Daihatsu Hijet
Japan's Mini Workhorse · 1994–1999
Daihatsu Hijet (Kei Truck)
The 660cc, 4WD farm truck that fits in a motorcycle parking space, climbs terrain ten-times-pricier rigs can't, and carries half its own weight in the bed — offered here in both standard and factory extended-cab “Jumbo” form.
The Legend
Some legends are built on horsepower. This one is built on showing up every single day for 65 years and never quitting. This is our full review and buyer's guide to the Daihatsu Hijet kei truck.
The Hijet nameplate has been on a Daihatsu truck since November 1960 — older than the Ford Mustang, older than the Toyota Corolla, older than every pickup currently sold in the United States. It started as the four-wheeled successor to the three-wheeled Daihatsu Midget, and the name itself was a quiet boast: “Hijet” was coined to suggest a vehicle that performs at a higher level than the Midget it replaced. Sixty-five years later it is still in production, and cumulative output passed 8 million units by January 2025 — making it one of the longest-running nameplates in automotive history.
The car in this guide is the eighth-generation Hijet, chassis family S100/S110, unveiled at the 30th Tokyo Motor Show in October 1993 and on sale from January 1994 through 1999. It is widely regarded as the sweet-spot pre-modern Hijet: refined enough to live with, simple enough to fix anywhere. Octane brings these in for the same reason Japanese rice farmers, construction crews and rural communities relied on them for decades — not because they are fashionable, but because they work.
“The Hijet has been doing the same honest job since 1960. It never needed to be fast — it needed to never stop.”
Design & The Footprint
Everything about the Hijet is dictated by one number: it has to fit inside Japan's kei-class limits. For this generation that means a body just 3,295 mm long (10 ft 10 in) and 1,395 mm wide (4 ft 7 in) — narrower than a US compact car and shorter than most standard parking spaces. That is not a styling choice. It is the whole point. The Hijet was designed for Japan's narrow rural roads, some of which predate the automobile by centuries and were originally laid out for foot traffic and horse-drawn carts.
To make a truck that small still carry a useful load, Daihatsu went cab-over — a layout the Hijet adopted back in 1964 — pushing the cabin right to the front bumper so the bed can stretch across the rest of the footprint. The result is a vehicle that accesses gates, field rows and paths that are completely inaccessible to any full-size truck, while still hauling a genuine load. Curb weight across the truck range is just 670–720 kg (1,477–1,587 lb), comfortably under the “under 800 kg” mark.
This generation came in several body styles — truck (the P-code we deal in), panel van and glazed van — and across both 2WD and 4WD. The truck you want for work is the S110P: the 4WD truck. (For the record, the 2WD truck is the S100P; the “P” means truck, the trailing digit is the drive type.) Both vehicles in our showroom are S110P 4WD trucks.
The EF-NS Engine
There is no twin-turbo legend here. The Hijet's genius is the opposite: an engine so simple it is almost impossible to break.
The 5-speed manual 4WD truck runs the EF-NS: a carbureted, SOHC 6-valve, 659 cc inline-three (marketed as 660 cc). It makes 42 PS (41 hp) at 5,700 rpm and roughly 41 lb-ft (about 54 Nm) at 4,500 rpm. “EF-series” is the right name for the family, but EF-NS is the precise code for this truck's motor — worth knowing, because the family also includes the fuel-injected EF-ES used on most automatics and a DOHC EF-GS. One code you will see thrown around that does not belong here is the turbocharged EF-RS: that 64 PS motor lived in the Atrai passenger van, never in the truck.
Why simple wins
On a truck weighing 670–720 kg, 41 hp is genuinely adequate for the work it does — this was never about power-to-weight. It is about an engine a farmer can service in a field:
- Carbureted, not computerized: no fragile electronics to strand you. Mechanical, well-documented, repairable anywhere.
- Water-cooled inline-three: long-lived, easy to diagnose, with a modest 38-litre (10 US gal) tank that sips fuel.
- Cheap to keep: clutch and drivetrain parts are inexpensive and widely stocked through Japanese parts networks and a growing US aftermarket.
