Subaru’s Cheapest New Car Is A $7,200 Kei Van With Three Pedals

• Subaru Sambar Van updated in Japan with better safety.
• It gains an optional 9-inch screen and an digital cluster
• The manual workhorse is priced from ¥1,155,000 ($7,200).

Daihatsu refreshed the Hijet Cargo and Atrai not long ago, and Subaru has followed with a matching round of changes for its rebadged twin. The Sambar Van returns with added safety equipment across the range, a digital instrument cluster for the passenger-minded Dias trim, and an optional infotainment screen. The bare-bones manual variant stays put at the bottom of the lineup.

Nothing changes on the outside. The 3,395 mm (133.7 inches) long van keeps its upright, boxy shape, and the base VB trim still rides on tiny steel wheels behind unpainted bumpers. Climb the range and the equipment fills in, with LED headlights, body-colored bumpers, and alloy wheels.

More: Suzuki’s Every PA Still Has Crank Windows, But It Also Has A Manual

At the top sits the Sambar Van Dias, marked out by a grille insert with chrome and black accents, the same treatment worn by its Daihatsu Hijet Atrai twin. Subaru sells the van in a single body style, alongside the mechanically related Sambar Truck that picked up its own update recently.

Inside the four-seat cabin sits a new digital instrument cluster, the “Active Multi-Information Meter,” reserved for the Van Dias trim alone. Touchscreen holdouts can order the new 9-inch infotainment with navigation as a factory-installed option on select trims.

As with all kei models, the focus of the 2026 updates is the improved preventive safety suite. The stereo camera can now detect crossing bicycles and spot oncoming vehicles when turning right at intersections, as well as pedestrians crossing from either direction during left or right turns.

More: Subaru Wants To Send An 8-Year-Old American SUV To The Country That Invented The Kei Car

The kei van is offered with carry-over non-electrified powertrain options. The mid-mounted 660cc three-cylinder engine produces 46 hp (34 kW / 46 PS) in naturally aspirated form and 63 hp (47 kW / 64 PS) in turbocharged flavor. Depending on the trim, the little Subaru comes with a rear-wheel-drive layout or an electronically controlled 4WD setup via a five-speed manual gearbox or a CVT.

The updated Subaru Sambar Van is on sale in Japan, where Subaru is aiming for 230 units a month. Pricing opens at ¥1,155,000 ($7,200) for the entry-level manual RWD workhorse, ¥55,000 ($300) more than before and level with its Daihatsu sibling. The range tops out with the Sambar Van Dias in 4WD and CVT form at ¥2,068,000 ($12,900).

Beyond the near-identical Daihatsu Hijet Cargo and Toyota Pixis Van, the field includes the Suzuki Every, Nissan Clipper Van, Mitsubishi Minicab Van, and the Mazda Scrum Van quadruplets.

Subaru