Design Daihatsu Boon x4

Daihatsu Boon x4 Design

From the outside, the Boon X4 looks like almost any other compact five-door hatch around (save the subtle hood scoop).

Americans may be hard-pressed to distinguish it from a Honda Fit, but there's a lot more here than meets the eye. For starters, the engine is a screamer. Under the Boon X4's small hood is a DOHC, 16-valve, inline four. This is a different animal from the base Boon which comes equipped with either a 1.0-liter engine (codenamed 1KR-FE) or 1.3-liter (K3-VE). The X4 takes the de-stroked version of the latter (from 79.7 mm to 57.5 mm, making it a 1.0-liter) and then adds a turbocharger and intercooler so it can meet the regulations for Japan's kei-car rally series. The result is 133bhp at 7200rpm and 98lb-ft of torque at 3600rpm.

Daihatsu Boon x4 Interior

On the Fuji Speedway course, this is quite evident, especially with the D-Sport. Steering is quick and sharp and the entire car reacts like it's an extension of your body. The first thing you notice is the rigidity of the chassis. The front tires absolutely bite into the tarmac, as the rest of the vehicle follows suit. The balance here is neutral, although it'll understeer through really tight turns. Take a corner extra hard and you'll get the inside rear wheel airborne.

The X4 and D-Sport are especially adept at direction changes. The car's diminutive size (overall length is 142.9 inches with a wheelbase of 96.1 inches) makes it easy and fun to toss through a slalom. And the engine, despite its mediocre output, comes on right when you need it - at the corner exits. It's the type of car that has a modest learning curve, so many will have no problems just jumping in and going fast right away.

After driving the Boon X4 (both normal and D-Sport versions) back-to-back with the WRX STI and Evo IX, it's clear there's a connection between all three. Each provides turbocharged power on demand, with amazing rally-inspired all-wheel-drive handling.

Only the Boon X4 does it on a smaller scale, with a much smaller price (about $15,500 for the normal X4, the price of the D-Sport was unavailable at the time of writing), making it one of the best thrill-for-the-buck (yuk-for-the-yen?) cars in the world. With cars like the Honda Fit and Nissan Versa being sold in the US, perhaps it won't be long until you get to drive the Boon X4.