RivieraNotario’s picture of this Suzuki Carry Van (aka Suzuki Every) in the cohort begged to be shared because of the dramatic backdrop. Scenery really doesn’t get better than this, even if, upon the first, most fleeting glance, I couldn’t tell if this was a Subaru Sambar, a Mitsubishi Minicab or, well… any number of Kei minivans. That doesn’t make it any less satisfying to behold, of course.
These tiny vans were built to carry a full load of passengers and cargo up through Japan’s busy cities and are relied on to shuttle loyal users around hot, crowded streets everywhere from Pakistan to the Philippines. After going out of production in Japan, the fourth generation (1979-1984) Carry’s tooling was sold to India’s Maruti, who continues to market the van as the Omni. Enlarge this ad, and you’ll see that one of the major selling points was its engine’s ability to be re-bored. That’s not something you’re likely to run into in a Freightliner Sprinter ad.
Thirty-five years on, this Carry is still serving the same purpose in Chile’s often high-altitude, mountainous environment. Just in case it’s not carrying enough weight atop its seventy inch wheelbase, there’s a roof rack to ensure it gets the hardest workout possible. Unlike similarly burdened vehicles in the US, which might be expected to grunt through their chores with awe-inspiring torque, the Carry went through its daily duty with engines ranging between 500cc of displacement in the home market to 800cc in export configuration. Mounting these two and four-stroke engines underneath the front seats wasn’t the quietest solution, but for thousands of drivers, the frantic buzz of these tiny three and four-cylinder units is the sound of work getting done.
Related reading: 1986 Suzuki Carry KC 4WD: The Kei-sons Go Rolling Along
I got to drive the pickup version of the Suzuki shown in the video, which had been imported in the U.S. as a off road only vehicle for farm use. With its short wheelbase, light weight and surprising low end grunt, it was a hoot to drive. It felt unstoppable cross country within the ground clearance limits of its tiny tires.
Such a vehicle is simply too slow for U.S. on-road conditions, but off road or in slow developing country traffic, I can see them being ideal work vehicles.
My uncle (close family friend or some distant relation) had one of these vans new under the Maruti Omni name in India with a light brown/champagne paint. He took us to the airport in 1997. When he picked us up during my last visit in 2009 I thought that both he and the van looked a lot older.
These things are used everywhere to haul people and even used as taxis. They seem small and basic with a manual transmission which is descent for maintenance and very economical. These are great for the narrow roads in other countries although perhaps too slow for our highways in Canada and the U.S..
Thanks for sharing my picture! This beautiful scenery is what you can get in Santiago around the end of winter. These Suzuki vans, like others like it from Mitsubishi, Daihatsu, Subaru, Honda and even Sanfu from Taiwan, are collectively known here as “pan de molde”, for them being thin as slices of bread. They were the most popular family carriers for the car owning boom produced in Chile after car import tariffs were lowered around 1976. I’ve always liked these microvans, and try to take a picture if them when I see them, since they are getting scarce.
I have always been fascinated with these things. In 1962 when I went to Japan all the cars seemed small like this and I wondered why we didn’t import them to the United States. We were when I returned home in 1965. Now I wonder why we are such big brothers to our drivers and don’t allow small units like this. If you don’t work at a golf course or some such self contained enterprise you probably won’t ever drive one. This picture, if it loads, is as close to this line of thought as I’ve seen off a golf course.
I know right? People and their pesky desires not to be killed if they bump into something. Seriously though, I don’t think there is that much demand for cars this small. It would be interesting to see a sub-regular car class like some other countries have, but here in the Litigious States of America, it might be tough.
Actually there was a company in Mississippi that imported and titled these things about ten years ago. They were selling them to farms in the delta to help water crops. They kinda went a little crazy with them by putting ATV tires and wheels on the 4WD versions. I remembered the extended cab versions were really popular as an alternative to a side by side ATV here on this side of the river.
The company that titled them got stopped I believe but they did advertise the fact in farm equipment sales magazines. They started advertising them when fuel started getting silly.
Litigious says it all, Carmine. I have no suicide tendencies of which I am aware but I rode bikes until I became crippled (from work not bikes) to a degree that made it fairly difficult. I have always liked small cars and would love to have one of these. I think if one can learn how to ride a bike without getting killed that one of these does not represent suicidal tendencies.
