Kei Vans For Sale

Kei Vans Overview

The Japanese Domestic Market, or JDM is a place of wonder. There's a particular category of car called the kei car, which results in some truly diminutive machines that boggle the minds of those from the West. Can you imagine a proper four-seat car, for example, that is less than 134 inches long, just over 58 inches wide and under 78 inches tall? That's the Japanese kei class for you! Furthermore, engines must be capped at 660cc or 40.3ci and may make no more than 64 horsepower! And within this wacky world of wonder, one can find family cars, two-seat sports cars, folding metal roof convertibles and even vans. Yes, welcome to the world of the kei van.

Kei vans are superbly designed. They typically have a modest hood although cab-over designs are also present, sliding doors and up to three rows of seats. This means that some kei vans can carry up to eight adults, although Americans may not find them as capacious. The engine, typically a three-cylinder unit of just under 660cc in displacement may be naturally aspirated or turbocharged. Manual transmissions are common, although regular torque converter automatics, as well as CVTs for passenger variants can be found. The powertrain is typically placed beneath the driver and front passenger seats, and powering the rear axle. Some kei vans tend to have leaf-sprung rear axles, particularly commercial variants that may be rated at over 800 pounds of payload. As with most JDM vehicles, all-wheel drive variants do exist, as Japan does receive harsh winters.

Some of the most popular kei vans are the Suzuki Every, Daihatsu Hijet, Mitsubishi Minicab and Honda Acty. These vans are available in passenger, as well as cargo variants, with the latter sporting closed panels along the sides instead of windows in some cases. While cargo versions are spartan, passenger variants can become positively luxurious. Higher trims of some models offer amenities such as front and rear air conditioning, power-operated sliding doors, turbocharged engines with automatic transmissions, and even sunroofs! We must also note there are some kei cars such as the Honda N-Box and Suzuki Spacia that retain many of these features plus a MPV-like silhouette, but are classed as kei cars rather than vans, and only have two rows of seating.