We've heard of the Suzuki Whizzkid, but what about the Mighty Boy?

The Suzuki Mighty Boy. The answer to the question that no Australian was asking at the time - “Why can’t I have a cheap, slow, dangerous and stupidly small Utility?”.

Even though the Mighty Boy looks silly, is slow and is not all that safe to drive (it was rated as one of the most dangerous cars to ever be allowed on Australian roads), I genuinely do enjoy driving it.

With a 543cc 3 cylinder engine producing just 28 horse power (when new), connected to a 4 speed manual transmission driving the front wheels, the Mighty Boy may seem a little on the sluggish and almost pointless side of things. Who would buy one of these cars? My parents of course, in fact they bought two of them.

They may seem cute and playful, but also ridiculous others, the Mighty Boy is very fun car to drive from my point of view. It is the same height and width as an original Mini (give or take 5 millimetres) and only 19 centimetres longer than one, it is obviously small but also light, weighing in at just 530kg (1170lbs). With only 2800 ever imported to Australia (and a couple to Cyprus) and an estimated 300 remaining in the country, they are a rare sight.

And the half a litre engine does move it along, at least until you reach 65 kilometres an hour, past that point it is as if there is no acceleration. But this means it is perfect for city driving, if you don’t mind the manual in traffic. However it does eventually reach 120 kilometres an hour (75mph), if you have a tail wind and a straight downhill road. The throbby-braap of the little carburetted 3 pot at 3500-4500 rpm is a very satisfying sound, especially when you hear it multiple times as you accelerate through the gears, even if it is just to the next set of lights. It’s also reassuring that your little buzzbox only does 15Km/L (35mpg).

The steering is go-kart like with rack and pinion steering, no need for power steering as it is so light, which gives surprisingly good feedback through the wheel. With a newly refurbished master cylinder and new brake pads, the brakes, which aren’t power boosted, do stop you adequately.

Suspension is the usual strut tower, coil and shock absorber combo with a lower control arm up front, but in the rear is a solid axel with single leaf, leaf springs on either side. This makes the ride uncomfortable on anything other than a perfect road.

It does show that the car was originally sold new for only $5495, inside is unfortunately under equipped. The dash readouts show only a speedometer, fuel gauge and engine temperature; along with the usual oil and brake warning lights, mine has an aftermarket tachometer. The only radio available was AM with one speaker, there was never any air-conditioning available, the seats aren’t the comfiest with their low slung seating position, which in mine, are permanently reclined too far backward.

There is space though, more space than you would imagine. The pedals are close together and in the centre of the car but you can drive somewhat comfortably if you’re tall. There is also much more than just a parcel shelf behind the rear seats, enough to squeeze another person in if they’re keen.

Overall, for me at least, it is a very fun car. It is never boring to drive, you can chuck it around corners, drive it as fast as it will go, rev the daylights out of the little 3 banger, all within the speed limit. If you don’t mind the engine squelch and the wind noise on the highway then the Suzuki Mighty boy is a truly enjoyable experience.