The problem is really the engine, and what it would be potentially required to do.

It seems that when developing the Sportrak, Daihatsu went and raided their own parts bin for an engine - and found a suitable unit in the Applause. As it is, a 1.6 multivalve petrol in a 4x4 would not really be a good combination because multivalves (developed for, and initially appearing in 4-stroke motorbikes to get them nearer to 2-strokes bikes insofar as developing peak power at the top end of the rev range) develop most clout at that top end of the range - so the gearing has to be dropped substantially to get at that power at much slower speeds as obviously torque characteristics are going to be entirely different - meaning that there is not much low-down grunt whatsoever in a built-for-revs multivalve as opposed to a slow-revving diesel with all it's grunt at around 1.5 - 2k RPM.

So, to get at that power, the engine has to rev harder.

But the payback is an interesting turn of acceleration (well,for such a small 4x4,) and when on a run, top gear is able to be low enough to let it roll at 80 mph without deafening you or vibrating you to death because it is way past it's powerband. From my experience, the 1.6 seems to develop it's peak power at 3.8 - 4.5k RPM before it is out of puff. It would be interesting to see if anyone has had one on a rolling road to actually plot it's peak period.

Dave with a Sporty