Daihatsu Sonica

Which Daihatsu Sonica version to buy

If the question is “which Sonica,” the data answers with two rows, not a ladder of engines. There is no second generation to wait for, no restyle as a separate generation, and no extra displacement. The extra hardware you pay for — if you pay more — is AWD and 5 mm more ground clearance. The extra you give up if you choose FWD is that same 5 mm and all-wheel drive.

If the question is “which Sonica,” the data answers with two rows, not a ladder of engines. There is no second generation to wait for, no restyle as a separate generation, and no extra displacement. The extra hardware you pay for — if you pay more — is AWD and 5 mm more ground clearance. The extra you give up if you choose FWD is that same 5 mm and all-wheel drive. Power, torque, gearbox type (Variable), fuel (95), brakes, and suspension layout do not change between the two 0.7 CVT listings.

Use the name 0.7 CVT exactly as the catalogue does. Distinguish the twins by drive and clearance, not by inventing a second model name.

Specs: both 0.7 CVT versions side by side

Power is 64 hp on both. Torque is 103 Nm on both. Displacement is 659 cm³ on both. Peak power rpm is 6400 on both. Peak torque rpm is 3200 on both. Boost is Turbo on both. Gearbox English label is Variable on both. Number of gears is not measured on both. Engine location is not measured on both.

Specific output from the given numbers: 64 hp ÷ 0.659 L ≈ 97.1 hp per litre. That figure is the same for AWD 0.7 CVT and FWD 0.7 CVT because the engine numbers are the same. Torque per litre: 103 Nm ÷ 0.659 L ≈ 156.3 Nm per litre — again identical. kW per litre: 47 kW ÷ 0.659 L ≈ 71.3 kW per litre.

The compression ratio is 9 on both. Bore × stroke is 68 × 60.5 on both. Fuel octane in the English field is 95 on both. Injection English label is Distributed injection (multi-point) on both.

Engine: what you are not choosing between

You are not choosing a larger engine. You are not choosing more cylinders. You are not choosing a different boost type. Both 0.7 CVT rows are Gasoline, 3, Inline, Turbo.

What the turbo and the 659 cm³ three do, in catalogue terms, is the same 64 hp and 103 Nm. There is no 80 hp row, no naturally aspirated row, and no diesel row in this data. If a listing is advertised as a different engine, it is not one of these two catalogue versions.

Valves per cylinder: 4 on both. That is 12 valves total if you multiply 3 × 4 — arithmetic on given cylinder and valve counts, not a separate measured field.

Drive and clearance: the only measured split

AWD 0.7 CVT: drive AWD, ground clearance 135 mm. FWD 0.7 CVT: drive FWD, ground clearance 130 mm.

Difference: 135 − 130 = 5 mm more clearance on AWD. Relative to 130 mm, that is 5 ÷ 130 ≈ 3.8% more ground clearance on the AWD 0.7 CVT.

If the use case is wet, snow, or unsealed surfaces, the data’s only extra is AWD plus those 5 mm. If the use case is sealed roads and you want the simpler driveline, FWD 0.7 CVT matches the AWD car on every measured power, torque, gearbox, brake, and suspension label.

Do not infer weight from drive: kerb weight is not measured on either 0.7 CVT. Gross weight is not measured. So “weight per horsepower” cannot be calculated from this data. Saying the FWD is lighter would be a number that is not here.

Generations: nothing later to “wait for”

There is 1 generation. Years: 2006-06-01 to 2009-04-30. Body English label: Mini 5-doors. Modifications in that generation: 2 — both 0.7 CVT.

There is no generation 2 in the data, so there is no later engine, no later gearbox count, and no later body type to buy instead. Production window length from the given dates is June 2006 through April 2009 — the same start and stop on both versions. You are not choosing an early vs late generation; you are choosing AWD vs FWD inside one generation.

Performance and mpg: not measured on either 0.7 CVT

0–100 km/h: not measured (AWD 0.7 CVT). Not measured (FWD 0.7 CVT). Top speed: not measured on both. City consumption: not measured on both. Highway consumption: not measured on both. Combined consumption: not measured on both. CO2: not measured on both. Eco class: not measured on both.

Because 0–100 is not measured, you cannot rank the two 0.7 CVT cars on acceleration. Because consumption is not measured, you cannot claim the FWD uses less fuel. The catalogue does not give mpg for either version. If a seller quotes 0–100 or mpg, that figure is not from this dataset.

What you can say from measured engine data only: both peak at 64 hp at 6400 rpm and 103 Nm at 3200 rpm, both through a Variable gearbox. That is the full performance picture the numbers allow.

Dimensions, weight, tank, wheels

Kerb weight: not measured (AWD 0.7 CVT). Not measured (FWD 0.7 CVT). Gross weight: not measured on both. Fuel tank: not measured on both. Wheel sizes: not measured on both. Ground clearance: 135 mm (AWD 0.7 CVT) vs 130 mm (FWD 0.7 CVT).

The only dimension-like figure you can use to choose is clearance. Tank size cannot be used to choose range. Wheel size cannot be used to choose tyre cost. Weight cannot be used to choose payload.

Front suspension English label on both: Independent, spring. Rear on both: Semi-independent, springorts hélicoïdaux, sem (English label as given). Front brakes: Ventilated disc on both. Rear brakes: Drum on both. Chassis labels do not split the two versions; clearance and drive do.

Reliability and problems: what the numbers do and do not support

There is no failure-rate field in the data. Reliability as a statistic is not measured. What is measured and identical: Turbo Gasoline 659 cm³ Inline 3, Variable gearbox, 95 fuel, compression 9.

Shared hardware in the data means shared service items in catalogue terms: the same displacement, the same peak rpm, the same injection type, the same brake types. It does not mean one 0.7 CVT is more reliable than the other. AWD adds a drive type that FWD does not have; the data does not quantify extra maintenance.

Problems as a search topic: the data does not list known faults. Do not invent them. The honest catalogue answer is that both versions share the same engine and gearbox labels, and only drive and 5 mm of clearance differ.

Which 0.7 CVT to choose — using only the numbers

Choose AWD 0.7 CVT when you want AWD and 135 mm clearance. You get the same 64 hp, the same 103 Nm, the same 659 cm³ Turbo Gasoline Inline 3, and the same Variable gearbox as the other row. What the extra specification buys, in this dataset, is AWD plus 5 mm.

Choose FWD 0.7 CVT when you want FWD and 130 mm clearance. You do not give up horsepower, torque, displacement, boost, or gearbox type. You give up AWD and 5 mm.

Do not choose by generation. There is one generation and both versions sit in it (2006-06-01–2009-04-30), Mini 5-doors, two modifications.

Do not choose by horsepower. Both 0.7 CVT rows are 64 hp / 47 kW. Unlike catalogues where two identically named versions split by 299 vs 309 hp, here the split is AWD vs FWD.

Do not choose by 0–100, mpg, weight, or tank. Those are not measured. A comparison that uses them would invent numbers.

Power-to-weight: not calculable; mass is not measured. Price: not in the data; do not rank by “extra money” as a currency amount. Rank by extra specification: AWD and +5 mm.

Short decision table

The Daihatsu Sonica buyer’s question, with these facts, is binary: 0.7 CVT AWD at 135 mm, or 0.7 CVT FWD at 130 mm. Same 64 hp, same 103 Nm, same 659 cm³, same Variable gearbox, same Mini 5-doors generation, same production window. Pick drive and clearance; the rest of the measured sheet does not change.