Daihatsu quietly turned its budget kei crossover into a safety overachiever
The 2026 Taft update pushes pedestrian-detection braking to 80 km/h, adds cyclist and turning-traffic recognition, and throws in a bold new orange paint job.
Daihatsu could have simply added a new paint color and called it a day. Instead, the Taft kei crossover just received a Japan-market update that looks modest on paper but meaningfully upgrades the one thing that actually saves lives. The refresh touches safety, the instrument cluster and exterior trim, and the lineup now includes two special editions, Rugged Venture and Active Mode. The base price is 1,435,500 yen — roughly €7,800.
Here’s where it gets interesting. The headline change is an upgraded Smart Assist safety suite, and the improvements aren’t cosmetic. The system now recognizes cyclists crossing the vehicle’s path, oncoming cars during right turns, and pedestrians when the car is turning. The maximum speed at which the pedestrian-collision-prevention function engages has jumped from 60 to 80 km/h — a real difference, pushing the system from “city street” territory into highway range. Daihatsu also sharpened the accuracy of the adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist.
Inside, there’s a new 7-inch TFT display paired with a digital speedometer. A small detail? Maybe. But details like this are exactly what make a budget kei car stop looking quite so budget. The color palette also gains a new Spark Orange shade. The engine lineup, meanwhile, is untouched: a naturally aspirated or turbocharged 0.66-liter unit, a CVT, and a choice of front- or all-wheel drive — no surprises there.
The Rugged Venture trim gets darkened trim pieces, silver accents, gunmetal wheels, and a removable organizer under the trunk floor — clearly aimed at owners who haul more than groceries. Active Mode takes a different route: mostly black trim, with an optional orange decal package and extra exterior accents available for a fee. One for those who want restraint, one for those who want to stand out.
Standard Taft versions run from 1,435,500 to 1,831,500 yen — about €7,800 to €9,900. The Rugged Venture is priced at 1,705,000–1,914,000 yen, roughly €9,200–10,300, while the Active Mode costs 1,721,500–1,930,500 yen, or about €9,300–10,400. The model is built for the Japanese market, where it qualifies for the country’s favorable kei-car tax class.