Fresh off the boat from the Land of the Rising Sun is the Nissan Clipper – a
three-cylinder commercial kei truck, a rebadged version of the Mitsubishi
Minicab. Kei of course, is JDM-speak for anything micro. With an overall length
of 3,395 mm, it’s a full 560 mm shorter than the Honda Jazz and over 200 mm
narrower than the B-segment hatch.
At its heart rests a 3G83 660 cc three-pot,
producing 48 hp at 5,250 rpm and 62 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. Drive is
exclusively channeled to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual
transmission. It’s a strict two-seater and has a maximum allowable payload of
2,000 kg.
This particular commercial kei truck rides on
12-inch wheels and is void of all
creature comforts a modern car buyer expects. It gets manual air-con control,
Japan-spec radio head unit, a simplistic instrument cluster with a central
speedometer and a fuel and temperature gauge on each side, as well as
manually-adjustable wing mirrors.
Six variants of the Clipper will be offered, from
the entry-level steel body, wooden cargo, luton box (extended over-cab box),
mobile food truck and pasar malam luton. Prices start from RM 30,000 to
RM 50,000, and it can only be purchased as a company-registered vehicle. All
reconditioned units of the Clipper come with a three-month or 5,000 km warranty
coverage.
Cr : Paultan
