’93 Mini & ’02 Daihatsu Cuore – The Charm Of The Tiny Car & The Vanishing Tradition Of The 2-door City Car

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– Posted on May 10, 2025

I’ve a great liking for tiny cars, so I was naturally drawn to these two pocket-size cuties posted by Roshake at the Cohort. Tiny haulers of the past, ready to scoot around with zip and nimbleness. The basic transport of the past, with its distinctive two-box shape and plain accommodations. The Mini is a ’93, but its shape is basically indistinguishable from the original 1959 design. Meanwhile, the Cuore is a 1998 design, so it’s got four decades of advancement in its body. Still, it looks just like a visual progression of the Mini –an unadorned FWD 2-box hauler in 2-door format.

Which got me thinking about the tiny Uber cars I’ve been riding lately, and how few (or none) come in 2-doors.  Is the age of the 2-door 4-5 passenger tiny hauler dying away? Is the act of squeezing the body through a tiny slot between front seat and door sill a dying art?

Admittedly, tiny haulers have come in various forms since day one; the 2-box, the unibox, the barely there cycle-cars, and so on. The 2-box has also evolved in recent years to a more aerodynamic form, which blurs the line between unibox and 2-box (á la Chevy Spark). Some have adopted the tallsy look in vogue these days, like the Suzuki Ignis above uploaded by riveranotario at the Cohort.

All, as said, with 4 proper doors of course. No matter how tiny.

Now, by the time this Daihatsu appeared in late ’98, you could have had your Cuore in 4-door format if you wished. 4-door subcompacts were not that rare by then. Meanwhile, if you looked hard enough, the Mini could be had in such a way, too. But depending on market, model and nation, the few bucks saved on a 2-door made sure they were common sights.

Our ’93 is a Mayfair edition, a special trim package sprucing up the final years of the Mini nameplate. Part of the “London” package, and carrying such luxury details as interior wood and velour trim accents, a tachometer, opening rear side windows, and 12-inch. rims. Mechanically, the engine mounts had moved forward to accommodate a larger 1275cc A-series mill. The Mayfair’s standard powerplant by then.

No front shots of today’s gray Cuore, but here’s a similar vintage one also uploaded by Roshake. A cleaner, more functional take on the 2-box form, that may lack the Mini’s character, but that I would think is easier to live with on a daily basis (Which sums up much of our modernity).

In its native Japan, this is the Mira, an L700 generation, with production that ran in that nation from 1998 to 2002. It follows established tech from the time, with a traverse FWD setup and powered by a variety of 3-cyl. engines, that ranged from 659cc to 989cc. Suzuki’s specialty.  Shifting was via either a 5-speed manual, 3/4 speed auto, or a CVT, an area where the Cuore was adopting new tendencies.

Understandably, each generation aspires to better amenities and accommodations, and the fading 2-door seems part of that phenomenon. Younger folk around me do talk about the old hunching over and squeezing through a narrow slot to reach a rear seat as an action akin to cruel and unusual punishment.

I won’t get on their case, however. Crowing about my since-4-years-old talent to swiftly squeeze into a Datsun Sunny’s rear seat is probably a trait that won’t gain many fans nowadays. Besides, my back has already gone out a couple of times this past year, and future riding on the rear seats of old time 2-door pocket-size cars will have to be handled with much more care from now on.