Plus : Cheaper tax, fuel efficient, cheaper etc toll price, good manuverablity in smaller streets...special parking space for kei cars only in some parking areas...Good for short distance trips, dropping the kids to school or classes, nearby groceries shopping...
Minus: 660 cc is not enough power when running in highways especially when bringing the whole family, small trunk space couldn't fit much stuffs...would prefer suv or wagon mpv for longer travel and rides....
If you are going to get a Kei, get a cargo kei. FAR MORE spacious. Traded the Wagon R for a Vamos. Excellent car. For Keis, I recommend either the Vamos or the Every. Best 2 Keis in my opinion.
I've had 6 kei cars/vans and they've been great. I've got a turbo van, which makes going on the expressway a breeze and fine for long distance. The only thing I worry about is the result of a collision since they're not the thickest things on wheels.
Great gas mileage, cheap vehicle tax, easy to park, less polluting, simple to repair, parts all cheaper and easy to navigate small roads. Yeah, I like 'em.
Never owned one, but they make a great second car for getting around the city. Easy to navigate narrow streets, easy to park, sometimes cheaper to park, certainly cheaper to own.
But I would want to drive one any distance on a highway. They are death traps in any high-speed accident.
kei cars are one of those niche items that Japan made and the world just surprisingly embraced, or at least in Southeast Asia. They are easy to park, fuel efficient (relatively) and can do all of your needs. If I live in the countryside, I'd love to have one of those kei trucks, those things are indestructible.
My wife has a Mitsubishi Space Kei, which is big for a Kei. It has all the bells and whistles to include auto park. I have a Daihatsu Hijet jumbo cab Kei truck for fun and daily driver. Lurking somewhere in a dark corner of the garage is a BMW 750i that crawls into the light of day when we need to go in style. I have owned numerous Kei cars over the 30+ years I have been here and found Daihatsu which is a subsidiary of Toyota to be the best. My first K car was a tiny Honda hatchback with a 360cc engine, 'twas a thing of neck snapping power.
Objective: Kei-cars (K-cars), which are a tiny 660 cc mini-car class 3.4 m long or less, 1.48 m wide or less, and 2.00 m high or less, have become popular in Japan. To evaluate the safety of K-car drivers in frontal collisions, we retrospectively compared the severity of injuries suffered by drivers between K-cars and standard vehicles involved in frontal collisions in which at least one injury occurred.
Materials and methods: From in-depth data provided by the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis from 1993 to 2010, records for 1379 drivers aged 36.8 ± 15.6 years were collected for analysis.
Results: Of the 1379 drivers, 1115 subjects were in standard vehicles and 264 were in K-cars. The mean delta V of the struck vehicle was 28.6 ± 15.6 km/h. After classifying the subjects according to seat belt use and air bag deployment, the background of the drivers and delta V, the injury severity scores (ISSs) and Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores were compared for all body regions. Under similar conditions, no significant differences in severity of injuries of the drivers were found between K-cars and standard vehicles.
In engineering terms they are rubbish. That's because you don't get better design by letting bureaucrats set arbitrary rules about car weight, engine size, car length, car width, number of seat belts (limited to four). You get good design by letting talented and knowledgable people create designs based on function.
A lot of people confuse eco cars with keis and assume keis must be the best, but this is false. Lots of small non-kei cars are more economical. The Prius, which isn't small, now has a 2000c engine and wipes the floor with keis regarding fuel economy. The best keis to drive are the turbo ones, and none of them get more than much more than 16km/l. The seven seater Prius will beat that even if you mash the accelerator.
In summary small cars good, eco cars good, kei cars meh to bad. People only buy a kei instead of a Honda Fit, etc. for the tax break. They are the same as happoshu compared to beer. Anyone buying a kei new has paid more for their car than we paid for ours. Some new 4wd keis cost more than our cars combined.
(keis are also a defacto trade barrier to fence off a big chunk of the Japanese car market, but you all knew that anyway).
No, they are not a de facto trade barrier, there is nothing to stop other countries from producing them if they want. I am sure that they would sell in other Asian countries too, just like the Japanese one do.
