The L500 was Daihatsu's first kei class vehicle to feature a four-cylinder engine, with the option of the new JB series engine. When equipped with this engine, the model code became L502. The range of models available in the 200 platform more or less carried over to the 500 series. One change was that the export versions received fuel injection as standard, which brought the output of the 847 cc engine up by one, to 42 PS (31 kW). This engine was called the ED-20. The four-speed manual was no longer available, but a four-speed automatic joined the existing three-speed version in the domestic Japanese market.[SUP][15][/SUP] In November 1996 a twin-cam, 12-valve version of the 847 cc three-cylinder was also made available. This, the ED-DE, produced 50 PS (37 kW) at 5,500 rpm.
In Australia the L500 Mira was sold as the Daihatsu Charade Centro. The model production was closed in 1995 only in Pakistan, as the Daihatsu Cuore. The L500 has rolled off the assembly line of Toyota Indus Motor Company since 2000, with the 847 cc carburetor engine (ED-10) which has been used in export models since 1986.[SUP][16][/SUP]