Introduction
BROWSE LOW COST HONDA BEAT MODELS
The Honda Beat is a keijidosha or simply Kei (which means light automobile) car manufactured by Honda from 1991 to 1996. Kei cars are the smallest street-legal cars in Japan that were invented in the year 1949. Kei cars have a maximum allowable engine displacement of 660cc which enabled owners to pay less on tax and insurance.
Over the years, some automakers like Honda have built unconventional sports cars that fall in the Kei car class. The Honda Beat is one of a handy of sports cars that fall in the Kei car category; it’s a rear-wheel-drive with a mid-engine layout and a three-cylinder engine. This two-seat roadster was designed by the Italian car design powerhouse Pininfarina.
The Beat was available in two trims, the PP1-100 and PP1-110.
Under the trunk
The Honda Beat is a Kei car, and hence Honda had to make sure the Beat conforms to Kei engine displacement regulations. The Beat is powered by a 0.7-liter (656-cc) three-cylinder with Multi Throttle Responsive Engine Control (E07A MTREC) petrol engine that produces 64 horsepower and 44 lb-ft of torque. Power is transferred to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission as the sole transmission option.
The Beat’s top speed is 140 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 13 seconds. The Beat has an average fuel consumption of 17 km/l.
Exterior
BROWSE LOW COST HONDA BEAT MODELS
The Beat is a compact convertible car. The front end features a good blend of headlights with the front bumper and hood, at the rear; you find small taillights and a rear spoiler. There are air vents at the top of the trunk lid and the rear bumper for allowing air for cooling the engine.
The convertible soft top is manually operated.
Interior
BROWSE LOW COST HONDA BEAT MODELS
Honda kept the Beat’s interior simple as the Beat was built as an economy-minded sports car. The interior features the basic heater and air conditioning controls and beneath it, you find a radio. The instrument panel features simple gauges with white dials. The tachometer is placed at the center, the speedometer to its right, and the fuel and coolant temperature gauges to its left.
Honda Beat comes with zebra print cloth upholstery on the seats and carpets. The seats are tiny such that large drivers might find it hard to fit in the Beat.
BROWSE LOW COST HONDA BEAT MODELS
Practicality
This Beat is a very small car by any standards, as a result, it doesn’t have any extra room for storage. The interior storage space is so limited, while at the front beneath the hood there is only space for a spare tire and at the rear, the trunk is close to the engine, so it gets quite hot! The solution is to travel lightly.
Conclusion
The Honda Beat is such a unique sports car. The likes of Mazda Miata and Toyota MR2 don’t even get close to how tiny the Beat is, and they all look massive when parked next to it. If you’re in the market for a sports car and are looking for something unique, then the Honda Beat should be top of your agenda. The Beat has its flaws such as limited storage space and lack of power, but we still encourage you to consider going for the Beat and have fun.
I am a Telecom & ICT specialist with a career spanning over 15 years in the demanding Tanzanian telecom industry.
I am also an avid DIYer with a good knack for everything technical and a wealth of vocational skills, with automotive being the top, and here I am writing about cars.
In 2017 a guy created a WhatsApp group called MyCar for the sole purpose of members helping each other with all matters regarding cars. I joined this group in 2018, and with my enormous wealth of knowledge regarding cars, and my readiness to share the knowledge with others, I became a top contributor, and that didn’t go unnoticed, as one member thought I was a potential writer and had contacts with Be Forward Japan who were looking for writers then. Fast forward to January 2020, I began writing for the Be Forward blog with 2024 being my fourth year.
As far as I can remember, I love cars, and growing up in the farming and tourist city of Arusha Tanzania in the ’80s and ’90s, I ended up being drawn to the Ranger Rover Classic for leisure and Land Cruiser 70 pickup as a workhorse. These were tough cars then, cars that could take you anywhere any time no matter the weather.