The drivetrain is just as honest. The S110P uses selectable, part-time 4WD with a dual-range transfer case (high and low), engaged through the 5-speed manual. Adding 4WD to a vehicle this light is genuinely unusual — and it is exactly what lets a sub-800 kg truck climb terrain that bewilders machines ten times its price. This generation was also the first Hijet to offer 4WD with an automatic, a nod to Japan's aging farm workforce; the trucks we import are the purist 5-speed manuals.
Jumbo vs Standard Cab
We stock the Hijet in both cab styles, and the difference is the single most important thing to understand before you choose one. The “Jumbo” is a genuine Daihatsu factory designation — not an aftermarket conversion — for an extended-cab version of the same truck.
What the Jumbo adds is room behind the seats: an extended roofline, a deeper cab, reclining seatbacks, dry behind-seat luggage storage and a small overhead shelf. For a tradesperson who needed to carry tools and gear out of the weather without filling the open bed, that extra weatherproof space is the whole reason the configuration exists.
The trade-off is geometry. The overall wheelbase does not change, so the deeper cab eats into the open bed — the Jumbo's bed floor is slightly shorter than the standard cab's. Daihatsu's engineers softened the loss with a notch at the base of the rear cab panel that pushes the bed floor forward. So the choice is simple:
- Standard cab — maximum open-bed length. The choice when the bed is the job.
- Jumbo (extended cab) — weatherproof behind-seat storage and a roomier cabin, at the cost of a little bed length. The choice when you carry people, tools and gear as much as cargo.
A note for the detail-minded: within this generation Daihatsu offered both a “Jumbo” and a larger “Super Jumbo” cab. The exact dimensional difference is not well documented, and which one a given truck is can only be confirmed from its Japanese title and build sheet — something we verify on every Jumbo we bring in.
Driving & Owning
Drive a Hijet and the scale rearranges your sense of what a truck is. You sit over the front wheels, the controls are simple and direct, and the whole thing is small enough to thread places a side-by-side ATV would think twice about — except this one has a real steel bed, a real cab and a heater.
The party trick is the payload-to-size ratio. Rated payload is 350 kg (771 lb) on a truck that itself weighs only 670–720 kg — it carries roughly half its own weight, in a bed small enough to park anywhere. That is what makes it endlessly useful for property work, landscaping, light farming, hunting access and campsite hauling. (One caution worth stating plainly: no US state permits kei trucks on interstate highways, so plan it as a property, farm and back-roads tool, not a freeway commuter.)
The durability lore, honestly
Owners across the kei-truck community routinely report 300,000+ km on basic maintenance. We present that as community lore rather than a lab-tested figure — but it lines up with the engineering. The EF-NS is a simple, mechanical engine with cheap, widely available parts, and there is little on the truck to break expensively. Buy a rust-free example, keep the fluids fresh, and it is the kind of vehicle that quietly outlasts everything around it.
“It carries roughly half its own weight in a bed small enough to park anywhere. That is the whole magic trick.”
Importing & Registration
Here is the part that matters if you actually want one. Under the US 25-year rule, a vehicle becomes exempt from federal motor-vehicle safety standards once it turns 25. A 1997 Hijet has been eligible since 2022; a 1998 since 2023. The import itself is the straightforward part — and the part Octane handles end to end.
Registration is where you need to do your homework, and where a lot of bad information circulates. The honest, current picture as of 2025–2026:
- Roughly 25 states allow 25-year-old kei trucks to be titled and driven on public roads. Texas, for example, reversed an earlier ban and became formally street-legal in April 2024.
- Rules vary by state and change frequently. Some states have explicit kei-truck laws; others leave it to local or county discretion; about ten currently ban or are actively restricting them. Many states that do allow them treat kei trucks as farm or off-highway vehicles rather than ordinary cars.
- No state permits interstate-highway use. That is consistent everywhere.
We deliberately do not tell buyers that any specific state is “friendly” — that advice goes stale fast, and a state that titled kei trucks last year can change course this year. The right move is always the same: confirm your own state's current rules with your DMV before you buy. Tell us where you are and how you plan to use the truck, and we will give you the straightest answer we have.
Where Can You Take It?
The Hijet is one of the most-built platforms in the kei world right now — a cheap, light, 4WD blank canvas that owners take everywhere from rock trails to county-fair show fields. These are the directions it is genuinely known for.
