Today we're going to live with a 1995 Honda Street (Acty) Van. We'll be going through it's features, drive it out on various scenarios, and finally decide if it's practical and livable enough to use as a daily driver here in the USA.
Currently daily my street racoon down here in houston. The 5 speed manual definitely beats out the auto transmission as you can drive up to 70 with it.
Nice man! I agree, the manual beats out the auto, especially here in the US where highway speeds are usually 70+mph. I will say, however, that the auto transmissions on these kei cars are surprisingly smooth. I actually have 2 Suzuki Jimny's and I enjoy driving the auto over the manual due to how smooth it feels especially once boost kicks in. The manual has a higher top speed for sure though.
@@HereticJon 😂 title shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Good luck with diagnosing the problem! These are fairly easy to work on. Happy to help with anything I might know.
@@ps3shakes123 I’m out in Atlanta, Georgia. Registration wasn’t too difficult, just a bit of process. I’ve been told it’s easier in other states like Texas. If you already have it titled in the US you don’t have to worry about much of anything just insurance. If you import it, like I did, it’s a bit more leg work. Here in GA you need to have, on top of all the customs documents and the Japanese Export certificate, a vehicle inspection by a police officer, a notarized translation form someone fluent in Japanese, and a title application. I’m thinking of doing a video in the future going through all the steps involved in importing and getting a car titled. Hope this helps!
Great video! These vans are not as legendary as the Carry van but still pretty awesome. I love honda seat designs in vehicles like this and the Fit/Jazz etc. I know a Kei Car which would be perfect to review. It's a Mid engine, rear wheel drive beast. It's the Mitsubishi iCar. :D
Thanks! The Carry vans are pretty cool too, especially if you can get your hands on a Turbo RZ. It'd be awesome to get my hands on an iCar but unfortunately we're confined to the USA's 25 year rule to import non US markets cars. Still, will definitely be on my list for the future! Thanks for watching!
There are exactly two types of vans. There is a cargo type and a passenger car type, and only the passenger car type has a car model with a seat belt. In Japan, the cargo type has a low tax rate.
If you need some work on the engine or even a simple oil change, would American mechanics be able to do it, or do you take it to a Japanese specialty mechanic?
These cars are actually pretty simple and easy to work on so I've been able to do all of my own maintenance and engine work with no issue, SO FAR. With a bit of cross referencing and somewhat successful use of google translate, you can find all kinds of resources on most kei cars. I'm actually putting together a master list of US equivalent parts I've personally used on all my kei cars and will be putting it up for everyone to use pretty soon. This way it's easier for others who are interested in jumping into the kei wagon to do so as worry free as possible. As for getting a shop to do the work, these cars are so easy to work on that any shop should be able to figure out how to fix them. I'd stick with shops that are versed in Japanese cars (Honda, Toyota, etc.) just to be safe. Thanks for watching!
@@deldodrives I've been looking into one of these for mail delivery, as I have to provide my own car for some routes. Wondering if you ever published that part list, as that would help me a ton when it comes time to make repairs. I checked out your channel, and you haven't posted in a while, so hoping you see this
@@didymusagogf957 Hey, thanks for watching! Yeah I haven't put any new videos up in a while, which reminds me that I need to get back to work, lol. I'm actually working on some new content with an Autozam AZ-1 which I'll be publishing in the near future. As for the list I started, it's still a a work in process but I'd be happy to share what I have so far. Let me know, thanks!
I'm thinking about using this car as a daily driver but I find myself on the highway a lot. Is this car fine on the highway or will it have trouble keeping up?
It really depends on where you live. Here in the Southeastern United States, highways average 70+ MPH (112+ KM). Even though the Street/Acty vans top out around 71 mph, that’s really flooring it and you’d be in the high rpm range. I would recommend these for daily driving in a heartbeat if you mostly did city driving or had a highway system that was 55 mph or less but anything faster than that and it would definitely struggle to keep up. If you do a lot of highway driving, look into the Daihatsu Atrai vans. They’re turbo and can keep up with traffic well. I also have a friend who daily’s a Suzuki Wagon R and he tells me it keeps up with highway traffic really well. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions and thanks for watching!
I have the pick up truck version with a 5 speed and drove it for 108 miles at 65, I’ve gotten it to go up to 78mph before but it can’t do that easily. I averaged 35.1 mpg and handled the trip perfectly despite being at high RPM for so long, these little engines are fine tough and able to take the high rpm beating. If you want to go faster that 65 though, and especially on a hilly road I wouldn’t recommend it as a daily
Hey thanks for the reply! I ended up getting it and i've had it for almost 2 years now and have driven it from philly to South Carolina OBX round trip!@@steakdaddy2600
Thanks! There’s a guy on Instagram doing an EV build on an Acty but I can’t find his account for the life of me. Still, would love to see yours if you decide to do it. Good luck with the build!
Alas, I did not. I’m sure it would be able to tow something small like a kayak pretty easily. Will definitely try something like that whenever I get my hands on another one!