Suzuki Hustler Gets Rugged ‘Wild Tough’ Edition in Japan

The cutesy Suzuki Hustler kei car gets a new ‘Wild Tough’ trim in Japan

Here at Caricarz.com, we’re a big fan of kei cars, and especially the ability of some Japanese automakers to jazz up their small yet practical little cars. And none of the brands took it further than Suzuki, as displayed by this new rugged version of the Hustler kei car, known as the Suzuki Hustler Wild Tough.

Based on the second-gen Hustler kei car debuted back in 2020, this special Wild Tough trim gains a slew of rugged design touches on the exterior. Key highlights include the new front bumper featuring rugged plastic cladding and chromed inserts, the Hustler lettering on the front hood, the special ‘Tough Wild’ emblem at the tailgate, built-in roof rails, as well as black finishing on the door handles, mirror caps, and the 15-inch alloy wheels this kei car rolls on.

To match its rugged exterior, the Hustler Wild Tough variant comes with some functional adventure equipment. This includes a slew of hidden storage compartments, water-repellent cloth upholstery with military-inspired khaki stitchings for all the seats, as well as the foldable seats that can instantly transform the cabin into a cosy sleeping area for two.

As expected, no changes were made to the powertrain spec, as this new Wild Tough trim is offered to both mild hybrid (MHEV) variants of this kei car. The baseline variant gets a 660 cc 3-cyl nat-asp petrol MHEV mill that delivers 48 HP, while the up-spec model gets a turbocharged version of said MHEV mill, capable of delivering 63 HP. Both featuring the same CVT automatic box, power is sent to the front wheels (FWD) for the former, while the latter comes with an all-wheel drive (AWD) configuration instead.

Currently on sale in Japan, the all-new Suzuki Hustler Wild Tough edition starts at JPY 1.760 million (RM52,822) for the nat-asp FWD model, while the range-topping turbocharged AWD model is tagged higher at JPY 1.972 million (RM59,185). This puts the souped-up Hustler on-par with other rugged kei cars, such as the Daihatsu Tanto FunCross and Mitsubishi Delica Mini.

While the current-gen Hustler only comes with partial electrification, Suzuki revealed that the third-gen model will feature an all-electric variant, which is poised to make its debut in a few years.