I lived several places where these were common although they were probably larger than the kei models. There are certain people who strive to clean the gene pool no matter what they drive. Restricting their choice of weapon will not stop them. If you interpret this as an anti govt rant I guess I have to plead guilty.
But then who am I to deny the sky is falling.
I agree with you, I am a fellow cyclist too, though who decides who gets to sell what? If lets say if Suzuki would be allowed to sell a car that didn’t meet safety standards, why not GM? Lotus was allowed to sell the Elise without an airbag for a couple of years because it was a low volume manufacturer. I say either everyone has to meet the same standard or throw it all out and let the market decide.
I also agree that you would be ok with one of these, but even if they made people sign a disclaimer that these didn’t meet safety standards, someone would find a way to sue if they were creamed in an accident in one of these.
If there were a like button I would have just hit it.
This is a neat Chilean commercial showing the full Suzuki lineup, you might like to include it (don’t know how to embed it from my phone): http://youtu.be/zqvGcpKAvVg
Pretty common in NZ and of course Suzuki still make a carry van its grown in size but is still a narrow gutted van compared to most others and these are still available here new in 4WD pickup form off road use only
These are still around here in the UK, and where I live in Hastings there are quite a few of the camper variety- both the ‘pop top’ Daihatsu variant, as well as the ‘motorhome’ Suzuki based variety. I only drove one once and it was very scary. It made a VW type 2 seem safe in comparison. They don’t really have a crumple zone to speak of, aside from your femurs. Crosswind handling was also quite interesting, and they are about as much fun to work on as a Previa.
That said, there is something really cool about a camper or 6 passenger van that is only a bit smaller than a Smart car. You just can’t get the scale of these from the pictures- they are very, very tiny.
As an aside, I seem to remember that my college back in the US used flatbed truck versions of these for their maintenance work- and I think they had big painted signs that said ‘off road use only’ across the truck beds.
Can it Carry a tune?
Bada bing!
I bombed around Deajeon, South Korea in one of these about 1995, when I worked did a favour for a friend and taught at his school. He had a little van, I think it was Daewoo but it was 100% Suzuki. The only difference was the engine in Korea was a 800 cc but Japan was 660 cc. He very kindly let me drive it when it was not moving kids around, meaning private lessons during the day and weekend excursions!
That little van amazed me for a bunch of reasons. First, it had loads of room, real stretch out. Even the driving position was comfortable. The thing moved faster than it had any right to and you could rev the three banger to redline and it never flinched. These little cars were legendary in Korea for taking a beating. It drove a lot better than it had any right to and was so tiny that it could squeeze into really small gaps and spaces.
In fact, they are so popular that they are even made now as the Daewoo Damas. It’s a thirty ear old design and still selling well.
Cresta Craft, one of New Zealand’s local motor-home converters actually made a pop-top camper-van conversion of the Carry in the early 1980s. I’m not entirely sure why, or who the target market was, but it featured plenty of storage (considering its overall size), electric lights and sockets, a plumbed sink (complete with freshwater tank, pump and greywater tank), a gas califont and a three-way fridge. Oh, and also snazzy dual wheels on the rear. My favourite feature is how the sink is under the mattress so you can choose whether to do dishes or sleep! If anyone’s interested, there’s one for sale here: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/suzuki/auction-728053641.htm
I once saw one caught on a speed bump at our local drive in. The four beefy boys travelling in it got out and lifted it off!
The Holden dealer where I did my apprenticeship had one of these. The ute (pickup)
version. A water cooled 2 cyl 2 stroke supplied the ‘power’
Max speed on the level was 80 KMH, I wound it up to 110 ish on a long downhill
run. It shook, buzzed & rattled enough to scare me into slowing down.
We used to have an injuries book and the regular driver wrote in it ‘hurt back lifting Suzuki off railway tracks’
Has spilt rims, all of 10″ diameter, that had been reversed to get a wide track.
I’d like one with say, a Hayabusa engine as a sleeper.
The blue one on the brochure looks like a lunchbox. That’s it! I’m going to introduce a line of rolling luggage that looks like little vans. I’ll make millions! And then spend it all on larger vehicles. 🙂
The mini, mini van. A good idea. The closest thing we can purchase brand new is the Transit Connect which looks like a Sprinter compared to the Kei vans.