I use a kei truck for farming. They are incredibly pragmatic little vehicles. They are very capable driving around on dirt/gravel agricultural roads with 4WD, and they are inexpensive and robust enough that you can really beat them up and use them as a tool without worry. Repairs and replacement parts are ubiquitous and inexpensive. Having the sides of bed fold down is also really useful.
They aren't comfortable to drive at all (although just having A/C at all on a hot summer day in the field is a godsend), and I wouldn't want to do longer trips in one - although you certainly could in a pinch.
It seems like Toyota/Scion is just testing the waters here, and I'm not sure how successful they'll be. But I hope there is a future for kei trucks in the US.
freetime2
25 mph works for golf courses, resort, or island use. In rural areas on the mainland, roads connecting towns often have 45 or 55 mph speed limits so unless you plan on staying on the farm I don't think these are practical for trips to go shopping, dumping, hauling, etc.
As for the imports, I saw one of these 90s-era right-hand drive kei trucks at a parking lot a few months ago and talked with the owner. He was a young guy who lived in Boston, said it was super easy to park. Speed maxed out at 70 mph, which is fine for local trips but maybe not for long highway trips.
For people in jurisdictions that allow 30 year old truck imports, and are interested in getting one, there are other countries that use such trucks and have left-hand drive. Taiwan has models from CMC and Suzuki, and I believe South Korea also makes them.
ilamont
> it has a limited top speed of less than 25mph and is only legal on roads with a posted speed limit of less than 35mph.
Dealbreaker. Too bad they couldn't get it legal on 45mph or less. It would literally open up 99% of non-highway routes.
stronglikedan
With a built in 25mph limiter, that eliminates "city" driving too unfortunately. Most roads around me are 35 mph.
There's sizeable demand for people who want to be able to do runs to the bigbox stores for garden and DIY renovation supplies and store it the rest of the time.
6DM
This would have been an instant buy for me if it weren't for the 25mph limit. That being said, I'm extremely excited by this, because it proves there is demand for Kei trucks in the US. I've done a lot of research into the import process for bringing a truck over from Japan, and I'll likely end up going that route in a year or so unless newer trucks with higher speeds get announced
classictraffic
660cc engine at ~40 horsepower is about the same as a mid-70s VW Beetle - not in cc size, but HP potential.
This little truck could do a lot more than 25 mph if it were allowed to do so. Not saying that would be safe, and I'd not want to ever put one on a busy freeway, but for getting around most urban cities in the US it's fine as-is but would be even better if the limit was ~40 mph.
erickhill
It’s a huge mistake to limit the speed to 25mph. When this is released in 2027, Kei trucks will be street legal in Colorado. I would have pre-ordered this without question but that speed makes it useless for basic commuting or running errands.
__alexander
For those of you clamoring for kei trucks to be street legal in the US, you really need to do some street view comparisons between Japan and the US.
US roads are built for much, much higher speeds. Kei cars purposefully give up safety with the caveat that they’re only used on low speed roadways, and Japan designs their roads with the intention of these vehicles being acceptably safe in that context.
Grombobulous
> With its friendly little 660cc engine and CVT transmission, the KEI-01 was certified to meet American low-speed vehicle safety standards, meaning it has a limited top speed of less than 25mph and is only legal on roads with a posted speed limit of less than 35mph.
So it's basically useless to the American market outside of the farming and rural campgrounds communities.
We already import thousands of Kei trucks a year for farm truck use and those imported trucks can even have their speed limiters removed to go 55mph depending on the state laws, this is pointless.
officeplant
This is exciting, though the 25mph governor is a dealbreaker. I own a 1998 Subaru Sambar Kei Van (and am importing a second this month). It's a delight to drive here in the city, and it functions as an ideal delivery vehicle for my wife's neighborhood bakery. Cargo space exceeds my 7-seat SUV.
Maintenance is challenging (entirely DIY, as no shops around here care to touch it), but getting most parts has been fairly straightforward, just slow if we have to ship them from Japan.
The Kei van format is fantastic, and we've even installed seatbelts for the rear fold-down seats and we drive our kids around in it. I can't seem to get it higher than about 60mph, but that's scary fast for this vehicle. We don't ever really need to take it on the highway. It's so simple to park, visibility and features are amazing, even for an older vehicle. Ahead of it's time! I would love to get a pickup version, but don't have an excuse for that yet.
comments (10)
They aren't comfortable to drive at all (although just having A/C at all on a hot summer day in the field is a godsend), and I wouldn't want to do longer trips in one - although you certainly could in a pinch.
It seems like Toyota/Scion is just testing the waters here, and I'm not sure how successful they'll be. But I hope there is a future for kei trucks in the US.
freetime2
As for the imports, I saw one of these 90s-era right-hand drive kei trucks at a parking lot a few months ago and talked with the owner. He was a young guy who lived in Boston, said it was super easy to park. Speed maxed out at 70 mph, which is fine for local trips but maybe not for long highway trips.
For people in jurisdictions that allow 30 year old truck imports, and are interested in getting one, there are other countries that use such trucks and have left-hand drive. Taiwan has models from CMC and Suzuki, and I believe South Korea also makes them.
ilamont
Dealbreaker. Too bad they couldn't get it legal on 45mph or less. It would literally open up 99% of non-highway routes.
stronglikedan
There's sizeable demand for people who want to be able to do runs to the bigbox stores for garden and DIY renovation supplies and store it the rest of the time.
6DM
classictraffic
This little truck could do a lot more than 25 mph if it were allowed to do so. Not saying that would be safe, and I'd not want to ever put one on a busy freeway, but for getting around most urban cities in the US it's fine as-is but would be even better if the limit was ~40 mph.
erickhill
__alexander
US roads are built for much, much higher speeds. Kei cars purposefully give up safety with the caveat that they’re only used on low speed roadways, and Japan designs their roads with the intention of these vehicles being acceptably safe in that context.
Grombobulous
So it's basically useless to the American market outside of the farming and rural campgrounds communities.
We already import thousands of Kei trucks a year for farm truck use and those imported trucks can even have their speed limiters removed to go 55mph depending on the state laws, this is pointless.
officeplant
Maintenance is challenging (entirely DIY, as no shops around here care to touch it), but getting most parts has been fairly straightforward, just slow if we have to ship them from Japan.
The Kei van format is fantastic, and we've even installed seatbelts for the rear fold-down seats and we drive our kids around in it. I can't seem to get it higher than about 60mph, but that's scary fast for this vehicle. We don't ever really need to take it on the highway. It's so simple to park, visibility and features are amazing, even for an older vehicle. Ahead of it's time! I would love to get a pickup version, but don't have an excuse for that yet.
TimC123456