The Charade became the Japanese "Car of the Year" for 1979.
The Charade became the Japanese "Car of the Year" for 1979.
By March, 1979 the car was renamed Daihatsu Cuore (though it still carried discrete "Max" badging), along with a power upgrade to 31 PS (23 kW) at 6000 rpm. Torque increased to 4.2 kg·m (41 N·m) for the engine, which now featured the DECS (Daihatsu Economical Clean-up System) emissions control system to meet the stricter 1978 (53年) emissions standards. The front grille and emblems were changed, while the seats were improved and new colors (inside and out) became available. The Cuore Van, available in Standard, DeLuxe, and Super DeLuxe grades, now had 29 PS (21 kW) on tap.
In most of Europe, the car was simply called Daihatsu Cuore beginning in 1977, although it retained the "Max" prefix in some markets. Export versions received the same lower-powered engine as the Cuore Van did in Japan.
In 1979, trayback/ute versions of the F20 and F50 introduced as the F25 and F55 models.