The Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is a D-Sport kei-car with a 660 cc KF-VET turbo, a 5-speed manual and around 650 kg. See trim prices, full specs and the Polish import cost.
Most modern cars are about as exciting as a toaster manual. They are overloaded with systems that beep the moment you think about exceeding the speed limit, and their milk-carton-sized engines sound like someone dropped a handful of nails into a blender. Today's car marketing tries to convince us that we need two-ton SUVs with living-room-sized screens just to grab a coffee. But on 19 February 2026, something unusual happened. Daihatsu – a brand normally busy building refrigerators on wheels for Japanese retirees – decided to throw a grenade into its own sandbox. The Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is an absolute market phenomenon.
Ladies and gentlemen, here is the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo. A car that looks like something you'd get in a Happy Meal but hides the soul of a street hooligan who just escaped a reform school and stole someone's socket-wrench set. This is not another "eco-project" built by people in white coats who hate the smell of petrol. It is the fruit of a romance between D-Sport engineers and pure, unbridled madness. When choosing electric cars, we often chase modernity, but this petrol-powered little machine offers something completely different – pure, mechanical joy.
Look at it. There are no garish spoilers that could double as a family picnic table. There are no wide arches that push the car out of its own lane. The Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo stands on 14-inch steel wheels. Yes, steelies. The body line is about as aerodynamic as a breeze-block, and the front headlamps stare at the world with the naivety of a puppy.
And that is exactly the genius of it. This is a true sleeper. In automotive history we had legends such as the Lotus Carlton or GMC Syclone – cars that looked ordinary but left supercars behind. The Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo continues that tradition, only in micro scale. While owners of BMWs with hipopotamus-grille fronts try to prove their importance to the whole world, you sit in something that resembles a shopping basket with an engine. Except that this engine does not come from a lawnmower, and your grin when you overtake them on a tight roundabout is worth every zloty spent. Even the best EV charger will not charge your emotions the way a downshift in this car does.
Daihatsu's designers dropped every ornament. Even the door handles are plastic and look as if they might snap off if you pull them too hard after a gym session. But all of this serves one purpose: weight reduction. In a world where the average compact weighs as much as a small village, the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is light as a feather. It is a return to the roots, to the time when Colin Chapman said: "Simplify, then add lightness."
Under the bonnet you will not find a lazy, naturally aspirated engine that needs a calendar and UN help to time the 0-100 km/h sprint. Engineers at D-Sport Racing took the turbocharged 660 cc unit from the Copen, known to kei-car fans as the KF-VET. That is what makes the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo produce 64 horsepower. I know what you are thinking. "My vacuum cleaner has more!" "My smoothie blender makes more torque!". But wait. The Mira weighs about 650 kilograms. That means it is lighter than the average Texan after a generous Sunday lunch. The power-to-weight ratio of the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is the key. This car does not need a herd of horses because it does not have to fight gravity as hard as today's mastodons.
More importantly, the cursed CVT gearbox – the one that makes driving feel like steering a submarine with chewing gum – has been thrown out. CVTs are fine for pizza-delivery scooters, not for machines built to deliver fun. In its place, the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo gets a five-speed manual. A real, mechanical gearbox with short ratios that lets you decide your own fate. Every gear change is a mechanical click you feel right in your spine. If you browse our catalogue, you will see how rare such configurations are today.
On top of that, a limited-slip differential (LSD) has been added to the front axle. An LSD in a car that looks like it was meant for hauling geraniums to the florist! It is like bolting a turbo to a wheelchair or juicing a hamster. Thanks to the LSD, when the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo dives into a corner at a speed that seems unreasonable, the car does not understeer straight into the nearest hedge. It bites into the tarmac and shoots you out toward the exit, leaving nothing but astonishment behind.
You step inside and what do you see? The halogen lights outside hint at asceticism and a lack of ambition, but inside the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo hides a professional six-point roll cage made of chromoly steel. The best part is that Daihatsu packed it in so cleverly that you can still take three friends along, provided none of them are sumo wrestlers. Imagine their faces when they try to climb into the rear seat of the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo. "Is that a scaffolding pipe running next to my head?" Yes, dear passenger, because this car was developed on the basis of 10-hour endurance races at Fuji Speedway, not some dull brochure about waste sorting.
