To date, the smallest vehicle that I’ve ever managed to fit my gigantic frame into is a Lotus Elise. That is a teeny, tiny little machine. I barely wedged myself into the seat and I hurt myself trying to get out of the cockpit. But I had to try. Why? When a Chevy Cruze is about as small as I can tolerate on any given day normally, why would I give half a crap about a small car? Wouldn’t I be happier using a kei car as a roller skate? Probably, but no matter how goofy I would look driving one, I love the concept of the street-going go-kart, even if I would look like a Russian circus bear at the wheel of this thing.
But that couldn’t happen. This is a car I could potentially hug lengthwise. I’ve had ATVs with bigger engines than this. It weighs in at 1,500 pounds…just by getting into this car I may potentially max out it’s cargo capacity rating. This is comparable to the freakshow builds that Grind Hard Plumbing Co. make out of Power Wheels…same engine size, same close quarters, just about the same everything. The Cappuccino is meant to fit within Japan’s kei car guidelines, which if met give the driver a break on taxes and insurance costs. The benefits for Japan’s road systems, parking systems, and tight land confines means that the kei car make sense there. In America, they’re somewhere between a toy, a cult and hipster-bait. But there is a seat for everyone in this world, and for some, a tiny little roadster is the one for them.
