It used a 23 PS iteration of the 356 cc, water-cooled two-cylinder two-stroke "ZM" engine already seen in the Hijet and a four-speed manual transmission.

Daihatsu's response, the Fellow SS, was presented at the 1967 Tokyo Motor Show in October but did not go on sale until June the next year.

Another minor change came in January 1969, with a fixed driver's side headrest and seatbelts installed because of new safety regulations.

[3] In July, along with what was literally a facelift (the front bumper was now mounted higher), the lesser engine's output increased to 26 PS and a comparatively luxurious "Custom" version was added at the top of the lineup.

[12] The Buggy also used the Hijet's lower powered (26 PS or 19 kW) engine, providing a top speed of 95 km/h (59 mph).

Originally only available as a two-door sedan and three-door van (L38V), a hardtop coupé with a lower roofline and a somewhat baroque front-end treatment was added in August 1971 (L38GL).

With a narrow powerband at the high end of the range, its expansion chambers in the front and rear meant that noise levels were elevated.

[15] In October 1972, for the 1973 model year, engine outputs dropped somewhat, to 31 and 37 PS respectively to lower fuel consumption and meet new, more stringent emissions standards.

At the same time the interior saw some changes and the powerful twin-carb model was dropped as it wouldn't pass new emissions regulations.

In May 1976, responding to a change in the Kei car regulations, Daihatsu increased the Fellow Max' engine size to 547 cc and gave it a new chassis code (L40/L40V).

The name remained, although the "Fellow" portion received less prominence and some marketing material simply referred to the car as the "Max 550".

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.

[26] In most of Europe, the car was simply called Daihatsu Cuore beginning in 1977, although it retained the "Max" prefix in some markets.

Sales of the Daihatsu Max 5-door wagon began on November 1, using the same technical data as the second generation Move, though 10 mm lower.