Underpowered tin boxes. Kei cars would disappear were it not for the raft of artificial financial benefits the Japanese govt bestows upon their entitled owners.
The technical standards, like the 660cc engine limit, were drawn up by bureaucrats, not engineers. They dont belong on the road of a developed nation.
Its a trade barrier if you have to make something specifically for the Japanese market according to Japanese rules to get a Japanese tax break.
Economics 101 should tell you how expensive it is to tool up a car plant. The kei rules are arbitrary and do not produce good cars that would be sell well in other countries.
They are way cheaper than regular cars, just the tax alone is a huge difference I posses 4 regular vehicles and a Kei. The tax on the regular ones is between 4 man and 10 man, the kei car is like 1 man I think. as second cars and just to go around town are excellent especially the new electric ones, that said, I still think the petrol Kei cars should be banned from the expressways, they simply cannot keep up with the traffic flow and if you crash at high speed you're basically dead.
I've owned two kei cars since moving to Japan so I'm "in the know", both Suzukis. Had a Wagon R Stingray and now I drive a JB 64 Jimny. For my purposes, I need a kei to get in and out of my driveway. I also drive back and forth to work so I save on gas. Both vehicles were turbo charged so I was able to not get my doors completely blown off on the express ways, but I didn't feel that safe going over 80kmph, especially in the rain or when it was windy. Much easier to navigate and park in the narrow roads of Japan.
They are way cheaper than regular cars, just the tax alone is a huge difference I posses 4 regular vehicles and a Kei.
Yes, a Prius will wipe the floor with a turbo kei car in terms of fuel economy, but the difference in jidosha-zei road tax, juryou-zei weight tax at shaken time, and insurance means you would have to drive tens of thousands of km every for the fuel efficiency of the Prius to save you more money than the tax breaks of the kei.
Since the kei will use more fuel per km, it will pollute more than the Prius but get a tax break for doing so.
The kei car rules were designed to hinder European manufacturers of small cars like Fiat, not US manufactured gas guzzlers.
fwiw, the parts of Japan with the narrowest roads and car parks, Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Osaka, also have the lowest percentage of kei car sales.
There is a market for them for the plain fact that most people in this country are struggling and the gap is growing wider by the day...if the majority of them could be in a position to not worry about the taxes etc and afford a better vehicle obviously they would opt for a proper Honda, Toyota, etc.
Interesting the use of the word "popular" in the headline. If kei cars were truly "popular", then they wouldn't need all that preferential financial treatment from the government. Make them competitive with all the other cars on the market, and their "popularity" would instantly dwindle to near nothing.
Surprisingly, recent Keis are more spacious than normal size cars especially the height.
Yes, the "tall wagon" ones like a Tanto have lots of headroom.
If kei cars were truly "popular", then they wouldn't need all that preferential financial treatment from the government.
The yearly car tax for keis went up from 7000 to 10000 yen a couple of years ago for new ones. People kicked off majorly about it with all the usual preciousness and entitlement "I can't afford that" etc. Anyone who spends 2 million on a new car has way more disposable income than me. The top selling kei cars are the fancy trendy ones, not the cheapest ones.
I mean...they are ok. Specifically for Japan. They don't meet safety standards in other large markets so they can't be sold outside Japan really (Indonesia has them I believe). They also don't really make profit for the automakers. I think it is sort of a way to make a large volume of domestic sales at an extremely thin profit and keep your brand out there and people employed. They do meet a need for a reasonable vehicle though.
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David Brent
Only type I can afford. They get me from A to B. Good enough.
sakurasuki
Cheap, easy to park and less annual tax! Small engine and less weight
https://jalopnik.com/cost-of-driving-in-japan-taxes-tolls-parking-inspection-1849878881
Garthgoyle
I think if them as death traps.
yinyang128
Kei has its pluses and minuses, personal opinion:
Plus : Cheaper tax, fuel efficient, cheaper etc toll price, good manuverablity in smaller streets...special parking space for kei cars only in some parking areas...Good for short distance trips, dropping the kids to school or classes, nearby groceries shopping...
