In theory, these are about as resource-efficient as an ICE-powered commuter vehicle can get.
In reality....they are unreliable little shitboxes, and I hate being stuck behind them on a hill, or on the expressway, or saddled with one as a loaner when my daily driver is in a shop for maintenance. They are often geared such that driving one at any speed over 80kph feels like you are risking Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly. Unless it's one of the crazy sporty variants, such as a Suzuki Alto Works or a Suzuki Cappuccino. Those are cool. Oh, and the kei pick-up trucks are very useful little vehicles....probably what half of American pickup truck drivers should have instead of their underutilized monster trucks (F-150, Dodge Ram, etc..).
> In reality....they are unreliable little shitboxes, and I hate being stuck behind them on a hill, or on the expressway, or saddled with one as a loaner when my daily driver is in a shop for maintenance. They are often geared such that driving one at any speed over 80kph feels like you are risking Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly.
I disagree with this pretty strongly. While I agree they aren't good above 80, that doesn't equate to them being "unreliable little shitboxes". They're very very reliable (rarely need any maintenance).
Also, everything except expressways have a speed limit of 60, so you can use it no problem. Going up the mountains they can do fine if you rev a bit high, just makes them fuel inefficient.
I'm comparing their reliability to things like older Toyotas and Hondas, which are reliable far past any reasonable intended service life. Keis seem to function perfectly for a few years, and then suffer a number of spectacular mechanical failures suddenly, like a BMW. It's why my other half ditched her Daihatsu Latte for a Nissan Note.
Small, cheap vehicles are made small and cheap. After a couple of years of trying to do 80-90mph on the interstate or turn pike twice per day at least, a 0.63liter 3-Cylinder Daihatsu "Wake" (with cvt and 60hp) is gonna feel pretty bad. Chassis components will become quite worn, and engine wear will be increased by such demands. I am only considering CONUS driving habits, they're probably amazing for a very dense Japanese (or other) city.
It's not reasonable to expect undersized components intended for lightest-duty in-town city driving to hold up very well beyond picking up the dry cleaning, groceries, or driving to a parking lot. If you use it only in that way, it's probably fine. When maintenance becomes required, it's also likely often not worth the money to do any serious overhauls to the lawnmower.
Yeah, I dunno - I had a 13 year old Daihatsu with >200,00km (which is a damn lot for japan)... Never had to do any maintenance. Had several friends with similar age keis who also had no issues.
Japanese speed limits are in dire need of reform. Police need to prove that you were speeding so every speed limit is set 20km/h under the de facto speed limit for the road.
Driving at 60km/h on a road where people expect you to drive 80 or 90 just makes people mad and likely to do something stupid.
Now I need a "top 10 myths about driving in Japan". I thought Japanese drivers obeyed everything to the letter. I also thought Japan was a tiny car market and defacto pedestrian (its one of the biggest markets).
I wouldn’t call a justice system ‘working’ if it subverts its own processes and traps its citizens with unreasonable laws and inconsistent enforcement.
>Also, everything except expressways have a speed limit of 60, so you can use it no problem.
Not sure where in Japan you've been driving, but my experience is that sticking to the posted speed limit on most roads makes you a hazard to navigation - particularly outside of cities.
Modern ones feel totally fine at highway speeds. We have a 2017 CVT Suzuki Spacia and it feels totally safe (not wandering steering or vibrations or anything), normal, brakes still stop it quickly, and the engine is not strained on the highway at 120 km/h (of course the crash safety of these things is terrible due to the lack of crumple zones so you should not drive at that speed, but it feels totally fine, to the point where I've accidentally started speeding without noticing)
The loaners we've had during shaken are all like 10+ years old and terrible, just as you describe.
How is the Spacia if you splash through a bit of a puddle on the highway?
Does the wheel jerk, bump steer a ton at that speed?
If you happen to have noticed, how does it handle something like a steel plate (temporarily placed during road work) ?
I have just recently found out about the Subaru Sambar / Daihatsu HiMax microvans and have been very curious. Since I'm unlikely to find an opportunity to test drive a Sambar, I was imagining that these little citycars might be a bit unstable at higher speeds, wet conditions or travelling alongside semi-trailers on CONUS State roads and certainly the Interstate.
> Oh, and the kei pick-up trucks are very useful little vehicles....probably what half of American pickup truck drivers should have instead of their underutilized monster trucks (F-150, Dodge Ram, etc..).
A kei truck (with 4WD/AWD) is exactly what I would buy if I could actually register it here in Nevada.
One of the local car dealers here in central PA (US) often has one or two of the tiny Kei pick-up trucks for sale ... truly perfect for some of the business who only drive around town (as noted, lower speeds are a key).
In reality....they are unreliable little shitboxes, and I hate being stuck behind them on a hill, or on the expressway, or saddled with one as a loaner when my daily driver is in a shop for maintenance. They are often geared such that driving one at any speed over 80kph feels like you are risking Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly. Unless it's one of the crazy sporty variants, such as a Suzuki Alto Works or a Suzuki Cappuccino. Those are cool. Oh, and the kei pick-up trucks are very useful little vehicles....probably what half of American pickup truck drivers should have instead of their underutilized monster trucks (F-150, Dodge Ram, etc..).