1997 Subaru Sambar Truck · 2WD · 39,900 mi

From our current Subaru stock — a 1997 Subaru Sambar Truck — the paint is down as White, already in the country. It came out of Japan as 2WD with a 5-speed manual transmission. Its chassis number is KS4-130328.

What the KS4 Sambar is

The KS4 is the four-wheel-drive Sambar truck built through the 1990s, and it inherits the layout Subaru stuck with long after everyone else abandoned it: the 658cc EN07 four-cylinder mounted at the very back, behind the rear axle line. Drive runs forward to the front wheels when selected. Four cylinders in a kei engine is the Sambar's signature, and the rear weight bias is why it is the one people pick for traction with an empty bed.

Odometer: 39,900 miles, approximately 64,200 km. Subaru's EN07 is a 658cc inline-four rather than a triple, so it turns over with four smaller reciprocating masses than anything else in the class, and the model's surviving population covers a wide span of readings.

At a glance

• Year: 1997
• Make: Subaru
• Model: Sambar Truck
• Chassis code: KS4
• Drivetrain: 2WD
• Transmission: 5-Speed Manual
• Odometer: 39,900
• Engine: EN07 660 cc
• Colour: White
• Chassis number: KS4-130328
• Body type: Kei Truck / Mini Truck
• Stock reference: BUC38279

In use

A two-wheel-drive Sambar is rear-engined and rear-driven, which is a genuinely unusual thing to say about a pickup. The whole engine assembly sits behind the rear axle, directly above and behind the driven wheels, so the configuration carries a traction advantage that most two-wheel-drive trucks of any size simply do not have.

Below $5,000 you are buying age and mileage rather than specification. What you get for it is a road-registerable vehicle with a real bed and a real cab for less than a decent side-by-side costs.

Buying this one

A 1997 build date places this vehicle beyond the 25-year threshold that governs importing a non-US-market car into the United States. The paperwork side — import documentation and title — is our job, and we deliver anywhere in the US. This listing carries a walkaround video as well as the gallery. The asking price is $4,030 — contact us to reserve it.