The trail rig
A modest lift, knobby all-terrain or mud tires and skid protection turn the S110P into a giant-killer on the trail. The selectable dual-range 4WD and sub-800 kg weight let it crawl terrain that bogs heavier rigs — the single biggest kei-truck build trend in the US.
The micro-camper
Builders drop a bed-topper, cap or simple sleeping platform over the cargo bed for a vehicle that parks anywhere and sleeps two. With 4WD and a tiny footprint it reaches campsites a van never could — the tiny-camper Hijet is a social-media staple.
The slammed show truck
The flip side of lifted: bagged or static-dropped, shaved and laid out on the frame, tying into decades of US mini-truck culture. Wheels, paint and a clean bed make the Hijet a standout in a scene that has always loved small trucks.
The workhorse
The honest job it was built for. A bed rack, toolbox, bed liner and tires fit it for property maintenance, ranch and farm chores, and hunting access — quietly doing the work of a side-by-side with a real steel bed, cab and heater.
The swap project
A small but growing scene swaps the EF-NS for a bigger triple or drops in an electric drivetrain for instant torque and silence. The light, simple chassis makes it a favorite donor for builders experimenting with kei-scale EV conversions.
Did You Know?
The Hijet name dates to November 1960 — older than the Mustang, the Corolla, and every pickup sold in the US today. Over 8 million built by January 2025.
The name “Hijet” was coined to imply it performs a step above its predecessor, the three-wheeled Daihatsu Midget.
“Jumbo” is a real factory trim, not an aftermarket job — an extended cab with behind-seat storage on a truck that fits in a motorcycle parking space.
Rated payload is 350 kg (771 lb) on a truck weighing 670–720 kg — it hauls roughly half its own weight.
This was the first Hijet generation to offer 4WD with an automatic — a nod to Japan's aging farm workforce. Ours are the purist 5-speed manuals.
At 4 ft 7 in wide, the Hijet slips through gates, field rows and paths no full-size truck can reach — exactly why rice farmers depend on them.
The truck's EF-NS engine is a carbureted, mechanical inline-three — no fragile electronics, repairable in a field, cheap to keep.
Kei-truck content — camper builds, lifted off-road rigs, farm clips — has become a genuine TikTok and Instagram trend, driving import demand.
Gallery
Frequently Asked
Is the Daihatsu Hijet legal to import to the USA?
Yes. Under the US 25-year rule, a vehicle is exempt from federal motor-vehicle safety standards once it turns 25. A 1997 Hijet has been eligible since 2022 and a 1998 since 2023, so both are freely importable now. Octane handles the entire import for you.
Can I register and drive a kei truck in my state?
It depends entirely on your state, and the rules change frequently. As of 2025 to 2026, roughly 25 states allow 25-year-old kei trucks on public roads, often titled as farm or off-highway vehicles; about ten ban or restrict them; and no state permits them on interstate highways. We will not promise any state is friendly because that advice goes stale fast. Confirm your own state's current rules with your DMV before you buy.
What is the difference between the standard Hijet and the Jumbo?
The Jumbo is a genuine Daihatsu factory extended-cab version. It adds a deeper cab with reclining seatbacks, dry behind-seat storage and a small overhead shelf. Because the wheelbase is unchanged, that deeper cab makes the open bed slightly shorter than the standard cab's. Choose the standard cab for maximum bed length, or the Jumbo for weatherproof storage and a roomier cabin.
What engine does the Hijet truck use, and how much power?
The 5-speed manual 4WD truck uses the EF-NS, a carbureted SOHC 659 cc inline-three making 42 PS (41 hp) at 5,700 rpm and about 41 lb-ft at 4,500 rpm. It is part of the EF-series family. The turbocharged 64 PS EF-RS some listings mention belonged to the Atrai van, not the truck, so do not expect that figure here.
How much can a Hijet carry?
Rated payload is 350 kg, which is 771 lb. The truck itself weighs only 670 to 720 kg, so it carries roughly half its own weight in a bed small enough to park almost anywhere. That payload-to-size ratio is the whole appeal for property, farm and landscaping work.
Is the Hijet reliable, and are parts available?
It has a strong reputation. The EF-NS is a simple, carbureted, mechanical engine with little to break expensively, and owners across the community routinely report 300,000 km or more on basic maintenance. Clutch and drivetrain parts are inexpensive and widely available through Japanese parts networks and a growing US aftermarket.