Keijidōsha, surprisingly fun.

Kei car, a tiny secret from Japan that we should all get excited about.

One of the better things to come out of Japan was the concept of keijidōsha. No its nothing to do with arranging your furniture so you win the lottery, nothing to do with paper folding or breaking concrete with your bare hands, but it does have everything to do with fun. Japan has some funny laws. Everyone smokes and cigarettes are sold through vending machines all over the country with a nice sticker asking that only people over 20 use it (some have card verification now to stop underage smokers, but mostly its a sign and that proves effective enough) Now with all these smokers milling about in Tokyo, a glance to the pavement will reveal another sign, stating that it is unlawful to ‘walk and smoke’ punishable by a fine.

The Japanese obey, and congregate in special outdoor smoking areas. But this is Japan and they take it further, to alleviate the boredom of just standing around, companies have put huge TV screens on the sides of buildings to entertain a captive smoking audience and run adverts to them. Brilliant. And its this sort of thinking that makes Kei cars so much fun.

Keijidōsha, or Kei are small vehicles that were originally conceived after WW2 when most people couldn’t afford a full sized car, but needed something more than a motorcycle. Now owners enjoy tax and insurance breaks and are exempt from the need to certify that parking is available (this is necessary in urban areas in Japan before you can buy a bigger car) due to the manufacture restrictions placed on them, currently they are:

• Maximum Height: 200cm
• Maximum Length: 340cm
• Maximum Width: 148cm
• Max Displacement: 660cc
• Max Power:63hp

Thats about it. At first glance you might think that these figures would produce a woefully underpowered nasty little box on wheels, that struggles to get over 30mph and is only good for old people to go shopping with. You would be so very wrong, and you would be writing off one of the best kept secrets inside Japan.

Have a look at this, Autozam AZ-1, mid engine, 2 seater sports kei, designed by Suzuki and sold by Mazda, 650cc Turbocharged smile machine that will give about a million miles to the gallon. Or how about a Suzuki Cappuccino, a turboed roadster with claimed 50/50 weight distribution and rear wheel drive?

My personal favorite is the Honda Beat, a mid engined rear wheel drive car, thats quite quite bonkers but drives and handles superbly. Whatever car you like there are lots of different bodystyles to choose from,conventional boxy hatchbacks like the Honda Today, or maybe MPV style like the Suzuki Wagon R. You can even have a 4×4  in the shape of the Mitsubishi Pajero Mini. These cars are real cars, loaded with features. Some have 4 wheel drive, intercooled turbocharged engines, 4 wheel steering and more, but in this world of congestion charges (they are exempt) taxation (lowest bracket, £35 a year currently) and fuel (most will hit 50mpg) they make so much sense. There are some out there that will out perform some sports hatches, and do it with a cheeky smile on the drivers face.

I am baffled why there are not more on the roads of Britain. I have a few favorite pictures that i will share below, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I will have to do with an electronic version of my Beat until I get the real one.

I have found a place in the UK that is selling Kei cars if you fancy something a little more modern, but as you can see from the pictures, I like older stuff.

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