Daihatsu HIJET LPG RANGE
Small Is Beautiful, Or So The Saying Goes. Daihatsus Hijet Microvan Might Not Be Best Equipped To Prove This Particular Proverb But Its Already Made A Compelling Case For Small Is Practical. And, With An LPG System On Board, Small is Economical Shouldnt Present Too Much Of A Problem. Steve Walker Reports
LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) might not be the fuel of the future, but today its just about the cheapest, most environmentally friendly thing you can use to power a car - without sacrificing too much by way of performance or convenience.
Daihatsu hope that the gas will drive their popular Hijet Microvan on to even greater things and theres little reason to suspect that theyll be far wrong. Businesses already choose the Hijet primarily because of its cost effective nature, so with LPG power now available, it should constitute even more of an appealing package.
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As a motor manufacturer,
Daihatsu specialise in compact citycars, so its only fitting that their most successful foray into commercial vehicle land should take tiny Microvan form. The genres finest exponent prior to the Hijets emergence was Vauxhalls Bedford Minivan and since that model bit the dust some years ago, Daihatsus creation has taken centre stage. The Hijet has dominated the Microvan market to the extent that it has trundled off with WhatVan? Magazines Best Microvan award for umpteen years in succession and utterly destroyed the competition (what little of it there is) in the sales charts. Essentially, the Hijet is a no-frills vehicle.
Its styling is that of a bonnetless panel van in miniature. Its narrow width and high roof give it a rather precarious appearance on the road and the sight of two burley builders crammed into the front of one will always raise a smile on a dreary journey to work. There may well be those that wish the Hijet came with a full-face balaclava to mask their identity while driving, but the less image conscious will look beyond its vaguely comical dimensions to the wide variety of sensible reasons for owning one. It might look a bit cutesy for the cut and thrust world of modern business but beneath the surface its well designed, well engineered and has LPG power as a secret weapon.
"Its extremely difficult to perceive any decline in performance when the LPG tank is engaged."
At the moment, Buyers can specify the LPG system in any Hijet model, thats two or four-wheel-drive vans as well as the six-seater MPV. Price has long been the Hijets trump card and with a range starting from £5,995 (excluding VAT) that looks set to continue. The LPG bi-fuel conversion costs an additional £1,700 over the base model but the beauty of the whole thing is that the Hijet LPG qualifies for a 60% contribution towards the cost of conversion from the Governments TransportAction Powershift programme. This means that £1,020 can be recouped and the actual real-world cost of Daihatsus LPG system is only £680 (excluding VAT).
Theres no complicated redtape to negotiate in acquiring this money either: the Powershift grant is simply accounted for in the retail price of all Hijet LPG models. Check the pricelist and the LPG derivatives are simply priced at £680 more than the equivalent non-LPG version. It couldnt be simpler. It would be foolish to rush into ownership of a vehicle that runs on a fuel you know nothing about, so here are some facts on LPG in the Daihatsu Hijet.
As in all Hijets, the LPG models have a 1.3-litre petrol engine. But, unlike the others, they do have two fuel tanks - one for normal unleaded, one for LPG. Once the engine has been started and is running, the driver can switch to the LPG tank via a small control to the left of the steering column.
Its claimed that the Hijet costs around 9.37 pence per mile to run on petrol and only 6.14 pence per mile to run on LPG. This saving of over a third is largely thanks to the fuels low cost (between 35 and 40 pence per litre) as well as the fact that its still around 80% as efficient as petrol.
With more than 1000 filling stations and other businesses supplying LPG in the UK, there should be one reasonably near you, but refuelling is not going to be as convenient as it is with conventionally powered vans. Finally, LPG is cleaner; it produces around 13% less carbon dioxide and significantly reduces other harmful exhaust emissions. Hop aboard the Hijet and youll notice the narrow cabin, the thin-rimmed steering wheel and the long gear-stick stalk topped by a small ping-pong ball knob. The controls are simple and although you can fit two people inside the cabin, there wont be room for much else.
Take to the road and youll find the Hijet refreshingly easy to drive. The steering is well balanced and the engines 65bhp gives impressive levels of both get-up and go. Flick the little LPG switch and your expectations of a catastrophic power drop-off will be confounded. Its extremely difficult to perceive any decline in performance when the LPG tank is engaged.
Parking the Hijet is a breeze. The vans overall size and lack of any bonnet to speak of mean that you can see exactly what youre doing while teasing the vehicle into the smallest spaces. Another distinct plus-point is the load area out back. Access is superb with two sliding side doors and a lifting tailgate at the rear.
Open them all up, youll find yourself with more opening than van. Meanwhile, the load sill is very low to the ground so you wont have to perfect the clean and jerk before stowing heavy objects. Standard payload capacity measures in at 635kg, which is comparable to many larger, more expensive models in the car-derived van sector. Within the Microvan market, the Daihatsu Hijet is in a class of its own.
The models continuing popularity has prompted the manufacturer to extend the range on a number of occasions so that buyers can now choose from various bodystyles, 4x2 or 4x4 transmission systems and LPG power. Since cost already played the major role in Microvan buying decisions, the advent of LPG has only served to move the Hijet further ahead. The vehicle even has the qualities to impinge on the sales of models from the class above. If you can see past its diminutive looks, the Hijet LPG would be an affordable, useful addition to any CV fleet.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
VAN: Daihatsu Hijet LPG Range
PRICE: £6,675 - £8,345 (Excluding VAT + Registration Fee) ENGINE: 1.3-litre 65bhp LPG/Petrol Bi-fuel MAX PAYLOAD: 635kg-760kg BODYSTYLES: Van, Pick-Up, Big Deck Pick-Up, 6-
Seat MPV.
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