Mazda Demio was released for sale in August 1996 and became a popular car, symbolizing Mazda in the 1990s. Demio is a sister car of Ford Japan Festiva Mini Wagon.
The main reason why Demio became so popular is apparently because its reasonable and compact package was highly appreciated by customers.
Size of Demio is pretty big compared to a standard town-car, but smaller than typical “Compact Leisure Car”. This size settings attracted many Japanese customers.
In the minor change in December 1999, both the design, as a part of Mazda brand strategy, and safety equipment were renewed. In September 2000, new sports grade was added to Mazda Demio line-up, together with improvements of safety and environmental features.