First off, if anyone “gets” the bit in parentheses in the title, congratulations, you are officially on the cusp of being an old fart.
We have ourselves a new (used) van.
The reasons for this are myriad. First off, the auto policy at my company is changing in April, and they are essentially saying that if you want to drive a car into the ground (which we do, being avid travelers), make it your own. Aww.
Second, we wanted something that could carry more than 2.5 human beings without chopping them into little pieces (which usually kind of puts a pall on the party)
Third, we wanted something we could throw a mattress into and stay overnight in.
Fourth, the company gives a stipend for using your own car, and we figured if we bought cheap enough, it would pay for itself quickly.
Thus, we would like to introduce: the Hamster 2
This 2002 Daihatsu Hijet is a “Kei-Jidousha”, meaning the engine displacement is less than one liter (660 cc in this case). Thus the yellow license plate.
These little commercial trucks are common as heck, available in van and pickup styles, exceptionally simple, even primitive, in construction, but sturdy, tough, reliable, and very easy on gas.
The interior bed is two meters long, which is great, since I am 199 cm tall! There’s a bench seat in the back which folds flat into the floor. This one, like about 99% of this model on the road, was originally used as a local delivery vehicle. This is why it’s seven years old and yet has only 17,000 miles on it.
Being a kei, we shall enjoy lower taxes (for example, the city tax is $70 per year on a kei, compared to $400 on a regular car), insurance, tolls, and general cost of ownership. As a commercial vehicle, the highway tolls for it are actually even lower than for regular kei-cars, a nice little bonus.
As you can see, the driver sits right over the front wheel, and directly atop the engine. The driving position is thus nice and high, but you do have to get used to the feel of the vehicle. Since you sit all the way up front, with nothing in front of you, the sensation is, at first, a little odd.
The kid who sold it to us (I say “kid” because he looks like he’s 12 years old and has never had to shave in his life) was very nice, tossing in a nifty CD player for free.
My favorite feature… lift the insulation, lift the latch on the front of the seat…
…flip the seat back, and there’s your engine!
One drawback… see the little locked door to the left of the tire? That’s where you put the gas in. Yes, it’s about a foot and a half off the ground, meaning one either has to kneel or bend WAY over when fueling up. Oh, well.
We figure it’ll pay for itself in about 10 months. More adventures of Hamster 2 coming your way soon.
