I can often be found driving around in my Kei Truck, a Daihatsu Midget II.  As crazy as it is, it does actually come in really handy, not uncommon to load it up with rubbish or recyling for a trip to the dump, picking up trademe purchases...

It's also a lot of fun to drive, 100 K is pretty hard out foot to the floor, she'll do 110 indicated, with a good tail wind.  80 is it's preferred cruising speed though.  Around town it's great, sneaking through tight gaps, not quite motorbike filtering but about as close as I could get without being in a Messerschmitt bubble car.

If I was more motivated and less of a tight-wad, I'd buy another Midget II and electrify it, I think they would make for an amazingly hilarious electric vehicle, piles of room for batteries on the tray behind the cab, and so light the power to weight would be pretty awesome.

Awesome.

There's one listed for sale in Wgtn on TM, 1996 with 35,000km, $7,000.

Is yours a manual or auto?

Fred99:

 

Is yours a manual or auto?

 

Mine is a manual.

sleemanj:

 

Mine is a manual.

 

OK - I wondered that with regard to top/cruising speed.  It's a bit like a brick aerodynamically I suppose - but I thought it might be a bit faster. I learned to drive in a 1969 Fiat Bambina 500.  That had about the same top speed, but realistically could cruise at 80 km/h, but it had a 500cc, single carb, pretty horrible inefficient engine.  Have driven early '80s Suzuki Alto with 800cc 3 cylinder engine, they actually performed pretty well, seemed much more lively than say a Mini 850.

Fred99:

 

OK - I wondered that with regard to top/cruising speed.  It's a bit like a brick aerodynamically I suppose - but I thought it might be a bit faster.

 

The main problem is it's pretty low geared and small wheels, it could really do with 5th gear then it would be happier at 100, there are drop-in 5 speed gearboxes from the Daihatsu Hijet I believe to do a swap if I found one and was enthusiastic enough, but cruising at 80 with short stints at 100 is fine for me.  I have another unusual vehicle to do distance...