Daihatsu Hijet (86-04) - Review

There is no bulkhead in the Hijet so any cargo should be stowed carefully so that it doesn’t lurch forward under heavy braking and injure the occupants. This apart, the Hijet features a flat floor with side sliding doors and an up-and-over tailgate. Load volume is excellent at 2.9 cubic metres – it even exceeds that of the short wheelbase Ford Transit Connect – and payload is 635kg, on a par with the Connect. Load dimensions are 1,900mm in length, 1,270mm in width and 1,335mm in height, not bad for a vehicle of such diminutive proportions.

Few prizes to be given here. The Hijet is a cheap and cheerful vehicle and some of the corners are cut by not offering items such as airbags, power steering and ABS brakes. With body panels feeling extremely thin, thieves could probably get in and steal goods using little more than a kitchen tin opener.

A cheap front-end price makes the Hijet an equally cheap van to run. With a gross vehicle weight of just 1,550kg, the 1.3-litre petrol engine should prove frugal as long as the van isn’t loaded down too heavily and providing rapid progress isn’t required. A heavy right foot can drastically affect fuel consumption.

The Hijet’s petrol engine needs servicing every 6,000 miles, so the chances are that as time goes by, vital maintenance is going to be missed. Buyers are recommended to ask for a full service history. The thin body panels are prone to rust too, so careful attention should be given to bodywork on older models.