Small Things in Good Packages

From NY Times Jerry Garnett, 25 Nov 2007 -

The Wagon R has become a kei legend in Japan, being the best-selling of not only 58 kei models but of any type as well. Sometime next year, Suzuki expects to produce its three-millionth Wagon R. And it would be millions more if all variations and spinoffs were added in. Last year, in the model’s 14th year on the market, 221,066 Wagon R’s were sold.

My dark gray test car has a front-wheel drive and a four-speed automatic transaxle, (A five-speed manual and a continuously variable transmission are also available, as is all-wheel drive.) For its compact size of less than 14 feet long, less than 5 feet wide and about 6 feet high it is fairly roomy and comfortable even for a 6-foot-3 American.

As common with kei cars, the engine has only three cylinders and the maximum 660 cc, or 0.66 liters. Its power plant produces only 54 horsepower.

But the Wagon R feels surprisingly peppy. It sprinted effortlessly to clear an intersection before the light changed to yellow. Free of the scrum, the Wagon R finally hit high gear as we drove down Shinjuku Route 4. At times, in heavy traffic surrounded by much larger vehicles, the Wagon R felt like a goldfish in a koi pond. But about a third of the cars here are Kei cars, so you’re swimming in a school of fellow small fry.

As we zipped in and out of a traffic tie-up in front of the busy Shinjuku train station, I could see the appeal of such the small kei car in such tight spaces.

The Wagon R weighs about 1,800 pounds and does not have the safety gear it would need to pass American crash tests, the main reason Kei cars are not exported to the United States. Adding safety equipment would add weight, meaning the chassis would have to be strengthened and the engine size increased to pull the heavier car. That, of course, would reduce the great gas mileage the cars get in Japan. Still, today’s Kei cars have lap and shoulder belts and front air bags.

Would Americans take to the Wagon R the way the Japanese have? Well, did I mention the car’s fuel economy numbers? Your mileage may vary, but I averaged nearly 60 miles a gallon.

Full article here.