Taking our Sunday walk recently, the wife and I played a little game we sometimes engage in – count the car we most frequently encounter in our small suburb here in Tokyo. The winner, at nine sightings, was the Toyota Probox. That fact may speak more broadly to our mostly middle-class neighborhood…in other more affluent areas of Tokyo (like where Tatra87 lives, lucky guy…), you’d probably find a flock of G-Wagons…
And you likely can’t find a more polar opposite to a G-Wagon than a Probox. The Probox is a subcompact five-door wagon, mostly used as a commercial vehicle. It’s a favorite of fleet managers, tradesmen, and delivery services – because it’s very reliable and very inexpensive. According to Toyota’s Japanese website, the cost of a basic Probox DX with a 1.3 liter four cylinder engine is 1,399,200 yen, which at the current exchange rate is approximately $13,400.
And basic it is…I’m not sure I’ve seen a dash this bare since the 1960’s. No Nav, no CD, just a radio. Well, this is Japan, so rather than jammin’ to your tunes, your boss would prefer you to be thinking about that leaky water pipe you’re enroute to fix.
Basic are the underpinnings also – struts up front and a trailing link axle in the back. Carrying capacity is 400 kilograms. Engine options are the 1.3, a 1.5, and a 1.5 Hybrid. First generation models could be had with a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic – the current model comes only with a CVT.
The Probox was introduced in 2002 – and the first gen was made unchanged until 2014. It received a mild styling update and the second generation has been in production since. It is actually assembled by Daihatsu, in its Oyamazaki plant in Kyoto. It’s one of the few models the Toyota subsidiary assembles for its parent that doesn’t have a Daihatsu equivalent.
And as a Toyota (Daihatsu), it excels at what it was designed to do; get you and your sales presentation, tools, delivery items, or other stuff from Point A to B. Consequently, it’s a familiar sight on streets throughout Japan.
And this being Japan, it even has fans in the “tuner crowd”…
Other Posts:
Another Obscure Little Wagon from Toyota; the Probox by Paul N.
To my American eyes, this looks like an amalgam of first-gen Highlander, Scion xB, and Ford Transit Connect. But why would something usually used as a commercial van have a back seat and hinged rear doors on both sides? I mean sure, any station wagon/estate or crossover with its back seat folded down can be used as a cargo van, but it’s not ideal for the purpose.
I probably should have mentioned, you can get it as a two-seater with no back seat and a flat floor. As for the doors, my guess is they are cheaper than sliding ones and work for 90% of the intended market. Toyota makes a larger TownAce work van with sliding doors for those with that need.
I like it. It’s like a Japanese Dacia Logan MCV.
Yes it is. I find both of them rather compelling.
So why do Europe and Japan get vehicles like this but not the US?
The nearest US equivalents are ProMaster City and Transit Connect
Neither offers hybrid or 4WD versions
https://toyota.jp/probox/
The four versions are:
F 1.5L Hybrid
DX 1.3L
GL 1.5L 2WD
DX Comfort 1.5L 4WD
“F 1.5L Hybrid” is a better looking and more functional (though perhaps less aerodynamic) Prius.
I like it. Simple but effective. Seeing these pictures now, I believe I saw a couple of these for sale at a used ex-JDM car lot in Palau (small pacific island that gets a lot of used cars from Japan). At the time I had no idea what they were, other than simple commercial-ish vehicles not sold in the US.
In hindsight, I’m a little surprised that these never made it to the US. In the early days of the Great Crossover Boom, they could have jacked these up a few inches, put on some body cladding, found a larger engine for it, and sold them in the US as a compact SUV before the CH-R came along.
Possibly even still now as a 180 from the too-overstyled CH-R which has been a sales dud.
Wow, I even took pictures.
I also took a picture of the interior but it was too dark and didn’t come out.
These are the F150 of Tokyo and presumably the rest of the country. And there’s a Nissan competitor too that’s the Silverado although it’s not quite as well done and a little less boxy but almost as common. Not sure who the RAM is. 🙂
It’s more or less a space optimized 1990 Corolla wagon, slightly plus sized. I too am a fan, good to see it seeing its second day in the sun on this site.
The “Silverado” (Nissan NV150 AD)
Agree. Not as well done as ProBox
https://www3.nissan.co.jp/vehicles/new/nv150ad.html?rstid=20180330rst000000031
That’s the one. It looks FAR more dynamic in your linked page than in real life. Never saw a blue one either, all seemed either white or silver.
I’d say the ‘RAM’ is probably the long discontinued Honda Partner or the long gone Mitsubishi Lancer Cargo, before it became a Nissan rebadge then died. Everything else of that class I can think of from recent history is either a rebadged version of the Toyota or the Nissan.
So I see the very common square, paper, one liter green tea box tucked into the dash. Do domestic cars have a purpose made holder for those very common drink containers?
In all my trips to Japan I don’t think I have ever seen a privately-owned Probox. I suspect even dealer would look at you like you were crazy if you expressed interest in one. I can hear them saying, “This is not done.”
I haven’t seen many square-type holders like this Douglas, but the round ones fit most of these carton containers. I haven’t rode in a lot of trucks so they may be more prevalent in commercial vehicles.
I have seen a few (very few) privately owned Proboxes – the owners must be real fans since for a couple thousand more you can get a much nicer Corolla Wagon.
Pro Box. Well the name certainly checks out. I guess the most similar we have had was the Chevy HHR panel, but even that isn’t as practical as this.
I wondered what these were I drive past a row of them for sale quite often various colours $9999 take your pick, unless they have an endless supply nobody is, I havent noticed any on the road yet, but we are mainly a motorway fleet and the Probox is a round town device.
I wanted to rent one when I was in Japan but the rental guy looked at me like I was daft
It’s a little pretentious and over-styled, but apart from those excesses, I really like this car.
Easy to get in and out, excellent visibility, a dash that isn’t an obscure computer monitor, Toyota-lux build, and a certain anti-style style. It’s literally all the car many folk would ever need, and one you’d buy to keep till your expiry date rather that its.
Also, it’s far roomier than the pics might suggest, as the brochure says under the one of the dash, “It’s really easy for workers to use. Thorough pursuit around the driver’s seat.”
Name another car where you can do that!
Lots of privately owned ones, but mostly contractors. Seriously the only reason I don’t have one is that my wife would have a cow.
Didn’t get to this before I posted:
https://toyota.jp/pages/contents/request/webcatalog/probox/probox_main_202008.pdf
It has a 4wd version and a nice blue. Might lean on the wife when our second car gives up the ghost (or the transmission, in the case of this inherited Nissan albatross.)