Suzuki Spacia Gear Debuts as Yet Another Rugged-Looking Kei Car

The all-new Suzuki Spacia Gear debuts in Japan as yet another cutesy yet rugged-looking Kei car.

In recent years, the Japanese automotive market has been infected by the rugged-looking Kei car fever. And this endemic is further spreading today, as the market welcomes yet another rugged-looking Kei car model, known as the Suzuki Spacia Gear.

Not to be confused with the Spacia Papa Boku Kitchen concept unveiled at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon show, the new Spacia Gear features a totally different bodywork compared to the aforementioned concept model. For starters, the Spacia Gear gets a unique front face, featuring rounded LED headlights, chromed vertical slits on the front grille, plus a lower bumper skid plate to give it a more rugged look.

Moving on to the sides, the Spacia Gear comes with protective underbody cladding on the side part, functional roof rails, and rides on 15-inch alloy wheels finished in gunmetal grey. To match its rugged front-end, the Spacia Gear’s tailgate is decked with the same skid plate at the bottom, plus a special ‘Gear’ badge on top of the Spacia nameplate.

On board, the Spacia Gear didn’t deviate much from its standard twin, with the most prominent difference being the water-repellent fabric upholstery used for all the seats and interior trims. Besides the nature-themed interior colourway, the Spacia Gear also comes with a durable cargo space cover, several extra USB charging ports, an optional heated steering wheel, and many more.

Buyers can opt the Spacia Gear with tons of accessories to make it more adventure-ready.

To make this rugged-looking Kei car more adventure-ready, Suzuki Japan offers the Spacia Gear with tons of adventure accessories. This includes special decals on the exterior, a roof rack, a retractable awning, a pet carrier, mosquito nets for the doors and windows, and a cushion set that can transform the interior into a comfortable bed for two.

While Suzuki didn’t reveal the powertrain specs of the Spacia Gear, we can expect this rugged-looking Kei car to have the same specifications as other Spacia models. For reference, the regular Spacia uses a 660 CC 3-cyl engine that is augmented with a 48-volt mild hybrid (MHEV) to deliver either 48 HP or 80 HP. Buyers can also opt for the Spacia with either a FWD or AWD drivetrain choice, with both of them paired with a CVT automatic gearbox as standard.

Pricing of the all-new Suzuki Spacia Gear is slated to be unveiled later this year, which is expected to be slightly higher than the regular Spacia model. Besides the Suzuki Hustler Tough Wild unveiled earlier this year, the Spacia Gear will also be competing with other rugged-looking Kei cars such as the Daihatsu Tanto Funcross and the Mitsubishi Delica Mini.