I am just wondering if it is a good idea to own a ‘kei’ cars or city cars (European way to call it) in Taiwan, and in particular Taipei?
also, I feel a bit strange, given the crowded traffic in Taipei but this small car type seems not very popular here.
I’m planning to use the car often (but not for commuting) within Taipei and also often travel to other parts of Taiwan. A little concern whether such car size matters much on the highways. One friend of mine did mention driving the Nissan March on highway is not a good idea
Unless you have kids, or need it for work, cars are largely a status symbol here, at least in Taipei. For vast majority of people, the slight improvement in journey duration is not worth the risk of being late due to traffic, the insane prices, and the stress of finding cheap parking spaces. Because of this, if someone does get a car, it is often because they want to look cool, or they have kids, in which case they would want a large vehicle. I think that is why small cars aren’t popular here. A colleague of mine did the math and it was cheaper for him to get a taxi to and from work than to drive his car and pay for parking. I guess some people also like to travel to remote locations that lack public transport, but unless you are doing that all the time, it also becomes cheaper to just occasionally lease a car.
I have driven all sorts of cars in Taiwan, from small cars to sedans to vans and SUVs.
All of them could get me where I wanted to go even into the deepest mountains. As long as you aren’t trying to carry a lot of people and their gear up into the mountains you’ll be just fine. Small cars have the advantage on many mountain roads. Make sure the car is in good working order and you are good to go.
My wife wants to drive one of them she calls them bread cars. I think I would recommend slightly more power and size for a highway and the mountains but even then it could still be feasible
It’s ‘kei’ car in Japan Kei_car or is called city car elsewhere A-segment. Anyway, your experience sounds reassuring to me. I think about buying a small car (owning the first one) since we’re having a baby and it seems not convenient to have trips out of Taipei with public transportation.
I drove a 1.3 hyundai all over Taiwan. Piece of cake. As long as you aren’t filling it with four or five adults and overtaxing the engine going up alishan you would be just fine in about any car.
If you look at the side of highways what cars are breaking down it’s often new cars, SUVs, any kind of car really. Having a bigger car might be a bit safer in a crash and can carry more stuff if going camping and also for overtaking but really it’s not necessary. Small cars are handy here, I have an SUV now and it’s just a bit too big to be convenient here.
If you have a child I recommend a sedan or a medium size car because you have to carry their pushbuggy all that stuff. I don’t recommend a car that is too small. Sedans are very stable as well. Hatchbacks are good for small families but if you have two kids it’s going to be too small I would say.
I live in central Taipei and sometimes don’t drive my car for weeks.
Parking is a pain, I sometimes end up going somewhere and then parking my car and needing to take a taxi to the actual destination.
Depending on location in Taipei like me I have great access to MRT and bus and bike and taxis are everywhere.
I love driving a car outside of Taipei because you just can’t see some things unless you’re in a car and a lot of cities don’t have any useful public transportation.
Then I even sometimes leave my car in Taipei and take the train down south and then rent a car and then take the train back home.
Bread box cars are fine in Taiwan because you’re not driving more than a few hours anyway and not a lot of cars flying past. But, unsafe.
thank you for the keyword bread box car and the link from ma3xiu1. Sure I am not planning for the bread box van that carries up to 5 people out there, it does look unsafe with the 1.0l engine
do they have these in taiwan? Many years ago subaru had a 360cc little jobber. I rented a 600cc subaru a few times. was a hoot.
and way longer than that honda had a 600cc 2 door was fun
Just putting it out there, the March is an absolutely terrible car. I would far rather than suzuki or honda if i were to go small and asian. Ive seen some Ladas around. Blast from the past. Id avoid russian. Probably most of european cars on a regular persons budget.
I have really liked suzuki, honda and ford here for cheap and useful cars.
doing some quick search, 1.0l-1.3l engine cars there are plenty, suzuki solio seems popular, huyndai or daihatsu. The ‘kei’ cars with <1.4m width seems hard to find. As Brianjones has mentioned his experiences with 1.3l. I’m still waiting for comments on smaller engine cars though.
Last time, mine and another family just went up Yangminshan and some routes the slope can be quite steep (~30deg or more I guess) where google map led us off the main ones. Having said that, steep slopes like this are quite popular.
I don’t think Taiwan has any real kei cars. These are all limited to 660 cc in Japan. Even then I still see them pass me on the expressway at 110 kmh.
The Nissan March at around double the power of a kei car is fine for expressways. Adequate power for mountains unless fully loaded.
However, it is a shit handling car. Sloppy steering, soft suspension, horrible front wheel drive and cheap rear axle. Prone to rust in back door hinges and lock areas. Poor passenger comfort and driver ergonomics.
