Daihatsu Hijet (S200) 1999-2004

The Daihatsu Hijet is a microvan and pickup truck produced by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu. Despite the similarities between the Hijet name and Toyota's naming scheme for its trucks and vans (Hiace and Hilux), the name "Hijet" has been in use for Daihatsu's Kei trucks and vans since 1960, over two decades before Toyota took control. "Hijet", when transliterated into Japanese, is very similar to "Midget", one of Daihatsu's other mini-trucks. The Hijet competes in Japan with the Honda Acty, Subaru Sambar, Mitsubishi Minicab, and the Suzuki Carry.

When the ninth generation Hijet was introduced in 1999, a divergence between the truck and van versions (Cargo) occurred, with the vans now being of a front-engined "semicab" design rather than the mid-engined cabover design retained for the truck. A tenth generation of the Hijet Cargo has since appeared, but the ninth generation of the truck remains in production. A similar divergence took place in the Suzuki Carry lineup, necessitated by new crash protection legislations enacted for passenger cars. Since the Hijet Cargo also forms the basis for the passenger use Atrai, it too now has a front-mounted engine.

A 1.3 liter seven-seat version (S221G) was also offered, sold as the "Daihatsu Atrai 7". It has bigger bumpers and does not qualify as a kei car. In an OEM deal, this car was also sold as the Toyota Sparky.

[SIZE="1"]Source: wikipedia.org[/SIZE]