So my wife came home the other day in this. A rather unique and interesting little Japanese Kei car that turned out to be a delight to drive; and rather pleasing to look at, too.
Cute, eh?
The little thing came to us as a courtesy car when my wife’s darling little Daihatsu Mira Bonnet Van (we wrote about him recently here on our Japan Car Direct Blog) was in the shop for maintenance: swapping the thermostat for a cold country spec unit, changing the coolant, and replacing the cam cover. Here’s a photo of him, too; just because I think that he’s so cute.
These cars are found in a delightful little corner of the JDM world that is full of interesting and unique machines. (To learn more about the whole JDM, Japan Domestic Market, thing, just click here.)
When I was a young guy growing up in Canada and becoming “car aware,” I could see that most cars looked all the same. They were either full size sedans, like the Chevy Caprice,or station wagons like the Dodge Aspen.
My Dad’s Aspen wagon was not a winner, I’m sorry to say. It rusted to bits very quickly and I recall my Dad standing at the front window of our house looking mournfully out at the Aspen and saying : ”There! You see that? Another rusty bit just fell off the car. I saw it!”
One or two men on our street had vans, proper work vans and not people carriers; manly machines like the GMC Vandura.
Once in a while a Beatle (the Volkswagen Type I), or maybe a Type III wagon would turn up in the line of parked cars along our street outside our house, but that was about it.
Other than the odd Fiat or British sports car that would be slaughtered by the Canadian winter. Bye-bye Mirafiori and bye-bye Spitfire when the temperature went below minus five.
I am happy to say that, as I grew up, I was able to escape car boredom and I have been blessed to own some really interesting and beautiful cars: my gorgeous 1990 Toyota MR2, a mid-enigined sports car to rival the early Lots Esprit, my 1995 Toyota Celica GT4, an equally beautiful all-wheel-drive turbo charge-cooled supercar, my scary fast 1997 Subaru Impreza, with its super potent flat four engine, my wife’s delightful pocket rocket, a 1993 Mitsubishi Minica Dangan (Bullet), my whacky and very practical Subaru Sambar van with its supercharged little engine mounted at the rear. All these and other interesting (to say the least) cars were bought used here in Japan. I’ve really enjoyed them all.
But nowadays I’m beginning to ask:: Are cars getting boring again? Are they again beginning to all look the same? Rather than boxy sedans and rusty station wagons, are the roads now being flooded with two box people carriers and full time all wheel drive crossovers? There definitely is a sniff of boredom in the air again.
Now, to be fair, if that is happening, it is because these designs are ultra practical: the people carrier that combines the best of the load carrying ability of the van with the comfort of the sedan, and the crossover that gives the four wheel drive wheel drive grip of the off road car with an element of civilization that my old Jimny could not even have dreamed of, these are brilliant designs. They have become so common because they are so excellent.
But sometimes I miss the weird, the unique, the quirky. The oddballs like the old air-cooled Volkswagens with their noisy chattering engines roosting back there at the rear of the vehicle behind the rear passenger seat, those curvy and ultra beautiful British and Italian sports cars that only had two seats because one was required for the mechanic to come along for the drive and fix the car when it broke down.
And those off road cars that seemed to smell of mud and oil the moment they left the assembly line, like the British Leyland Land Rover or the old Suzuki Jimny (we called them the Suzuki Samurai).
Yes, we did have those back in Canada when I was “so much younger than today.” (Check out Japan Car Direct’s Jimny page here.)
I remember so fondly so many cars that I would now call “weird and wonderful,” like those tiny little things from Europe that my sister used to call “ant cars.”
Whatever happened to that weird and wonderful world of unique cars? Whatever happened to (car) fun?
It moved to Japan.
And here’s an example: That Mitsubishi I courtesy car. Check him out full face on.
No, I am not praising how wonderful I, the Great Dave Price, am, but I am going to praise the little Mitsubishi “I.”
Now let’s talk tech:
This little Japanese kei car follows the specification rules for post October 1998 kei cars (which we talk about on our main Japan Car Direct web site here as regards kei sports cars and here as regards those perennial JCD favorites, the Japanese Kei Trucks (or “Mini Trucks”). The basic spec rules are: 3,395 mm long (134 inches) long and 1,475mm (58 inches) wide. (Kei cars are easy to park, Guys and Dolls, easy to park! That’s one reason I’ve got two them in my rather small garage at the moment.) And the engine must be within the regulation 660cc. In the case of the I, it is a turbo intercooled straight three that has a quite pleasing power curve with very little feeling of the “boost lag” which can be a downside of some turbo cars. When I drove the Mitsubishi I, I found it very responsive on the throttle with good low end grunt, good mid range punch and still the top end power that I’ve come to expect from turbo charged Japanese small engined cars. I felt that the engine in the I was a winning little motor in every way.
