin takes the bet. It depends on how Japanese women think about these two super-cute kei cars targeted for a certain young Japanese woman.

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