Suzuki concepts raise a smile

One of the great things about the Toyko motor show is that it always yields a crop of entertainingly imaginative kei car concepts.

Kei cars are tiny in body and engine. Japan’s tax laws make them immesely popular in their own market, where they account for almost 40% of all cars sold.

Designed with city driving in mind, kei cars spend a lot of time in traffic jams.

Hence the Suzuki Air Triser, a tiny MPV whose occupants can ‘enjoy their time together not only on the move but also while they're stationary’.

It’s like a private lounge on wheels, you see. It somehow manages to pack three rows of seats into its compact body, and when you’re parked up they can be rearranged to create a big sofa. Perfect for kicking back and enjoying the show on the car’s multimedia screen.

The sparsely chic, everything’s-digital interior is accessed via two sliding doors on the left-hand side of the car, which open out almost the whole length of the cabin. When they’re shut, the Air Triser’s styling is such that you might struggle to work out which end is which.

That’s not a problem you’ll have with Suzuki’s other kei concept, the Mighty Deck. On account of it has a (mighty) deck at the back.

This one’s a bit SUV-like in approach and is all about outdoor leisure. The roof can be retracted to let in the rays and the rear opens out on to the aforementioned deck, below which is a storage space for your beach towels and flip-flops.

Once again, it’s all digital in the cabin, with a dedicated display for tunes and navigation. Elsewhere it’s a little less unconventional than the Air Triser, albeit with a square steering wheel for people who wish their car was more like an Austin Allegro.