The Leeza was an interesting little Kei car, and I’m mostly showing you because I think it has a subtly striking design. It’s essentially a little city car/hatchback, but unlike most Kei cars, the maximization of interior space isn’t so much the main goal as a sort of sporty, hot-hatch look is. Well, as hot as you can get from 660cc, which was either about 50 hp or. up to the legal limit of 64 hp with the turbo one. These were generally two-seater cars, and most of these were actually considered van, if you can believe that, as they only had two seats and some cargo tie-downs in the little cargo area, so they could be classified as commercial vehicles and buyers could save a crapload of yen on taxes. Pretty clever!
There was even this amazing little roadster version! The earlier L100 versions, like up top, are old enough to be imported, so if there’s anyone out there looking for a really tiny yet stylish “van” to keep on their yacht or roof of their RV, give the Leeza some thought! Oh, and also there’s a Daihatsu Leeza OXY-R. Which has a 650cc making “64HP” at 7,500RPM. That’d be a nice substitute till you can get your hands on an LHD Copen with the 1.3L. So buy two. I’m not much of a Daihatsu fan, but that Leeza is a looker! Little cars > Big Cars I normally hate turbocharged engines but if they’re 1.5 liters of displacement or under I almost universally like them. Same goes for direct injection engines.
