##daihhij.jpg --Right##THE Japanese-designed, Italian-built Daihatsu Hijet's 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine has been replaced by a 1.3-litre, 16-valve four-cylinder unit. As a result, power output is up by 36% to 64bhp, maximum torque is lifted by 30% to 73lb-ft at 2,800rpm, and because the engine doesn't need to work as hard as its predecessor operators can expect a fuel saving of about 4%.

And Daihatsu UK has frozen prices: both van and pick-up versions of the 1.3 Hijet cost £6,700 before VAT, road fund licence and first registration fee. Until import quota restrictions on Japanese-built vehicles are lifted in 2000, Daihatsu has the UK micro market virtually sewn up. General Motors pulled out of the sector in 1993 when it stopped building its Rascal version of the Suzuki Supercarry at Luton.

Suzuki itself stopped home production of the ageing 1.0-litre Supercarry van this year, but a brand new Carry microvan, with a 1.3-litre petrol engine, will make its world debut at the Brussels Motor Show in January and go on sale here in March.

Meanwhile, Daihatsu is going all out to imprint on UK operators' minds Hijet as the micro van. The importer has shown how adaptable it can be: it has dabbled with an LPG-only van to test the green waters, offered a 1.2-litre diesel engine for a while, and even produced a motor caravan conversion, the Hijetta. While the diesel and mono-LPG are not likely to resurface, a dual-fuel LPG-petrol model is under development and there is a six-seater MPV variant.

Daihatsu aims to consolidate the Hijet with the strength of its aftersales package, which includes an excellent three-year warranty, 12 months' RAC cover and six-year anti-perforation corrosion warranty. As part of a business support programme, dealers offer customers flexible finance, fixed price insurance, and a replacement Hijet while their own goes in for service.

For our first drive with the new 1.3-litre we used a Pick-up. The previous engine was gutsy enough, although it needed spirited gear stirring to keep up the momentum with a load. Additional torque at lower revs makes the new unit a much more flexible animal for the stop-start nature of urban delivery work, and because of its light kerb weight - just 790kg compared with the Van's 915 - it is nippy.

One drawback to that extra power is that, unladen, the Pick-up can become lively on corners and on wet surfaces despite the stabilising nature of a mid-slung engine with drive to the rear wheels. Driven with due care and attention, the 1.3 sounds and feels refined and, by pick-up standards, quiet. It is at its calmest cruising between 50 and 60mph, although it is capable of more than 80mph.

The Pick-up seems well put together. There's a commendable absence of rattles and squeaks from the dropsides, but its micro dimensions don't inspire crash-protection confidence. Brakes are discs front and drums rear and there is a load-sensing proportioning valve which adjusts braking characteristics depending on the weight carried. Suspension is by MacPherson-type struts at the front and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear, with a rigid rear axle. Steering is non-assisted rack and pinion, but it is light, making the 7.4m turning circle reasonably easy going.

Space in the Pick-up cab is limited. Neither the seats nor the steering wheel are adjustable for height or reach, which means well-insulated or tall drivers could find getting comfortable a problem and getting in and out (particularly on a town delivery run) awkward. A radio is an extra in the Hijet, windows are manual, and there's no central locking or airbag. It has cloth trim, head restraints, carpeted floor, a glovebox (not lockable), two-speed wipers plus intermittent wipe, locking fuel cap and front and rear mud flaps.

The Van has 'luxuries' like a heated rear window, reclining seats, and a rear wash-wipe. Its advantage over the Pick-up shows in the sales figures, but for those who want a cheap 760kg micro flatbed with two drop sides and a drop tail, there's little else around - and not likely to be until at least 2000.

However, if the drops are not an absolute must a CDV pick-up like the 605kg payload Skoda Felicia priced from £6,149, excluding VAT, is well worth considering. It, too, has a three-year warranty, and there is the choice of 1.3-litre and 1.6-litre petrol engines and a 1.9-litre diesel.