Daihatsu Tanto: little one with a big mouth

Anyone who regularly visits AutoWeek.nl will undoubtedly know that, if possible, we also cover car news that may be less interesting for the Dutch consumer, but which can be fascinating for the enthusiast of cars in the broadest sense. Daihatsu’s models are regularly reviewed on AutoWeek.nl. On the one hand because the brand has piles of funny carts in its range in its home country Japan, on the other hand because we have never been able to fully process the departure of Daihatsu from Europe. This time we take a look at the Tanto from a great distance, a chunky kei-car that is now being refreshed.

The Daihatsu Tanto Custom that is now being replaced.

The Tanto is one of the many kei cars that Daihatsu offers in Japan. The Tanto is therefore in the list in which city rascals such as the Mira Tocot, the angular Taft, the chunky Wake, the Move and its jolly Move Canbus brother in cheerful pas harass the car market with their cheerful presence. The Tanto was helped to a completely new generation in 2019, so it is still much too early for a really new model. Daihatsu is, however, revising the delivery range of the so-called tall boy, a narrow but remarkably high kei-car with not one, but two sliding doors.

Rough huh?

The Tanto was previously simply Tanto and Tanto Custom. Various Japanese car manufacturers often supply a Custom-like variant of the same model, a version with a slightly sportier or angrier face. That Custom version of the Tanto will continue to exist, but will be fitted with a completely new front. The Tanto Custom’s new snout exchanges its large headlights, which resembled those of the previous generation Dacia Duster with a little imagination, for flatter ones. In addition, the semi-closed part between the headlights is also a lot flatter. The gaping maw in the bumper is now filled with horizontal slats and on both sides of the new bumper we see strikingly clean vertical lines and a new island in which the LED daytime running lights are incorporated. Daihatsu also mounts a new bumper at the rear of the Tanto Custom, although the changes on the back are less drastic.

Daihatsu Tanto FunCross with exciting fabric.

But, we’re not there yet. Hold on tight, Daihatsu is also coming with a brand new third character for the Tanto: the FunCross. The FunCross is exactly what its name suggests: a more adventurous version with black trim in the bumpers and Airbump-like stickers on the doors. However, it does not get black wheel arch edges. Daihatsu does fold a fabric with a striking pattern around the seating furniture. wild huh? Fun fact: Subaru sells its own version of the Tanto in the form of the Chiffon.