Mitsuoka Buddy completely sold out for 2021 & 2022

KUALA LUMPUR: Mitsuoka Buddy was first revealed in October, followed by opening up of its ordering books in earlier November. And now we hear that Buddy has been such a hit among the customers that the company announced complete allocations for 2021 and 2022.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Buddy, it is manufactured by Japanese coachbuilder Mitsuoka and like most of its products is quirky looking. Based on Toyota RAV4, the Buddy gets some noticeable American design influences.

As per Car Watch Impress, a Japanese auto portal, Mitsuoka plans to manufacture 50 units of the SUV in 2021 and 150 units in 2022. All these units are booked with a home to go to, all the orders coming in now are placed in 2023 manufacturing quota.

A standard Toyota RAV4 was taken to create Buddy. It is to be noted that all the mechanical bits of the Japanese car were kept intact. Therefore on offer are two Buddy trims, one powered by a 171 PS/207 Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine and other being a 178 PS/221 Nm 2.5-litre hybrid unit.

The petrol variant with front-wheel drive is available for 4.697 million yen (approx. RM 183,497). The range-topping hybrid mill with all-wheel drive option costs 5,899,300 yen (approx. RM 230,467). There are a few add-ons as well that obviously costs extra, for instance, a set of 16-inch aluminium wheels cost 264,000 yen (approx RM 10,314), and for a two-tone paint job, customers would have to pay 484,000 yen (approx RM 18,908).

The exterior shares influences from the old Jeep Grand Wagoneer and the Chevrolet K5 Blazer. In addition, the Buddy gets several unique bits that distinguish it from the standard RAV4. The cabin, on the other hand, draws heavy influences from the RAV4, however, it's hard to miss some new trims and the Mitsuoka badge on the steering.

That’s all about the Mitsuoka Buddy, like it? Well, if you do, you’ll have to wait up until 2023 to get one for yourself.

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