Minus: 660 cc is not enough power when running in highways especially when bringing the whole family, small trunk space couldn't fit much stuffs...would prefer suv or wagon mpv for longer travel and rides....
wallace
Risky safety standards. Local travel only.
Aly Rustom
Depends. Had a wagon R 2 years ago. crap.
If you are going to get a Kei, get a cargo kei. FAR MORE spacious. Traded the Wagon R for a Vamos. Excellent car. For Keis, I recommend either the Vamos or the Every. Best 2 Keis in my opinion.
Speed
I've had 6 kei cars/vans and they've been great. I've got a turbo van, which makes going on the expressway a breeze and fine for long distance. The only thing I worry about is the result of a collision since they're not the thickest things on wheels.
Great gas mileage, cheap vehicle tax, easy to park, less polluting, simple to repair, parts all cheaper and easy to navigate small roads. Yeah, I like 'em.
commanteer
Never owned one, but they make a great second car for getting around the city. Easy to navigate narrow streets, easy to park, sometimes cheaper to park, certainly cheaper to own.
But I would want to drive one any distance on a highway. They are death traps in any high-speed accident.
Toshihiro
kei cars are one of those niche items that Japan made and the world just surprisingly embraced, or at least in Southeast Asia. They are easy to park, fuel efficient (relatively) and can do all of your needs. If I live in the countryside, I'd love to have one of those kei trucks, those things are indestructible.
Droll Quarry
My wife has a Mitsubishi Space Kei, which is big for a Kei. It has all the bells and whistles to include auto park. I have a Daihatsu Hijet jumbo cab Kei truck for fun and daily driver. Lurking somewhere in a dark corner of the garage is a BMW 750i that crawls into the light of day when we need to go in style. I have owned numerous Kei cars over the 30+ years I have been here and found Daihatsu which is a subsidiary of Toyota to be the best. My first K car was a tiny Honda hatchback with a 360cc engine, 'twas a thing of neck snapping power.
Droll Quarry
Objective: Kei-cars (K-cars), which are a tiny 660 cc mini-car class 3.4 m long or less, 1.48 m wide or less, and 2.00 m high or less, have become popular in Japan. To evaluate the safety of K-car drivers in frontal collisions, we retrospectively compared the severity of injuries suffered by drivers between K-cars and standard vehicles involved in frontal collisions in which at least one injury occurred.
Materials and methods: From in-depth data provided by the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis from 1993 to 2010, records for 1379 drivers aged 36.8 ± 15.6 years were collected for analysis.
Results: Of the 1379 drivers, 1115 subjects were in standard vehicles and 264 were in K-cars. The mean delta V of the struck vehicle was 28.6 ± 15.6 km/h. After classifying the subjects according to seat belt use and air bag deployment, the background of the drivers and delta V, the injury severity scores (ISSs) and Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores were compared for all body regions. Under similar conditions, no significant differences in severity of injuries of the drivers were found between K-cars and standard vehicles.
Peter Neil
I think they’re OKei.
Serve the intended function and utility.
kohakuebisu
In engineering terms they are rubbish. That's because you don't get better design by letting bureaucrats set arbitrary rules about car weight, engine size, car length, car width, number of seat belts (limited to four). You get good design by letting talented and knowledgable people create designs based on function.
A lot of people confuse eco cars with keis and assume keis must be the best, but this is false. Lots of small non-kei cars are more economical. The Prius, which isn't small, now has a 2000c engine and wipes the floor with keis regarding fuel economy. The best keis to drive are the turbo ones, and none of them get more than much more than 16km/l. The seven seater Prius will beat that even if you mash the accelerator.
In summary small cars good, eco cars good, kei cars meh to bad. People only buy a kei instead of a Honda Fit, etc. for the tax break. They are the same as happoshu compared to beer. Anyone buying a kei new has paid more for their car than we paid for ours. Some new 4wd keis cost more than our cars combined.
(keis are also a defacto trade barrier to fence off a big chunk of the Japanese car market, but you all knew that anyway).
Hello Kitty 321
@kohakuebisu
No, they are not a de facto trade barrier, there is nothing to stop other countries from producing them if they want. I am sure that they would sell in other Asian countries too, just like the Japanese one do.
