Has anyone been to the Honda worldwide website lately? They are showing a new minicar called the Zest. It looks like a Scion box- not much of a looker. It doesn't give demensions, other than it's supposed to have alot of interior space (1340 mm interior height, 1315 mm interior width, storage area with 739 liters of space). It also comes in two engine configurations- i-DSI and i-DSI turbocharged (no mention of engine displacement).
Otherwise it talks about the packaging, interior and safety, without too much hard data.
Since it's a minicar, it will probably be available only in Japan and fit their Kei class specifications.

Anyway, something to ponder...

 

Very interesting! thanks for the heads up!

 

jimscraft,

Yeah the Zest is Honda's new 600cc car sold in Japan. The NA engine makes 52 hp and the turbo model is rated at 64 hp with a 4 sp automatic gearbox. It only weighs 880-950kg (1935-2090 lbs). Its a pleasant two box shape a lot like the Honda Life. The Japanese economy numbers are a bit less than those for the JDM 1.5L Fit.

 

I think nissan also has a mini (CUBE) Soon to hit U.S...

 

I would never buy a car with only 52 hp, it looks like a mini Element.

But i do like the Cube.

 

However, the Cube is based on a larger platform than the Kei cars sold in Japan. The US version would probably be built on the same platform as the Tiida/Versa subcompacts.

 

Vehicle is a K Car specifically for the JDM and nowhere else. You are required to have a registered parking space before purchasing a car in Japan but K cars are exempt.

 

Vehicle is a K Car specifically for the JDM and nowhere else. You are required to have a registered parking space before purchasing a car in Japan but K cars are exempt.

Similarly bikes 400c and less are a lot cheaper to register than big bikes resulting in a huge range of JDM only 400cc bikes. The CB400 Hyper VTEC was a good ride up the Japanese Alps on my last trip.