Kei Central
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INEEDNAWZZZ
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- Lincoln
- EGGSBAWCKS
- DigitalLuke64DD
Genuinely considering a Cuore for my next car.
- 27,205
- United Kingdom
Still somehow never driven a proper kei car. Closest I've got is a UK market Suzuki SC100, which fits to kei dimensions but has a 1-litre engine instead of the sub-550cc two-stroke triple of the JDM Cervo.
Lovely little thing to drive though. Didn't feel like an "economy car" at all - the interior was as well-appointed as something like a 240Z, with proper instruments, a full dashboard, and surprisingly little bare metal showing through.
Unfortunately only a few keis have ever made it to the UK officially and unchanged from the proper spec. The Cappuccino was one, the Daihatsu Copen another, and both the petrol and electric versions of the Mitsubishi i. Our Daihatsu Move was too big in both scale and engine. Original Smart City Coupes/Smart Fortwos nearly conformed to kei regs (they were short enough and had small enough - 600cc - engines) but were slightly too wide, so a kei-specific version was sold in Japan.
Aside from the Daihatsu Midget II, which will forever be a favourite thanks to Gran Turismo, one of my favourite keis is probably the Daihatsu Naked:
I'd love to import one at some stage, but the exchange rate makes that far too unfavourable at the moment.
Lovely little thing to drive though. Didn't feel like an "economy car" at all - the interior was as well-appointed as something like a 240Z, with proper instruments, a full dashboard, and surprisingly little bare metal showing through.
Unfortunately only a few keis have ever made it to the UK officially and unchanged from the proper spec. The Cappuccino was one, the Daihatsu Copen another, and both the petrol and electric versions of the Mitsubishi i. Our Daihatsu Move was too big in both scale and engine. Original Smart City Coupes/Smart Fortwos nearly conformed to kei regs (they were short enough and had small enough - 600cc - engines) but were slightly too wide, so a kei-specific version was sold in Japan.
Aside from the Daihatsu Midget II, which will forever be a favourite thanks to Gran Turismo, one of my favourite keis is probably the Daihatsu Naked:
I'd love to import one at some stage, but the exchange rate makes that far too unfavourable at the moment.
- 4,763
- Houston, TX
- 27,205
- United Kingdom
I hope she's keeping the steel wheels on it because they look perfect.
- 4,763
- Houston, TX
Pretty sure. I'll update when it lands.
- 27,205
- United Kingdom
The Figaro often crops up but it's not actually a kei car - it's too long, too wide, and its engine is both too big and too powerful.
I quite like Figaros, but they aren't kei-jidosha.
For me, some of the most appealing keis are the ones they've not actually made yet. Daihatsu in particular has a knack for kei concepts:
FC Deck (yes, it's actually a kei)
F Concept (a modern-day Midget)
- 27,205
- United Kingdom
- 17,839
- Florida
- GranTurismo0517
- RandomCarGuy17
This is one of my favorite videos from Mighty Car Mods, a Figaro racing a Cuore/Mira. Sorry for the language in the video if there's any swearing (I don't remember if there's any swearing or not).
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- 27,205
- United Kingdom
Subject of old Hondas came up in the office the other day. Reminded me of the Honda Today:
Built to the previous kei-car regs so it's sub-550cc (545cc to be precise). Parallel twin engine, which makes it stand out somewhat. Only 31bhp, but also only 640kg/1411lb. Would make a fantastic little city car, which is of course what it was designed to be.
Later Todays were three-cylinder and 660cc, and one used the Beat's MTREC engine with individual throttle bodies, which is quite cool. But there's something about the two-cylinder one...
Built to the previous kei-car regs so it's sub-550cc (545cc to be precise). Parallel twin engine, which makes it stand out somewhat. Only 31bhp, but also only 640kg/1411lb. Would make a fantastic little city car, which is of course what it was designed to be.
Later Todays were three-cylinder and 660cc, and one used the Beat's MTREC engine with individual throttle bodies, which is quite cool. But there's something about the two-cylinder one...
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