Daihatsu Hijet Cargo Mini Trucks
With their 4×4 off-road abilities, seating for 4, and a large interior load space, these Japanese mini trucks can be the perfect solution if you need to keep gear and people protected from the elements as you go off-road.
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Introduction
Daihatsu Hijet Cargo vans, like their Deckvan counterparts, are capable off-road vehicles designed to seat four passengers. With two separate front seats and a rear bench seat, they offer enough room for four adults to travel comfortably off-road, whether for short trips or extended tasks. While they can handle muddy trails, their primary role often involves efficiently moving people and supplies across large private properties.
Imagine a sprawling college campus with multiple buildings and maintenance teams working to keep everything running smoothly. You might need to get a cleaning crew to a dorm, sound equipment to a lecture hall, or extra chairs to a meeting room. The demands of transporting people and gear between locations are constant.
Many campuses turn to golf carts or utility vehicles for these tasks, but these options often have their drawbacks. Golf carts offer little weather protection or comfort, while traditional utility vehicles are noisy, uncomfortable, and limited in cargo capacity.
The Hijet Cargo offers a better solution. It’s capable of carrying a crew of four along with their gear, or handling larger loads when the rear bench seat is folded down. And it does all this while consuming half the fuel of a typical utility vehicle. Practical, efficient, and adaptable, the Hijet Cargo is a reliable partner for off-road tasks..
Selection For Sale
Here are just a few of the Hijet Cargo models that we have here at Mini Truck Depot. Click on any of them to see more details, or click here to see all the mini trucks we have of this particular model. (If you just want to keep reading about Daihatsu Hijet Cargo mini trucks, scroll down to to go to the next section about that cargo area and its capacity.)
Load Area
The Hijet Cargo shares the snub-nosed front design of the Deckvan, along with wide sliding doors that make access simple and convenient. Whether you’re getting passengers in and out or loading gear with the rear bench seat folded down, these doors provide excellent versatility.
But, as its name suggests, the standout feature of the Hijet Cargo is its spacious cargo area. Even with the rear seat in place and ready to accommodate four passengers, it still offers a generous amount of enclosed hauling capacity:
Fold that rear seat down, and you have even more space. All of it enclosed and out of the elements.
Another useful feature is the upright, squared-off design of the cargo area. This boxy shape maximizes usable space and ensures easy access from both the rear and sides. It’s a practical design that makes the most of the available load area. Take a look at the dimensions of the latest 11th-generation model, introduced at the end of 2021:
For those times when you need to transport something especially long, the Hijet Cargo passenger van has a clever solution. By folding down the front passenger seat, you can maximize the interior space, providing a full 8 feet 8 inches of length to accommodate larger items.
Interior
The Cargo passenger van shares its front interior design with the Deckvan, offering proper seats, a full dashboard, a dash-mounted gear shift, and more. This setup provides a level of comfort and functionality that’s well ahead of typical utility vehicles like the John Deere Gator. It’s a workspace designed to keep drivers and passengers comfortable, even during long off-road tasks.
Despite its comfort, the interior is built for durability. From the dashboard to the controls and seat covers, every element is designed to withstand tough working conditions while remaining practical and hard-wearing.
Take a look at the front interior of the latest 11th-generation model:
Now, let’s take a closer look at the rear seats. As a 4-passenger off-road vehicle, the Hijet Cargo provides seating for two in the front and two more on the bench seat in the back. While the rear bench seat isn’t as comfortable as the front seats, it’s designed with practicality in mind. The simple bench seat lacks headrests, but for the typical ways you’ll use the Hijet Cargo, that’s unlikely to be an issue.
For example, you might need to get from one side of campus to another—a trip that could take around 10 minutes. For short hops like this, anyone riding in the back will find it perfectly adequate. The focus here is on functionality, ensuring the van meets the demands of moving people efficiently, even for quick, repeated trips.
Getting in and out of the rear seats—or loading and unloading gear when the seats are folded down—is incredibly straightforward, thanks to the wide, easy-opening sliding side doors. These doors slide all the way back, creating a large, convenient opening that makes access hassle-free.
Features & Equipment
There’s just so much that could be written about all the convenient features that make the Hijet Cargo such a great off-road vehicle, but here are the the highlights. (Remembering that not all vehicles of all ages will have this exact mix of equipment, so make sure you check out the details of any particular Hijet Cargo Van you decide to buy).
- AC and heat (they all have this!)
- Central locking
- Keyless entry
- Push button starter
- Fuel cap opener
- Headlights
- Sun visors
- Sliding doors at rear
- Power steering
- Door mirrors
- Power windows
- Door pockets
- Glove box
- Cup holders
- Hooks for tying down loads
Body Colors
With the full metal exterior of this van-shaped mini truck, choosing the right paint color becomes an important decision. Let’s take a look at the available options, starting with the previous generation Daihatsu Hijet Cargo, which was sold until the end of 2021:
The previous generation offered some unique options, including two standout blue shades. Rose Metallic, though rare, also added a quirky touch that found appeal with certain buyers. With the latest Hijet Cargo model, introduced at the end of 2021, the color range has become more streamlined. Orange Metallic—a popular choice on the pickup-style Hijets—remains, but the two blue options have been replaced by the bold and somewhat polarizing Ice Green. Take a look and decide for yourself.
