The Best & Weirdest Kei Car Names: Mighty Boy, Naked & More
by AutoExpert | 15 August, 2025
Okay, so here's the thing about car names. If you're Mercedes or BMW, you can literally call your car "X7 M50i" and people will still throw money at you because it's got that fancy badge. Nobody cares what those letters and numbers actually mean.
But what if you're making these adorable little Japanese kei cars that are smaller than most golf carts? Well, then you better come up with names that'll stick in people's heads. And boy, do these Japanese automakers deliver.

Car folks recently got into a heated debate about which kei car has the coolest name, and honestly? Every single answer was gold.
The Ones That Made Everyone Laugh
Take the Suzuki Mighty Boy. Picture this: it's a pickup truck so small you could probably fit it in the back of an actual pickup truck, and they called it "Mighty Boy." The audacity is just chef's kiss.

Then there's the Suzuki Every Joy Pop Turbo. This name sounds like what happens when a rainbow gets caffeinated and decides to make cars. It's a van, but it's got "Joy Pop" right there in the name, plus it's turbocharged because why the hell not?

The Subaru Vivio is actually pretty clever – it's based on Roman numerals for 660 (the engine size limit for kei cars). So "VI-VI-O" becomes Vivio. Nerdy? Absolutely. Brilliant? Also absolutely.

The Hilariously Honest Ones
The Daihatsu Move might be the most refreshingly straightforward car name ever. Cars move. This one's called Move. Done. No fancy marketing team needed.
Meanwhile, the Honda Life has probably caused more jokes than any car in history. "Dude, you need to get a Life!" became way too easy when Honda literally made a car called Life. And when they made a sportier version? They called it the Life Dunk. Because of course they did.

The Daihatsu Naked just owns what it is – completely stripped down and honest about it. No pretense, no fancy features, just naked transportation.
The Complete Madness
But the real winner might be the Mitsubishi Minica Dangan Turbo. One enthusiast pointed out that the nameplate is basically as wide as the entire car. It's like they ran out of room on the car before they ran out of name ideas.

There's also gems like the Suzuki Cappuccino (perfect for a tiny sports car), the Honda Beat (short, punchy, memorable), and the Mitsubishi Minica Skipper which just sounds friendly as hell.

Why This Actually Matters
Here's what's wild – while American car companies play it safe with names like Accord and Camry, these tiny Japanese cars figured out something important: a great name makes people smile before they even drive the thing.
When you hear "Every Joy Pop Turbo," you're already having more fun than you would with "Civic LX." These kei car makers aren't afraid to be weird, playful, or completely ridiculous with their names. And honestly? That's exactly why people love these little cars so much.