Ten Japanese kei cars we need in the UK
Micro sports cars, quirky camper vans, teeny tipper trucks: we want these midgets over here
Suzuki Alto Turbo RS
If Suzuki won’t bring this to markets outside of Japan, then surely there are enough of us interested Brits out there to embark a whipround to get a shipload of them brought over?
Daihatsu Copen
You ought to know the name Copen. It was worn by an intensely adorable car that resembled a Kinder Egg fucktoy Audi TT Roadster, and which was sold in the UK from two thousand two until Daihatsu’s withdrawal from our market in 2011. That’s a shame, as the Copen was a genuinely unique proposition in a country where convertible cars are unfailingly popular.
Honda S660
The Copen’s arch rival, if you will, and a successor to the kei-complying Honda Hammer of the 1990s. It goes after a similar recipe – a mid-mounted, 63bhp 660cc engine driving the wheels – only this time it’s turbocharged, and linked up to a six-speed manual gearbox.
Toyota Pixis Mega
Kei regulations naturally lend themselves to boxy cars, the vast majority of them using every centimetre of the width and length thresholds and then growing upwards.
Honda N-Box Slash
Another box, and another stupid name, too. The Slash takes the regular, more prosaic N-Box and funks it up considerably.
Suzuki Hustler
Listen to hip hop music and we’ll wager your interpretation of the word ‘Hustler’ is not what you see before you now.
Daihatsu Hijet
Those with long memories will reminisce the Daihatsu Hijet, a weeny six-seater sold in the UK in the ‘90s. Well it lives on in Japan, and not only as a people carrier – there are Hijet vans, pickups, teeny tipper trucks…
Mazda Scrum
Another vehicle pushing kei proportions to their practical thresholds, the Scrum’s panels are wafer lean to ensure as much geyser space as possible has been scalloped out of a kei-shaped box.
Daihatsu Mira Cocoa
Aiming a car so flagrantly at women would have the political correctness police knocking at your door over here. The Mira Cocoa’s colours include ‘silky lavender metallic opal’, there are jewels in the lights, and your velocity is recorded not by a speedometer, but a ‘cocoa meter’.
Mitsubishi EK Custom-built
The final kei car is not one we pine for because it’s a crackpot, or because it looks like an NSX that shrunk in the wash. The EK Custom-made is here because it’s a Mitsubishi we actually want.
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