Suzuki has just presented the Hustler in Japan. A car that is all the rage in the Japanese market, but that would hardly sell in Europe. It is a tiny square-shaped vehicle, with four doors, cheap and with great equipment possibilities. Here we would possibly find it ridiculous: small, narrow and with a not very powerful engine. And his name would give us something to tell jokes: Hustler literally means ‘hustler’.
However, in Japan, the segment to which this model belongs is the most popular on the market, the so-called kei car. A type of car that has spread to other Asian countries and is subject to clear restrictions: they must be up to 3.4 meters long and up to 1.48 meters wide; The engine is limited to 660 cc and 64 HP.
To give us an idea, the city car par excellence in Europe, the Smart, could not be a kei car. Although it does not reach 3 meters in length, it exceeds the maximum width, the maximum weight and the engine exceeds the permitted displacement and power.
The reason for the success of these tiny cars is clear: they are the only cars whose owners are not required to have individual parking where they live, at least if they reside in a city. In Japan, a parking space is available to very few; it costs a fortune. But they are also very appreciated in rural areas, because many roads and streets in small towns are incredibly narrow.
Its soap box shape – when detergents were in powder form, not like now when many are bottled because they are liquid – may seem obligatory. To offer the best possible livability, occupants should sit upright, more or less like they do in a chair. It is an architecture that we also find in large minivans.
Small but practical cars. In some cases, the rear ramrod, in addition to being foldable, can be sliding. Also, like the Hustler, they can be personalized with stickers on the hood, doors or tailgate. You can not only choose the exterior color but also the upholstery color. The boards can be customized, even with imitation wood finishes. The aim is to make the occupants forget that they are in a small car.
On a mechanical level, the 660 cc engine can be naturally aspirated or turbocharged, mostly three-cylinder and with automatic transmission via continuous speed variator. There is the possibility of mounting four-wheel drive and having a ground clearance of 18 cm, so they are good for both rural areas and outdoor sports. The Hustler may have a plastic trunk under the trunk floor¸ in case you get your boots or sports suit dirty. And the seats can be converted into a double bed.
Kei cars are a whole world: there are sports cars, two-door cars, coupes, roadsters, all-terrain vehicles or small trucks. They appeared after the Second World War, when a half-ruined Japan needed very economical small cars. The name kei refers to the Japanese word ‘Keijidosha’, that is, light car.
Soichiro Honda, like other entrepreneurs, began making motorized bicycles, but it was necessary to go further and in 1949 this category was created. The Government established that these cars were 2.8 m. long, 1 meter wide and two or four-stroke engines of 100 cc at first or 150 cc later. They also had another limitation, the maximum speed could not exceed 40 km/h, a limit that increased in 1960 to 60 km/h.
It didn’t take even a year to reform the rule. The maximum length increased to 3 meters; the width, 1.3 m.; The height, on the other hand, could reach 2 meters. And the engines gained displacement and power: 4-stroke 300 cc or two-stroke 200 cc to finally become unified at 360 cc.
In 1976 they grew again (up to 3.2 m long and 1.4 m wide) and the engine was able to reach 550 cc). In 1990 the limits became 3.3 x 1.4 m. and 660 cc, but with a maximum power of 64 HP and since October 1998 they have the current measurements and limitations, that of the Hustler.
The first model that was popular was the Subaru 360, in 1958, the first to be mass produced and Mazda immediately launched its rival, the R360, even lighter, and with a twin-cylinder engine. It didn’t take long for Suzuki to launch its first Jimny LT10, with a 360 cc two-stroke engine, four-wheel drive and only three seats because the spare wheel ‘ate’ one to avoid exceeding the maximum length.
The market suffered fluctuations. The introduction of emissions caps caused them to falter. But they began to be exported, especially small trucks. And when ‘normal’ passenger cars were required to have a parking space, there was a resurgence. Above all, because in 1980 a speed of 80 km/h was authorized and currently it has risen to 140 km/h.
Honda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Mazda, Toyota, Nissan, Dahiatsu and Subaru offer kei car models. And to maintain popularity, manufacturers offer increasingly better equipment, better finishes… and have also launched the first electric kei cars. The Mitsubishi i-Miev was the precursor. The recent Nissan Sakura or the Mitsubishi e-K X are the latest examples, with power limited to 63 HP.
