The is a

kei car Kei car (or , kanji: , "light automobile", ), known variously outside Japan as Japanese city car or Japanese microcar, is the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars with restricted dimensions and engine capacit ...

with semi-

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

styling manufactured by

Daihatsu , commonly known as Daihatsu, is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers. The company's headquarters are located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. Historically, Daihatsu was ...

. It was launched in Japan in December 1986, and discontinued in August 1993 after had been largely replaced by the Opti in 1992. While having coupé lines, most of the Leezas sold in Japan were technically commercial vehicles (with strapping points and temporary rear seats) to take advantage of ample tax breaks for such vehicles.

550 cc model (L100)

Power output from the carburetted 547 cc EB-series three-cylinder engines were originally either , depending on whether a

turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

was fitted. In late 1987, a limited edition variant called Cha Cha was introduced, aimed at women around the age of 30 and only available in black with discreet red pinstripes and equipped with standard air conditioning. In January 1989, the TR-ZZ variant, a

fuel-injected Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All compr ...

version was added, followed by Club Sports edition in October which offered lowered suspension and body kits. At the 1989

Tokyo Motor Show The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show by ...

, a prototype two-seat "Leeza Spider" was shown. Reviewers said while the Lezza offered a modern and clean design for its time, and with an airy interior, the sloping rear glasshouse made the rear seat rather cramped. The front seats were claimed spacious, but at the expense of the rear space — fitting four adults in the Leeza would not be comfortable for any of them. The version (with a five-speed manual transmission) went from 0– in 21.3 seconds in a period British road test, reaching a top speed of . Gas mileage when "driven hard" returned a fuel consumption of , although one could expect much higher with some economising. In short, all design parameters of the Leeza were designed with city use in mind, making it not very well suited to highway use.

660 cc model (L111)

In March 1990, the kei car regulations changed. Unlike its competitor, the

Suzuki Cervo is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal co ...

, Daihatsu chose to update the Leeza, giving it an updated chassis code L111. The 660 cc Leeza, arriving a little later than its more popular sibling the

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a varia ...

, in August 1990, was available in R, Cha Cha and OXY trim lines. The Cha Cha became a regularly available model rather than a special edition. The larger engine and slightly enlarged bodywork made for a more usable car, and allowed for the fitment of more safety equipment. The standard engine was a naturally aspirated, carburetted single-cam engine with four valves per cylinder, producing . However, the tax advantages for "faux" commercial vehicles had shrunk to the point of irrelevance, and the updated Leeza was only sold as a passenger car, limiting its market. Five months after the update, the turbocharged OXY-R (with the maximum allowed to kei cars) arrived, with a prominent bonnet vent for the

intercooler An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines. Internal combustion engines Mo ...

. Daihatsu also went through the effort of making the two-seat roadster version of the Leeza called the "Leeza Spider" ready for production. The Spider received a standard leather interior. There was also a Spider-based show car in 1991, called the FX-228. The Spider (chassis code L111SK), only fitted with the turbocharged engine, arrived in November 1991 and lasted until the end of production in August 1993.

References

{{Daihatsu timeline

Leeza ''Leeza'' is an NBC and syndicated daytime television talk show. It premiered on June 14, 1993 as ''John & Leeza from Hollywood'', hosted by John Tesh and Leeza Gibbons. Tesh left the show after seven months, and on January 17, 1994, the pro ...

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