Would You Pay £11,000 for This Tiny Daihatsu Hi-Jet?

This Daihatsu Hi-Jet auction result genuinely surprised us.

Not because we didn’t like it.

Quite the opposite.

We absolutely loved this tiny Japanese 4×4 when we spotted it at Anglia Car Auctions.

But with a £9,000 to £11,000 estimate, we wondered whether its sheer quirkiness might make it a difficult thing to value.

We were very happy to be proved wrong.

Tiny Truck, Big Party Trick

At first glance, this 2000 Daihatsu Hi-Jet already looked like a brilliant little thing.

Then you noticed what was on the back.

Instead of a conventional flatbed, it had a scissor-lift load platform.

And that wasn’t all.

The platform also tipped.

So this tiny 660cc 4×4 was effectively part kei truck, part tipper and part miniature access platform.

It was difficult not to like it.

Just 660cc

The engine was almost comically small by British commercial-vehicle standards.

Just 660cc.

That’s less capacity than plenty of motorbikes.

But that’s exactly the point of Japanese kei vehicles.

The kei category was created around strict limits on dimensions and engine size, encouraging manufacturers to squeeze as much practicality as possible into as little road space as possible.

The result was an entire class of wonderfully compact cars and commercial vehicles.

And few things demonstrate that philosophy better than this.

Four-Wheel Drive Too

Despite its tiny dimensions, this wasn’t simply a little runabout.

It was also a 4×4.

That makes considerably more sense when you consider how vehicles like this can be used in Japan.

Small farms.

Forestry work.

Estates.

Narrow tracks.

Tight urban spaces.

Places where a conventional pickup could simply be too large.

Anglia Car Auctions even suggested this Hi-Jet could suit light forestry or estate duties.

We could certainly see the appeal.

Freshly Imported From Japan

This example had only recently arrived in Britain.

It was UK registered in May 2026 and its V5C showed zero former UK keepers at the time of sale.

The odometer displayed 88,950 kilometres, which works out at roughly 55,270 miles.

There was no maintenance history with the truck, but the vendor described it as being in remarkable corrosion-free condition and said it had been prepared and was ready for its next owner.

It also came with a long MoT running until 19 April 2027.

Kei Trucks Have Become Proper Enthusiast Vehicles

Japanese kei trucks were once the sort of thing many British enthusiasts barely noticed.

That’s changed.

Their size is part of the attraction.

They’re unusual.

They’re useful.

They’re often mechanically straightforward.

And, perhaps most importantly, they’re fun.

A conventional modern pickup has become enormous.

A kei truck takes almost the opposite approach.

Instead of trying to be bigger, heavier and more luxurious, it asks a much more interesting question:

How much vehicle do you actually need?

This One Took That Idea Even Further

The Hi-Jet already had the compact dimensions and four-wheel-drive capability.

Then somebody added that extraordinary rear setup.

The scissor lift could raise the entire load platform vertically.

The same bed could then operate as a tipper.

It meant the Hi-Jet had genuine practical potential as well as novelty value.

You could imagine it being used on an estate.

At a plant nursery.

Around a large workshop.

For maintenance work.

At shows.

Or simply by somebody who wanted one of the strangest useful vehicles at any cars-and-coffee gathering.

Would Anybody Pay the Guide?

Anglia Car Auctions placed the estimate at:

£9,000 to £11,000.

And that’s where we started wondering.

We loved it.

But quirky vehicles can sometimes be difficult at auction.

There might be plenty of people who think something is brilliant, but finding two of them willing to bid seriously at the same time is what actually determines the result.

During the reel, I even said I wasn’t convinced it would sell.

There are times when being wrong is rather enjoyable.

Watch the Daihatsu Hi-Jet Go Under the Hammer

Once the auction began, it became clear that this tiny truck had found its audience.

There was plenty of bidding online.

And it kept going.

Watch the auction below and see how far you would have gone:

£11,000 Hammer

The bidding eventually stopped at:

£11,000.

That’s right at the top of the £9,000 to £11,000 estimate.

With Anglia Car Auctions’ buyer’s premium added, the final total became:

£11,880.

For a 660cc Daihatsu Hi-Jet.

And do you know what?

The more we think about it, the more we understand it.

Was £11,000 Mad?

It sounds like a lot when you reduce the vehicle to its engine capacity.

But that rather misses the point.

You’re not buying 660cc.

You’re buying something unusual, capable, compact and difficult to replace with anything remotely conventional.

Try finding another tiny 4×4 with a scissor-lift bed that also tips.

Suddenly £11,000 doesn’t seem quite as ridiculous.

Particularly when interest in unusual Japanese imports has grown so strongly.

Small Vehicles Can Have Huge Appeal

There is something enormously refreshing about a vehicle that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

This Hi-Jet wasn’t fast.

It wasn’t luxurious.

It wasn’t imposing.

It didn’t need to be.

It was tiny, clever and interesting.

Sometimes that’s more than enough.

And judging by the online bidding, plenty of other people seemed to agree.

I Loved Being Proved Wrong

We see a lot of vehicles go through auction.

Sometimes you have a fairly good idea what bidders are going to do.

Other times, something catches you out completely.

This was one of those.

I liked the Hi-Jet immediately, but I genuinely wondered whether enough bidders would see past the novelty and actually put serious money into it.

They did.

And I’m rather glad they did.

Because unusual vehicles like this make auctions more interesting.

Would You Have Paid £11,000?

That’s the question.

For £11,000 hammer, you could buy all sorts of conventional classics.

But none of them would be quite like this.

A tiny 4×4.

A 660cc engine.

A scissor lift.

A tipper.

And enough personality to make almost everyone who walked past it stop and have a look.

Sometimes the oddballs are the best things in the room.

Would you have paid £11,000 for it?