Oh, what’s that? You’re looking for a fun but affordable, interesting but usable car? You’re going to want to hop right out of that Miata you’re test driving and get your butt into a Suzuki Cappuccino.
I know it is not safe to leap out of a car on the highway but this is important and imperative. Tuck and roll, my friend, to your nearest automotive importer.
The Cappuccino is kind of like the world’s smallest Dodge Viper, in that it is a long hood/short deck modern interpretation of the brawny, vintage sports car ideal. While the Viper is huge, with an engine larger than some dukedoms the Cappuccino is small, with a three-cylinder and a turbocharger about as big as your phone, as this Cappuccino owner explained to Matt Farah on The Smoking Tire.
The car rev to nine grand, crests 100 horsepower, weighs about 1,480 pounds. More importantly, the car was designed right and apparently drives better than the gullwing Autozam AZ-1 that everyone (myself included) is obsessing over at the moment.
It sort of sounds like the Cappuccino is to the Miata as the Miata is to all other cars: smaller, lighter and more enjoyable than whatever else you’ve driven.
I very much need to test drive one against a Honda Beat. The last Beat I drove felt incredible, and if the Cappuccino is better I’d probably lose my mind.