Tiny Japanese kei cars are cost-effective, fuel-efficient and more powerful than a Smart.

What’s shorter than a Mini Cooper, skinnier than a Toyota Echo and cuter than a VW Bug? The answer is a kei car, Japanese for “light vehicle.” The term may be unfamiliar, but you’ve probably noticed these cute and quirky little trucks, cars and vans zipping around local streets.

Kei cars are as practical as they are cute. Japan is a tiny country with narrow roads and few natural resources, so in 1949 (61 years ago!) the government introduced tax breaks for small, fuel-efficient vehicles. Though the maximum size has grown since then, kei cars are still less than 3.4 metres long and 1.48 metres wide, and have engines no more than 660 cc and 64 horsepower (this may sound wimpy, but a Smart has just 42 horsepower). Read more