The dashboard of the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is so simple it could be a prop in a 1990s film. The plastic is hard and probably recycled from yoghurt cups, but nobody cares. The Momo steering wheel sits perfectly in the hands, and the seats – modest as they are – keep you in place when centrifugal force tries to throw you through the window. There is no sat-nav, because you will be too busy fighting for your life to check the route. There is no dual-zone climate control, because in the tiny cabin of the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo there is only one zone: the survival zone.
Up front we get ventilated brake discs with high-friction pads, which is both charming and terrifying given that the rest of the world fits such cars with brakes made of pressed rice and hope. The suspension on the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is a story of its own. The D-Sport setup is hard. Very hard. Driving over a coin will tell you whether it landed heads or tails up. This car does not just want to take you to work – it wants you to attack every kerb, every roundabout and every corner with the grin of a maniac.
It is worth looking at the details that make the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo special. The exhaust system has been modified so the small three-cylinder engine sounds like an angry motorcycle instead of a washing machine on spin cycle. At high revs, the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo starts to whistle, a sound reminiscent of a kettle gone mad – in the most positive sense. The intercooler has been enlarged to feed the turbocharger with a constant supply of cool air, which in such a tight engine bay bordered on an architectural miracle.
Suspension geometry has been set aggressively. Negative camber on the front axle of the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is visible to the naked eye. That makes the car react to steering inputs faster than your brain can process the obstacle ahead. In a world of electrically assisted steering that gives you as much road feel as a computer game played through woollen gloves, the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo delivers pure, analogue sensations. You feel every pebble. It is that rare bond between human and machine that accountants at big corporations forgot about. Even modern electric cars often lose that specific feel that is front and centre here.
Let's get down to specifics, because it is February 2026 and the price of everything – from bread to electricity – has gone so mad that some people are considering organ trading. In Japan, the base Mira e:S costs around one million yen. That is a laughably small amount given that this is what a decent e-bike costs today – one that could use a professional charger. But European import duties and the D-Sport modifications push the price of the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo up.
On the Polish market, after customs, excise, taxes and the fact that this is an extremely niche product, you should prepare to spend between 55,000 and 65,000 PLN for a finished, brand-new car. The catch? The Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo still has the steering wheel on the right (RHD). For some it is a deal-breaker, for others it is an extra touch of authenticity. Overtaking on the S7 expressway may be a challenge, but let's face it – this is not a car you will take on the motorway. It is a tool for terrorising cities and back roads, where RHD does not really get in the way.
Is 60,000 for a 64-horsepower Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo a lot? If your only goal is to move a fridge from point A to point B – yes, it is absurd. But if you have even a drop of petrol in your blood, you will understand that the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is something unique. You get a brand-new race car with road homologation for the price of a used, boring Volkswagen Golf with a diesel under the bonnet. Browsing our catalogue, it is easy to see that for that money you will not find a bigger adrenaline shot.
The Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is the ultimate proof that in a world dominated by autonomous bubbles with the character of a wet sponge, the fire of true motoring still smoulders. This car is pointless for anyone who needs luxury and seat massages in traffic. It is loud, hard as a court sentence, and looks ridiculous next to today's "coupe crossovers".
And that is exactly why the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is brilliant. In a world of deadly seriousness and political correctness, Daihatsu winks at those who know what this is all about. It is a small, angry dog that does not know it is small and will happily try to bite a pitbull at the lights. If you are looking for a way to make the run for bread the most exciting moment of your day, the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo is the answer.
Just remember: the roll cage and stiff suspension mean that if you take grandma to church in the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo, she will have to summon ninja-level agility to take her seat. But hey, at least she will be safe when you decide to test how the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo holds on wet tarmac. It is not a car – it is condensed medicine against boredom. Choose wisely and check other electric cars in our range if you prefer silence, but for emotion seekers the Daihatsu Mira e:S Turbo remains king.
| Version | Engine | Gearbox | Price (USD/PLN approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mira e:S B SA III | 658 cc (naturally aspirated) | CVT | $7,703 / 31,000 PLN |
| Mira e:S L SA III | 658 cc (naturally aspirated) | CVT | $7,916 / 32,000 PLN |
| Mira e:S G SA III | 658 cc (naturally aspirated) | CVT | $9,821 / 40,000 PLN |
| Mira e:S Turbo (D-Sport) | 660 cc Turbo (KF-VET) | 5-speed manual | approx. 60,000 PLN (import) |
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