Rare Rides: Are You O-kei With This 1996 Suzuki Alto Works?

Corey Lewis
by Corey Lewis

Back in May of 2017, we showcased our first Suzuki(s) in a mixed Crapwagon Collection not often seen in the wild. Suzuki was our discussion once more when we featured a kei trucklet called the Mighty Boy.

Now we talk Suzuki once again, with a Works version of the Alto.

The Alto name was initially developed for the basic cargo van version of Suzuki’s Fronte kei model, which was popular in the Japanese Domestic Market. When the time came to export the Fronte to other places, Suzuki decided to use the Alto name for every other market outside of Japan. The Fronte name would carry on in the Japanese market through the third-generation Alto in 1989.

The fourth-generation Alto is our subject today, on sale around the globe between 1995 and 1999. The third-generation Alto had morphed into many different body styles during its tenure, with multiple trim variants of each. Suzuki desired a more simplified offering in this generation, paring offerings down to a three- or five-door hatchback and a cargo van.

Always a fan of four-wheel drive, it was an option on the Alto, with standard models driving only the front wheels. An inline-three cylinder engine of 657 or 658 cc displacement was offered, with up-level offerings utilizing turbochargers for a few extra ponies.

According to the listing, this Alto has the mid-range F6A turbo engine, producing 61 horsepower. That’s okay when you have just 1,500 pounds to motivate.

The sportiest versions of the Alto wore the Works badge. Introduced in 1984 and lasting through the year 2000, Works vehicles had sport features not found on standard versions, and usually gained a bit more power.

Today’s example is a Works ie/s, well-equipped with power windows, locks, steering, air conditioning, and automatic transmission. This one appears to be a Limited trim, as it contains all those features.

In the kei class, pretty much everything is an optional extra unless you purchase a special version.

This Alto has been imported from Japan into the enlightened importation country of England, which is near France. With 67,000 miles on the odometer, the seller is asking around $3,800. Is that within what you’d pay for kei?

[Images via seller]

Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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  • Statikboy Statikboy on Feb 22, 2018

    Available for importation to Canada. If it were manual, I'd be all over... no, wait! Gosh Darn It! It looks like it has crabs.

  • Big Wheel Big Wheel on Feb 23, 2018

    That seat fabric pattern hurts my eyes. And those rims are tiny. What are are - 15" max?

    • See 1 previous
    • Corey Lewis Corey Lewis on Jan 17, 2019

      @Daniel Smith Good to hear from an eventual owner!

  • The Oracle Well, we’re 3-4 years in with the Telluride and right around the time the long term durability issues start to really take hold. This is sad.
  • CoastieLenn No idea why, but nothing about a 4Runner excites me post-2004. To me, they're peak "try-hard", even above the Wrangler and Gladiator.
  • AZFelix A well earned anniversary.Can they also attend to the Mach-E?
  • Jalop1991 The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged due to suspected improper assembly by the supplier. Over time, partial engagement can cause damage to the intermediate shaft splines. Damaged shaft splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while in Park if the parking brake is not engagedGee, my Chrysler van automatically engages the parking brake when we put it in Park. Do you mean to tell me that the idjits at Kia, and the idjit buyers, couldn't figure out wanting this in THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLE????
  • Dukeisduke I've been waiting to see if they were going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary. I was four years old when the Mustang was introduced. I can remember that one of our neighbors bought a '65 coupe (they were all titled as '65 models, even the '64-1/2 cars), and it's the first one I can remember seeing. In the '90s I knew an older gentleman that owned a '64-1/2 model coupe with the 260 V8.
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