Daihatsu Cargo: A set of wheels that shouldn’t be rolling

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If you have reached the breathtaking and unforgettable phase in life of buying a new car with your hard earned cash, the market is ready and waiting with a host of vehicles to suit any type of need and want. After all there are a few giddy pleasures and experiences in life other than buying a new car. Thus purchasing a set of wheels etches into the depths of remembrance.

Leading the way, there are the arch rivals being the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla. One may beat the other in terms of styling and sporting intent but the latter fights back with badge snobbery, reliability and strong value. Same can be said for the Honda City, the Toyota Belta as well as the Suzuki Liana among others.

Heading to the upper echelons of the market, we find the Toyota Camry battling it out with the Honda Accord but if the sole requirement is a big 4×4 that’s assembled locally, Toyota completely licks the competition. The Land Cruiser is the best off-roader in the world, awarded by international magazines and automobile journalists whereas the prospect of just owning a black Vigo with all the added kit makes a person want to trade-in his lungs and kidneys.

Moving to the more realistic arena, Suzuki leads the way with the evergreen Mehran and Cultus. The two cars that fit just so damn right in the context that they don’t even bother to change the shape. A new model simply translates to optional fog lights in the bumpers and an extra knob here and there.

Then there are the expensive hatchbacks namely the Toyota Vitz and the Suzuki Swift. I personally like the Swift because it has an international rally pedigree and a much richer history than its rival along with some international awards by highly reputed magazines. To some, the mere working and badge of the car may matter and its background may seem as useless as a shoelace, but to a purist, passion is everything.

DO NOT however spend your dear money on a car that forced me to write this all along. Because after the influx of imported cars, all types of lunatic crap which Japanese have imagined for their own market will not fit here.

It might be a good idea to overlook the manufacturer and just focus on the model name which is a complete story in itself and a rather funny one. Ok….here goes; the name of the poor car is “Hijet Cargo”. The name suggests that the car being spacious is good enough for luggage and stuff and of course it is. But demanding a car to just carry luggage is same as buying a laptop just because it had the biggest HDD. Well, the last metaphor seemed a bit nonsense but it works for me just like “Cargo” works for some people.

2007_Daihatsu_Hijet_Cargo_Cruise_Turbo

I saw one the other day and a family of six were sitting in it. It looked like a fridge on wheels and to be honest, if you are the sort of person refers to their children sometimes as “Cargo” since the car was named after the content it would carry, than step forward and claim your prize for being a terrifyingly un-cool. The “Cargo” it seems then is just a waste of metal and rubber that gives no street cred what so ever. It is just un-cool.

But as it turns out, this white refrigerator on wheels is just one of Daihatsu’s many Cargo vehicles. The most stupid of them is the ‘Midget Cargo’, just look at it.

Daihatsu_Midget_II_Cargo_001

There you have it, a not so un-considerable advice. Surf the market, research well and take your time before making the big decision. Invite me when the deed is done and I’ll give you a hug and make some merry statements. Just make sure it’s not the “Cargo” because things that serve as a better alternative include something with a cart and a horse attached at the front.

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9 Comments
  1. Asem Khan Ak says

    These are basically used in Japan for transporting fresh fish crates from the docks to market,because of the low ride height one can easily pick the heavy crate without any problem and place it in the van.so basically it ain't a crap it is made for their farmers but in Pakistan it is used for family because"yar petrol ki average bhi achi hai aur option bhi'

  2. Shahid Mehmood says

    IMO still better than our Pak Suzuki Carry Dabba / Hi-Roof .. (Bolan)

  3. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    4×4 kie-vans are worst cuz of their bad fuel consumption.

  4. Salman Rasheed says

    bro compare it to ur so called suzuki bolan !

  5. Salman Rasheed says

    a v badly biased article ill say !

  6. Rizwan Yousaf says

    The thing is, these cars are "silly" looking because they must fit as much as they can into a small space, other wise vehicles above a certain size fall into a bigger tax bracket, and taxes are already high in Japan…

    For a personal car, looks matter, but for Cargo, no one cares about looks, so they make them as boxy as they can, to make the most out of size restrictions. This "loaf" size allows a small (lenght) car to take more cargo.

  7. Ahmed Hembel says

    So what would you suggest a person who has a family of 8 and can't go for a TLC or some other cool SUV? Consider that he has the only option of the pkdm carry dabba (or suzuki bolan to be more technical) and some of these handy jdm cargo vans? Reading your article suggests that you would go for the crappy dabba…

  8. Hanzla Mateen says

    Nice article

  9. Afnan Aftab Motiwala says

    super crap article from some looser . . .

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