Honda Acty

Honda Acty
Overview
Manufacturer	Honda
Also called	Honda Vamos
Production	1977–present
Body and chassis
Class	Microvan kei truck
Body style	5-door Van 2-door Pickup truck
Layout	Mid-engine, rear-wheel drive / four-wheel drive.
Powertrain
Engine	545 cc EH SOHC 2-cylinder (1977-1988) 547 cc E05A SOHC I3 (1988-1990) 656 cc E07A SOHC I3 (1990-1999) 656 cc E07Z SOHC I3 (1999-current)
Transmission	3-speed automatic (1977-current) 4-speed automatic (1999-current) 4-speed manual (1977-1999) 5-speed manual (1977-current)
Dimensions
Wheelbase	1,900 mm (74.8 in) (4th gen)
Length	3,395 mm (133.7 in) (4th gen)
Width	1,475 mm (58.1 in) (4th gen)
Height	1,745 mm (68.7 in) (truck 4th gen) 1,895 mm (74.6 in) (van)
Curb weight	820 kg (1,807.8 lb) (truck 4th gen) 710 kg (1,565.3 lb) (van)
Chronology
Predecessor	Honda Life (van & truck) Honda TN360 Honda TN-V Honda TN-7

The Honda Acty is a series of microvans and kei trucks by Japanese automaker Honda, designed for the Japanese domestic market. "Acty" is short for "Activity".

The Acty competes with the Subaru Sambar, Suzuki Carry, Daihatsu Hijet, and the Mitsubishi Minicab.

History

The first Acty trucks were introduced July 27, 1977, and replaced several Kei trucks Honda had previously offered, such as the (Japanese: Honda TN360) and the Honda T360. September 1, 1975, the Japanese Government revised the rules on Road Trucking Vehicle Law that regulated the dimensions and engine size of vehicles in this class. As a result, the first Acty trucks and vans were available with a "midship" mounted 545 cc 2-cylinder SOHC water-cooled engine, known as the EH engine, which produces 28 PS (20.6 kW; 27.6 bhp) at 5500 rpm and 4.2 kg·m (41 N·m; 30 lb·ft) at 4000 rpm. The van was introduced November 1979, although a panel van with a boxy rear was available from the beginning (TB).^[1]

They are designed to be economical, agile work vehicles, and generally lack luxury options, although air conditioning and power steering are available along with various trim, decoration, and customization options. The first generation was produced from 1977 to 1988 (model series TA,TB,TC,VD,VH), the second generation's years were 1988-1999 (model series HA1, HA2, HH1, HH2 with the E05A engine; HA3, HA4, HA5, HH3, HH4 with the EN07A engine) and the third generation's years were 1999-2009 (model series HA6, HA7, HH5, HH6 with E07Z engine) appeared May 28, 1999 and the van is still in production. The fourth generation was introduced at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show in 2009 on December 17, showing the HA8 series and continuing to use the E07Z engine.

An upper trim level of the Acty was introduced February 1, 1981, called the (Japanese: Honda Street) and was produced for two generations of the Acty van until 1999 when the Honda Vamos name was reintroduced as a replacement trim level for the Street on a shared platform of the Acty van. The second generation engine saw the introduction of the Honda E07A engine and an additional cylinder was added, making it a 660 cc 3-cylinder with SOHC adding fuel injection in 1996. This engine produced 38 PS (27.9 kW; 37.5 bhp) at 5,300 rpm, and 5.5 kg·m (54 N·m; 40 lb·ft) at 4,500 rpm.

Starting with model year 1985, the Acty/Street was exclusive to Japanese dealerships established for small and commercial vehicles, called Honda Primo.

On September 30, 1996, the Japanese Government amended the Enforcement Regulations Vehicle Law, Ministerial Ordinance No. 53, which addressed safety requirements for front passengers, but the dimensions regulations didn't change, so Honda pushed the driving position back while keeping the engine in its traditional location underneath the vehicle. The engine was upgraded to the current 660 cc 12-valve straight-3 E07Z gasoline engine making 53 PS (39.0 kW; 52.3 bhp) at 7000 rpm and 6.2 kg·m (61 N·m; 45 lb·ft) at 4000 rpm (4WD models). Currently, the maximum payload is 200 kg (440.9 lb).

The base price of the pickup model is ¥777,000 (approximately $7,920 USD), with the van starting at ¥1,060,500 (approximately $10,810 USD) as of December 2008. The base model is mid-engine, rear drive. Four-wheel drive is available as an option on all vans, and all but one model of pickup truck, making the Acty one of a handful of mid-engine, AWD vehicles that are not designed as supercars.

Australian versions

As a bit of an oddity, the Acty was sold during 1982 in Australia, but was made unavailable inside of Sydney due to concerns by Honda that the vehicle was under-powered for the hilly terrain.

Gallery

1983 Honda Acty (1st gen)  1985 Honda Street (1st gen)  1992 Honda Acty van (2nd gen)  1992 Honda Acty truck (2nd gen)  1998 Honda Acty van (3rd gen)  1999 Honda Acty truck (3rd gen)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Honda Acty.

• Honda Acty Truck webpage
• Honda Acty Van webpage
• Honda Acty Street and Truck Specifications via Kei Cars Canada
• ThisOldHonda.org Acty
• Honda Acty Talk and Information

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Japanese Wikipedia.