Daihatsu Hijet

The Daihatsu Hijet is a small van and pickup truck made by Daihatsu. Despite the apparent harmony between the Hijet name and Toyota's naming scheme for it's trucks and vans (Hiace, Hilux), the name "Hijet" has been in use for Daihatsu's kei trucks and vans since at least the 1970s, over 2 decades before the 1990s merger of Toyota and Daihatsu. The name "Hijet" when transliterated into Japanese differs in only the first character from "Midget," the name of one of Daihatsu's other mini-trucks.

The current (as of February 2006) MSRP for a new base model Hijet Truck is 698,250 yen. Available engines for 2006 include the DVVT equipped 660cc EF-VE, making 39kW at 7000 RPM and 63Nm of torque at 4000 RPM, and the 660cc EF-SE, making 33kW at 5900 RPM and 57Nm of torque at 3600 RPM. The base model is mid-engine, rear drive. AWD is available as an option on some models, making the Hijet one of a handful of mid-engine, AWD vehicles. (Most other vehicles with that layout are supercars.)

Versions of the Hijet have been sold outside Japan with 1.0 and 1.2 liter engines.

Hybrid Hijet

In 2002, Daihatsu debuted the Hijet Cargo Hybrid concept, a hybrid car, in Japan using a 660cc engine. The car is based on the existing non-hybrid Hijet Cargo. Daihatsu calls it a mild hybrid design. Its design (called Daihatsu Mild Hybrid System or DMHS based on Toyota hybrid technology) is quite different from many existing hybrid design where as the gas and electric powered components assembled as one unit. The electric motor sits between the gasoline powered engine and the transmission unit. The car is 30% more fuel efficient than its gas-powered counterpart.

The car made its debut in 2002 as a concept car. Its production was announced in October 2004. It was to be available in the summer of 2005, but as of February 2006, still had not been released.

Trivia

• The US TV customization show Pimp My Ride pimped out a Daihatsu Hijet for its first episode.