Faults:

Cooked the engine within 50 miles after buying it, so be warned and take it for a 50 mile test drive. Look at the bills; if a water pump has been replaced, then expect trouble.

General Comments:

I love Daihatsus and Rascals; I prefer Rascals, even though the Daihatsu is bigger. The Rascal is better designed and the performance is the same.

General Comments:

My other mode of transport is a 400cc motorcycle. Chalk and cheese come to mind. Everything my bike is.. the van is not.

BUT with that in mind the MPV does what it says on the tin, it carries people/stuff/motorcycles OK, it doesn't go fast, but I have a bike for that.

I like the big open windscreen, get closer to the junction line and see further down the road to pull out.

Sadly general information/manuals are seriously lacking for these Hijets.. :0(

Overall rating I'd give it a 8 out of 10, 1 being bad.

Faults:

Overheated on day of purchase.

Overheated many times since.

Alternator failed.

Door hinges wore & door dropped.

Wiring snapped where it goes into tailgate.

Paint is very thin, rust coming through everywhere.

Prop shaft failed.

Head gasket blew.

General Comments:

Very basic van with no creature comforts.

Much bigger than it looks, loads of room inside.

Very easy to drive & can be parked in the smallest of spaces.

You need a sense of humour to own & drive one of these.

A cheap van poorly made from cheap parts, that are very expensive to replace.

Not good to drive on motorway's.

Scary to drive fast.

Terrifying to drive on windy days.

Faults:

Engines overheat during winter period.

General Comments:

The vehicle is cheap to buy, but spares cost the same as racing components for normal cars.

The engine is Italian not japanese, and no service manuals exist so you can't fix it yourself.

The majority of garages would rather sell you a new engine than attempt to fix yours.

General Comments:

I have searched and can find no information on this cars diesel engine.When I bought the car it had never been on a public road as it was previously used for perhaps only a mile or two a day on an airport. Does anyone have any experience of owning a diesel one. Its noisy, but seemingly very willing.

Faults:

Electrics went within 3 months from new. Towed to Main dealer who fixed it under warranty - later all Hi-jets recalled to fix this problem.

Month after 3 year warranty ended, battery failed.

4 years from new (36,000 miles), big end bearing failed. Not with a cut groove on the inside, but just flaked away. Mechanic said he had only seen it once before on a van with 140,000+ miles on.

Head Gasket blew shortly after big end bearing fixed. Radiator vanes replaced as well.

Sliding door bearing disintegrated.

Sliding door handle shattered into small fragments when opening in the cold.

Front window rack broke.

Rear brake cylinders failed, very exoensive to replace, even the garage couldn't beleive the price for parts.

6 years on the paintwork is flaking off on the front and roof.

7 1/2 years from new (76,000 miles), 3 weeks after sailing through MOT and service... engine failed completely, need replacing at a cost of £1100. Car will now be scrapped.

General Comments:

From all the faults with it you would think the car was mistreated, however this is far from the case. Most driving was around town (to-from work)and a little on the motorway (once a quarter). Car was maintained by a local garage.

Visibility from the cab is fantastic.

Very light steering.

Loads of space inside, the wife thinks its Dr Who's Tardis.

Very cheap to run unless it develops a fault and then it can be expensive for parts.

Very easy to park, with a very small turning circle.

Plenty of space in and around the seats.