It's o-kei! Suzuki Palette SW introduced in Japan
2009 Suzuki Palette SW - Click above for image gallery
You're Japanese. You have a family. You need a minivan. But minivans are freaking huge, Japan's streets are crowded, and you want something that's a lot smaller and can dart between lumbering dekotora lit up like Vegas. So, you look to a kei minivan because it's teeny tiny. Suzuki's got your back with the Palette, the micro-mini minivan it introduced back in early 2008. It's totally neat in that way all Japanese kei cars are, as its compact size belies interior storage capacity capable of swallowing up literally hundreds of packs of Dentyne, several vintage Super Famicoms, and that box of priceless Chevy Astro brochures you overpaid some American pack rat for on eBay.
One problem: the regular-edition Palette's a bit vanilla to look at. Suzuki has apparently gotten the memo and spiced things up in the traditional manner: a new fascia and more letters in the nomenclature. Hence, we have the Palette SW, which wears a more mischievous anime face, as apposed to the docile-looking, doe-eyed standard grade Suzuki Palette. The other change introduced with the SW is a two-stage CVT that allows drivers to manually select lower or higher pre-programmed gear ratios to place an emphasis on either better acceleration or improved fuel economy. That way, they can wring out every last bit of punch or efficiency the little juice box on wheels can offer.
Gallery: Suzuki Palette SW
[Source: Suzuki (translated)]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TC 4:06PM (9/19/2009)
SW stands for Smiling Wide?
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Farmboy 4:41PM (9/19/2009)
Are you suggesting Suzuki copied Mazda?
Sean 3:54PM (9/19/2009)
"You guys know how ugly that Scion is? Let's make it uglier!"
Looks like it would roll around the first corner it took... :/
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Aprime 4:31PM (9/19/2009)
Someone's unfamiliar with Kei cars.
Sean 4:36PM (9/19/2009)
Objection, relevance?
mk15 4:45PM (9/19/2009)
Kei cars are sub-sub-compact cars/trucks/vans. It's a category with strictly enforced limits. Currently they are limited to 3.4 x 1.48 x 2.0 meters (length x width x height) and a max output of 63hp. Pathetic, but manufacturers try to maximize the amount of volume they can encapsulate within those limits. In this category, function > form. Although you can still have some like the Suzuki Cappuccino.
James 4:55PM (9/19/2009)
Sean, kei cars have existed for ages longer than the Scion marque, and are actually quite a lot smaller, as stated by others here. They are in an entirely different class of vehicles than the JDM versions of the xA, xB, and xD, and must meet strict size and emissions requirements. This kind of two-box design setup is quite common among similar vehicles in Japan, but the Palette is arguably one of the better executed versions.
You might actually argue that the idea for the original Toyota bB (which later became the Scion xB in the US) actually came from the first kei-car vans similar to this one that have been on sale in years in Japan.
So you see, there is the relevance. You've actually gotten it backwards! The kei car came first.
James 5:05PM (9/19/2009)
I'd take this any day over a...Crosstour.
Sean 5:32PM (9/19/2009)
http://palmgoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/the_more_you_know2.jpg
I learned something today
David 8:15PM (9/19/2009)
If by "ugly", you mean amazingly practical, then I agree!
Judy Zik 3:44PM (9/20/2009)
With a maximum 63hp it isn't going to be taking too many corners at high speed. Totally not the purpose. An amazing design for what it is designed for. Efficient urban transport.
Unfortunately car reviewers have convinced everyone in North American that every vehicle has to have thundering hp, handle like it's on rails and take off like a rocket. Add in the marketing departments that have us all convinced we need enough cargo room to haul everything we own while still keeping the kids from having to rub thighs. It would be nice to have more of these realistic urban transport options. Especially when gas prices head back up.
Sean 5:58PM (9/20/2009)
Whoa, I did NOT imply that it would roll because of speed. From the picture it looks like it has a very high center of gravity.
But hey, thanks for assuming that I'm some idiot who thinks everyone takes corners at the 3x the speed I do.
Farmboy 3:59PM (9/19/2009)
Alright guys, this is how they do it in Japan. Take what we would perceive as normal, pull it up, push the ends closer in, and put 12" wheels and tires on it. Great success (sarcasm).
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RamblinReck89 5:45PM (9/19/2009)
Are you sure those are 12s? I'm thinkin' they're a lot closer to 10s.
blue3874 3:59PM (9/19/2009)
Who's bright idea was it to put a white car on white background?
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Smegley 4:08PM (9/19/2009)
I really love kei cars and this thing is cool. A kei minivan!
You guys may get a bit of a chuckle out of these but on the streets and in the parking garages of Tokyo they make a lot of sense. My girlfriend and I keep a Diahatsu Move at her grandparents place in Japan to drive when we go there 4 times a year and the thing, gutless as it is, is a load of fun.
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Taglane 4:36PM (9/19/2009)
That thing seriously doesn't look like it can make an angled turn. I'd imagine it's like Tetris.
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Throwback 4:40PM (9/19/2009)
I like how the front passenger seat folds, Ford/Mazda have you seen this for the C-Max and 5?
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mk15 4:59PM (9/19/2009)
People do use their kei cars as a place to sleep.
farmer0904 4:44PM (9/19/2009)
i think it reminds me of a Chevy astro pushed in and yanked upwards , i always thought the Chevy astro was a nice masculine minivan . gm should bring that back for a GMC truck van because it sold well for business that needed a small van for shipping etc and families seem to like it...
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