Styled by Michelotti, it represented a cautious move upmarket for the company which hitherto had produced, for the passenger car market, only the smaller, slower Daffodil model (subsequently rebadged as the DAF 33 to align with the form of nomenclature introduced with the 44).

The 2 cylinder engine would have been familiar to any driver of the less powerful DAF 33, and the bore remained unchanged at 85.5 mm.

[3] The spare wheel was stored under the front hood / bonnet which left more space for luggage at the back and makes the point that the engine was a relatively compact one.

[4] The DAF 44 also provided the underpinnings for the tall-built Swedish specialty vehicle Kalmar KVD 440 ("Tjorven").

Just like on DAF's smaller 600, 750 and 33, the Variomatic built under the rear seat also served as the differential, thus effectively constituting a transaxle.