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2015 Daihatsu Cast Kei Car Leaked Ahead of Official Debut – Video, Photo Gallery

Back in July, we were reporting about the Suzuki brand's Hustler and how Japanese it is. As a lifestyle-oriented kei car, the Hustler is hot stuff in the Land of the Rising Sun. As such, other manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon, and the 2015 Daihatsu Cast is the focal point of this story. Yes, that Daihatsu Cast that's set to debut tomorrow in Japan.
2015 Daihatsu Cast Activa, Style, Sport 35 photos
Photo: Blog.Livedoor.com and Minkara.Carview.co.jp
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Thanks to user-generated content uploaded on the Blog.Livedoor.com and Minkara.Carview.co.jp websites, we can tell you what the fuss is all about with this Cast thingy before Daihatsu officially reveals it. On July 30th, the company announced that there's a new model slated to be presented on September 9th, a model that'll boast "sophisticated design" and "three types of personality." Whatever the latter means...

Thankfully though, those three personalities Daihatsu was talking about are represented by three distinct Cast models: Activa, Style and Sport. Additionally, the Cast boasts three equipment levels: G SA II, G Turbo SA II and X SA II. All of them come with a CVT transmission as standard, but all-wheel drive is an optional extra that retails for just over 120,000 yen (almost 1,050 US dollars according to current exchange rates).

The cheapest 2015 Daihatsu Cast Activa 2WD X SA II goes for 1,220,400 yen ($10,195) while the most expensive Daihatsu Cast Sport G Turbo SA II 4WD costs 1,641,600 yen ($13,870). Visual-wise, the Activa has crossover-inspired looks, the Style is what the label says, and the Sport is a kei car for boy racers with a paint job that reminds us of NISMO-ed Nissans. All models and equipment levels benefit from an autonomous city braking system, a touchscreen infotainment system, seating for four, and a 658 cc engine.

Fuel economy for the 2WD G SA II is 30 km/l according to the JC08 standards, a figure that equates to 3.3 l/100 km or 71.2 mpg US. Not bad for a kei car that weighs 840 kg (1,862 lbs) and is powered by a mere 48 kW (64 horsepower) and 38 lb-ft (52 Nm). On an ending note, we find it nice that all 2015 Daihatsu Cast models and trim levels benefit from "bi-angle" LED headlights, fog lights, and taillights, 15-inch alloy wheels, and an exterior design that appears to be inspired by the likes of the smart forfour and the MINI.

But will the Cast woo customers away from the Suzuki Hustler? Better still, would a kei car such as the Daihatsu Cast make sense in the western world, especially the environment-friendly California?

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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