Street-Spotted: Suzuki Carry KC 4WD

Even compared to five years ago, kei trucks are far more common in the US than they used to be. And if we were to look back 20 years, we'd note that the Japanese car scene was very different at the time, still focused on performance coupes and less focused on all types of other Japanese cars of the day, including sedans and station wagons.

The rolling 25-year exemption for foreign, non-conforming vehicles has made the categories of JDM cars stateside far more diverse when it comes to vehicle segments, with SUVs, station wagons, sedans, minivans, and kei cars having gained "market share" over the past two decades.

But something else happened, too: The tastes of those importing Japanese domestic market (JDM) cars have shifted from higher-priced performance models, to quite ordinary cars and trucks that can be bought on a smaller budget. It not longer requires a lot of money or even sourcing a car from Japan by yourself, as a number of importers have begun seeking out clean, 25-year-old cars and trucks and are bringing them into the country for resale.

One of the categories of JDM vehicles that has seen some of the most significant gains over the past decade is of kei trucks and vans of the 1980s and 1990s, like this Suzuki Carry 4WD. The Carry line actually dates back to the early 1960s, having debuted specifically as a kei model aimed at specific engine and size requirements, and have been sold in truck and minivan forms now spanning 11 generations. This particular Carry KC 4WD hails from the eighth generation that debuted in 1985, which also included truck and minivan versions. Sold under a bewildering number of badges in various markets, including both Ford and Chevrolet, the model seen here is a Suzuki-badged four-wheel-drive version, likely optioned with either a 543-cc or 547-cc inline-three engine.

So what is it like to actually own a kei truck?

We talked to the owner of one Suzuki Carry, though not this particular one, to find out what it's like to actually own one of these in US traffic.