Engine & Transmission
Hijet Cargo vans are highly capable workhorses, ideal for moving people and cargo off-road in weatherproofed comfort, complete with heating or cooling. But, now let’s focus on what powers these kei trucks and keeps them moving off the beaten path—it’s time to take a closer look at the engine and drivetrain.
Engine
The engine in the Hijet Cargo is the same one found across all Hijet body styles, including the regular cab model. It’s Daihatsu’s reliable KF-series 3-cylinder, water-cooled engine with electronic fuel injection. This engine features a 10.8 compression ratio, delivering maximum power at 5,700 rpm and peak torque at a lower 4,000 rpm—offering plenty of pulling power for handling challenging off-road terrain.
With a displacement of 660cc, this engine’s size is in line with other kei vehicles from Japan. While Daihatsu hasn’t made major changes to its design over the years, it has continuously refined the engine to enhance efficiency. For instance, the latest 11th-generation models feature new technology to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption. Even before this innovation, the 10th-generation Hijets were achieving around 50% better fuel economy compared to their UTV counterparts. Now, with this new tech, the automatic models in the newest Hijet generation boast an additional 25% improvement in fuel efficiency over the already frugal automatic models of the previous generation.
Designed and manufactured under Toyota’s ownership, these engines meet rigorous NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) standards to a much greater degree than typical UTV motors. While this might not seem critical at first glance, a smooth and quiet engine significantly reduces driver fatigue during long workdays, making it more comfortable to operate around your property.
Maintenance is straightforward, as these engines are designed to be simple and practive. They run on standard regular gasoline, and parts like air and oil filters are easy to source and replace. For those in colder climates, using anti-freeze as you would with any other vehicle is essential. Routine upkeep is simple, so regular maintenance can be handled without the need for advanced mechanical skills.
As for the engine’s location, it’s mounted beneath the front seats, as the body style suggests. This placement provides excellent weight distribution and a low center of gravity, both of which contribute to the vehicle’s solid off-road performance.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that the engines in these Hijet mini trucks for sale in the US are all naturally aspirated.
Take a look at this cutaway of the naturally aspirated KF engine to see its inner workings:
Transmission
The previous-generation Hijet Cargo Van 4×4 models offered these two transmission options:
- 5-speed manual
- 4-speed automatic
With the introduction of the latest generation model at the end of 2021, there was a significant change in transmission options:
- 5-speed manual
- CVT (continuously variable transmission)
The CVT transmission, combined with the updated engine, brings notable improvements. As we wrote about above, in the Hijet regular cab, this setup delivers 25% better fuel economy compared to the previous 4-speed automatic model, so it’s reasonable to assume that this is also reflected in the performance of this Hijet Cargo model. Beyond fuel efficiency, the CVT also provides smoother power delivery, enhancing the overall driving experience—a benefit that, while harder to quantify, makes a big difference during daily use.
Since these Japanese mini trucks already achieve approximately 50% better fuel economy than typical UTVs, the additional boost from the new engine and CVT transmission combination solidifies their position as highly fuel-efficient off-road vehicles.
Take a look at this cutaway to see the inner workings of the latest CVT transmission:
4WD System
To avoid any confusion, it’s important to clarify that all the mini trucks for sale here are all sold for off-road use only, and they all come equipped with 4WD. The basic 4×4 system has remained largely unchanged over the years, with one key update introduced in the latest model.
In earlier generation models, a button on the dashboard allows you to switch the 4WD system on and off. Why would you want to do that? Powering all four wheels requires more energy than just powering two, so switching to 2WD helps save fuel. For instance, if you’re traveling along a dry gravel track, 2WD is perfectly sufficient—simply press the button to turn off 4WD. When you leave that track and head onto a muddy field, pressing the button again re-engages the 4WD system, giving you the grip you need for tougher conditions.
Here’s the location of that button on the center dash console of the previous-generation model:
The newest version of the Hijet Cargo takes the 4WD system to the next level: In the auto CVT model, there’s now an ‘4WD Auto’ button, that removes any need to manually switch between 4WD and 2WD. This his how it works. Under normal conditions, the mini truck decides for itself whether 4WD is necessary. If not, it automatically shifts into the more fuel-efficient 2WD mode. For particularly challenging off-road tasks, you still have the option to use the ‘4WD Lock’ override switch, which keeps the system in 4WD all the time.
Think of the ‘4WD Lock’ feature as similar to the manual mode on a camera. The ads might highlight how you can make precise manual adjustments, but for most users, after a few tries, the camera goes back to auto mode, letting its electronic systems handle the details. The same applies here—you might experiment with the ‘4WD Lock’ button initially, but in practice, you’ll likely leave it in auto mode and let the Hijet handle the decision-making while you focus on navigating the off-road terrain.
Buying A Daihatsu Cargo Mini Truck
To sum up, the Hijet Cargo is an exceptionally versatile 4-passenger off-road 4×4 Japanese mini truck that offers a level of comfort and efficiency that outshines any equivalent UTVs. It’s particularly well-suited for organizations such as schools, colleges, hospitals, manufacturing facilities, and airports with large campuses or properties that need to transport people and gear efficiently while keeping them protected from the elements.
While these Cargo models are less common than the regular cab or Jumbo cab Hijets, they are typically available for sale here. If you don’t see one listed right away or need multiple identical Hijet Cargos for your organization, feel free to contact us—we can assist with sourcing the models you need.
