Combine flair with a not-so-wagon design… meet the Flairwagon!

The Japanese people sure like their kei-cars; it’s a combination of need and nature, to better maneuver through city gridlock and to satisfy their need for cute things. New from Mazda is the Flairwagon – don’t get too excited, it’s for the Japanese market only. Rear passengers gain access through the sliding doors at both sides and with the low floor (340mm), makes going in and out easy. Clearly it has a high roof so the four passengers it can comfortably carry will enjoy plenty of headroom. As usual for kei-cars, particularly in this body form, ease of use and comfort are its main design requirement, as such the rear seats can be folded away while its upper glove box can serve as a mini cooler.

Mazda also provides a special edition IS Limited Edition Flairwagon that comes with an idle-stop system that helps it to achieve 22.2km/L (using the JC08 mode test cycle). It’s not short on convenience too – an easy closure function helps to slide the door closed if the door is in a half-closed position. The sliding door (left side) is powered so the opening and closing can be operated remotely.

The powertrain is an interesting subject here: the engine is small at 660cc but some variants have turbochargers and comes either being front-driven or with all-wheel drive. For efficiency, a CVT gearbox is chosen and that makes the Flairwagon capable of – depending on engine and drive – between 17.2km per litre to 20.8km per litre.