1996 Subaru Sambar 4WD, 2Hi-4Hi, Extra Low Gear, 5MT#BUC13582

Currently available: a 1996 Subaru Sambar 4WD, finished in Polar White, imported by us from Japan. The chassis code on this one is KS4. We have it on file as stock number 455-5B, chassis KS4-289626.

Background: the Sambar 4WD

Subaru's Sambar was the first ordinary kei truck and cab-van offered with four-wheel drive, from 1980. Sambars turn up in more colours than most kei trucks because Subaru sold plenty to private buyers as well as to trades; this one is Polar White. Every Subaru-built Sambar is a full cab-over, which is precisely how Subaru got a longer cargo bed than its rivals onto the same overall length.

1996 Subaru Sambar 4WD: engine, gearbox and running gear

Under it is the EN07, a 660cc 4-cylinder engine. Because the EN07 is a four rather than a three, the firing intervals are closer together and the engine is noticeably less busy at speed — a difference you can hear from the driver's seat. Behind the Polar White bodywork sits a manual gearbox. Listed drivetrain equipment includes an extra-low crawler gear and selectable 2WD / 4WD high.

Recorded condition of this 1996 Sambar 4WD

The odometer reads 32,530. The source recorded no unit alongside that figure, so 32,530 is reproduced exactly as stored rather than converted.

Where a Sambar 4WD earns its keep

A Sambar 4WD is not a substitute for a full-size pickup so much as a replacement for the trips where a full-size pickup was always overkill. This 1996 Sambar 4WD spent its working life on Japanese registration, where a light goods vehicle faces its first statutory shaken inspection at two years and another every two years after that. It is listed at $12,900.