JeffLee
Underpowered tin boxes. Kei cars would disappear were it not for the raft of artificial financial benefits the Japanese govt bestows upon their entitled owners.
The technical standards, like the 660cc engine limit, were drawn up by bureaucrats, not engineers. They dont belong on the road of a developed nation.
kohakuebisu
Its a trade barrier if you have to make something specifically for the Japanese market according to Japanese rules to get a Japanese tax break.
Economics 101 should tell you how expensive it is to tool up a car plant. The kei rules are arbitrary and do not produce good cars that would be sell well in other countries.
Peter Neil
You should give the economics 101 explanation to US car companies, since they can’t seem to sell cars in Japan.
El Rata
They are way cheaper than regular cars, just the tax alone is a huge difference I posses 4 regular vehicles and a Kei. The tax on the regular ones is between 4 man and 10 man, the kei car is like 1 man I think. as second cars and just to go around town are excellent especially the new electric ones, that said, I still think the petrol Kei cars should be banned from the expressways, they simply cannot keep up with the traffic flow and if you crash at high speed you're basically dead.
GillislowTier
Nice enough for city travel but once you have to take a mountain road or long distance beyond a few hours their weaknesses show clearly
John-San
The Suzuki Jimmy in a kei is great buy.
Kumagaijin
I've owned two kei cars since moving to Japan so I'm "in the know", both Suzukis. Had a Wagon R Stingray and now I drive a JB 64 Jimny. For my purposes, I need a kei to get in and out of my driveway. I also drive back and forth to work so I save on gas. Both vehicles were turbo charged so I was able to not get my doors completely blown off on the express ways, but I didn't feel that safe going over 80kmph, especially in the rain or when it was windy. Much easier to navigate and park in the narrow roads of Japan.
Geeter Mckluskie
bento box on wheels
kohakuebisu
Yes, a Prius will wipe the floor with a turbo kei car in terms of fuel economy, but the difference in jidosha-zei road tax, juryou-zei weight tax at shaken time, and insurance means you would have to drive tens of thousands of km every for the fuel efficiency of the Prius to save you more money than the tax breaks of the kei.
Since the kei will use more fuel per km, it will pollute more than the Prius but get a tax break for doing so.
The kei car rules were designed to hinder European manufacturers of small cars like Fiat, not US manufactured gas guzzlers.
fwiw, the parts of Japan with the narrowest roads and car parks, Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Osaka, also have the lowest percentage of kei car sales.
Legrande
There is a market for them for the plain fact that most people in this country are struggling and the gap is growing wider by the day...if the majority of them could be in a position to not worry about the taxes etc and afford a better vehicle obviously they would opt for a proper Honda, Toyota, etc.
beachcomber
Surprisingly, recent Keis are more spacious than normal size cars especially the height.
N. Knight
Prefer my Land Cruiser.
JeffLee
Interesting the use of the word "popular" in the headline. If kei cars were truly "popular", then they wouldn't need all that preferential financial treatment from the government. Make them competitive with all the other cars on the market, and their "popularity" would instantly dwindle to near nothing.
Mr Kipling
What do I think of "Kei" cars?
Nothing... If its not German and eight cylinders, it doesn't enter my mind.
Sadly those days are coming to an end...
Shipwrecker
I have kids and we can only afford one car, so we went for a normal car for safety performance.
Genuine question: Would you still buy a kei car if there was no tax incentive?
kohakuebisu
Yes, the "tall wagon" ones like a Tanto have lots of headroom.
The yearly car tax for keis went up from 7000 to 10000 yen a couple of years ago for new ones. People kicked off majorly about it with all the usual preciousness and entitlement "I can't afford that" etc. Anyone who spends 2 million on a new car has way more disposable income than me. The top selling kei cars are the fancy trendy ones, not the cheapest ones.
Jack
I mean...they are ok. Specifically for Japan. They don't meet safety standards in other large markets so they can't be sold outside Japan really (Indonesia has them I believe). They also don't really make profit for the automakers. I think it is sort of a way to make a large volume of domestic sales at an extremely thin profit and keep your brand out there and people employed. They do meet a need for a reasonable vehicle though.