Nope.
Under the front seats like the layout in a Japanese kei truck or kei van, like the Daihatsu Hi-Jet?
Nope.
Mid rear, like in the Honda Acty kei truck?
Nope, again.
It’s here, under the floor of the rear load bay, it’s under the trunk, here:
And, I don’t know how to describe it or how it is, but, to my mind, somehow the Mitsubishi I has that delightful element of charm and uniqueness that is in the Imp and the 500.
Now, I’ve never driven the Hillman Imp, but I have driven a number of the old Fiat 500s and I will, in spite of all their oodles of charm, give the Prize of Practicality to the Mitsubishi I. Here’s the trunk in the I:
Not bad, don’t you think? Especially when you consider that the trunk in the Fiat was at the front and shared with the gas tank.; and there was no load space at the back unless you hung a basket on the hot rear engine bay door. Hard boiled eggs anyone?
And I found the seats in the Mitsubishi to be roomy and comfortable front and rear. Way better than the old 500 Nuovas I have driven.
What did the Mitsubishi I feel like to drive? Wait! But before I tell you that, I’ll let you in on a personal secret about myself: O.K., here goes: I don’t much like automatic transmission cars. There, I’ve said it, I’ve got it off my chest. So don’t hate me, guys. At least I‘m honest with you about it. Don’t much like ‘em.
But the Mitsubishi I is an EXCEPTION!
This is the only sporty auto box I’ve ever really enjoyed. It’s delightful! Four speeds forward, a shift handle that gives positive movement feedback, locks in and comes out for smooth changes just as I like. A joy to drive going up my mountain or down. While driving the I, I never felt that I was wanting a better set of ratios. Amazing little gear box. Quite satisfying to work with, indeed.
The whole little kei car was a satisfying drive. Suspension is nicely on the hard side, but not excessively so, steering is positive but not heavy (and the car’s tight turning circle got me out of a nasty spot, too; the car saved me from my own poor road positioning). And there’s a sporty little turbo boost meter tucked sweetly into the driver’s side front pillar.
Negatives? Downsides? Less-than-desirable elements?
Well, the engine bay looked a bit tight to work in, but I’ve had worse.
In the end I’d say that the only serious negative comes actually from one of the Mitsubishi I’s major charm points: That rear engine layout. You see, this little car is quick. A good thing, no? Yes, a good thing. BUT: fast, rear engine cars are, due to their inherent tendency to over steer at the limit when on a dodgy road surface (wet leaves, snow, ice, dirt and general crap) in a fast, tight corner, are machines for experienced and mechanically aware drivers. Same as with mid engine cars, .and I’ve been there. You’ve just got to know what you are doing, that’s all.
But if you do know, and “Hello” to the Porsche 911 drivers out there, then the Mitsubishi I will be a delight for you and a breath of fresh air that blows away that sniff of boredom we talked about earlier. It’s one of the most pleasing modern cars I’ve test driven in recent days.
These cars went into production in 2006 so they are available now for easy import to the UK and Canada. (You guys in Blighty hankering after the old Hillman Imp, now you’ve got something to aspire to.) For the folks the USA, Australia, and New Zealand, you’ll need to be a bit more patient. (For the Japanese used car import rules for these countries, just click on the country name.)
Over the years here at JCD it has been a joy to make the delightful (and wild and wonderful) world of Japanese kei cars available to our car lover customers. We are talking about cars like the turbo kei hatchbacks such as the Suzuki Alto Works, the Suzuki Kei Works, the Daihatsu Mira TR XX and Mira Gino, and the supercharged Subaru Vivio RX-R. You can find out more about these gems on our JCD Blog here, here, and here.
We are talking about serious, unique, wild and wonderful fun cars and car fun; and all available used for direct self import from Japan. Check out how all that works here.
All these fun Japanese kei cars definitely keep us out of Boredomville.
To get a good used, fun and unique Japanese kei car direct from Japan, just contact us here at Japan Car Direct and we’ll enjoy together with you finding the right delight for your motoring life.
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