Toyota Passo Sette: Yaris-Sized 7 Seat MPV

That would be perfect for my sister. I'm forwarding her the link. thanks

Mazda5:

Holds 6 adults. I'm 6'5" and can sit comfortably everywhere.

4.6 m long
1.75 m wide

2.3 liter engine 155 hp, 28 mpg freeway.
normal performance for a minivan. 0-60 in ~10 sec.

106 hp would make this Toyota a dog on the freeway when empty. Fully loaded, it'd be dangerously slow. Maybe it'd be ok in Japan, but it has no place on US roads.

Mazda5 rox, tho.

Toyota is brilliant, they are definitely the best car company out there...

Kia also makes a 7 seat wagon called the Rondo. The 2009 base model is about $17,500. It is 4.5 m long and 1.8 m wide with a 2.4 liter engine & 175 hp. The EPA estimates for city/highway mpg are 20/27. Of course, the resale value is not great because it is not a Toyota, Honda, or Nissan but for a family such as mine that likes to pay a car off and drive it til it dies, this is an affordable and more efficient minivan alternative.

I imagine it would be sluggish when it's fully loaded with people.

What are the 7 people supposed to do if they need to pick up some groceries?

This car might seat 7 Oompa Loompas but notice the only 2 full sized humans are in the front seats. Also, as most parents with more than 2 young children can attest, there are few cars with 3 across seating that will actually accommodate 3 kids seats/booster seats. ( I used to think it was a conspiracy between the seat makers and minivan sellers.)

Toyota will sell plenty of these but I doubt they will carry 7 human adults very often (if ever).

I now have 5 kids and am suffering with a 7 passenger minivan. My next vehicle will likely be an Expedition EL. I just wish I could get it in a diesel or better yet a Volt style electric drivetrain.

Now featuring 1/2 as much legroom as an airplane seat!

15.6 (kilometers per liter) = 36.693475 miles per gallon.
Looks like the perfect mom car, taxi a bunch of kids the short distance to school. Drop down the seats to do some chores, or to work. Then with just the family, plenty of space for all the shopping etc.
Would be great for me, plenty room for all my tools but also space for moving the fam on weekends.

No word on mpg, but in the quoted article they do give km/L. So with a little math you can figure out that it will get 36.7mpg which is quite impressive.

I think you are missing the point if you wonder how to fit groceries plus seven passengers. It isn't meant to serve the exact same purpose as a minivan or an SUV. As stated it is more intended for occasional mass-transit. You'd probably fold down the back seats and trasposrt five on a grocery run.

You might as well complain that you can't carry nine passengers and tow a boat.

I often wonder with cars like this, how they fare in a rear impact? Would this vehicle pass US crash tests? I'd hate to be in the back seat when someone in a Surburban runs into it! (I'm not trying to suggest we should all drive Surburbans for safety reasons, I'd actually like to see large vehicles like that banned for safety reasons, but I digress).

-p

"...it will get 36.7mpg which is quite impressive."

Not really. That rating is based on the Japanese 10-15 mode cycle which doesn't give realistic numbers. It is run at speeds of only 20-70 km/h (12-43 mph).

For comparison, in the same test the Prius was rated at 35.5 km/l or 83.5 mpg, but it is only 46 mpg combined in the EPA test cycle, which is pretty close to the average real-world numbers for US drivers.

vboring- Where do people get the idea that low hp means a car is incapable of highway speed? People always marveled that my 93' Ford Escort would go 80 with 5 people, a loaded trunk and a canoe. Low hp might mean slow acceleration when fully loaded but I've never been in a car that couldn't reach highway speeds.

Shaun- Please, please check functional interior room before getting an SUV. I worked for a hotel for a while and the owners decided that SUVs had more room so they bought a Suburban to replace our Town & Country. It was terrible. I couldn't fit the same amount of gear (forget about tossing in a couple hockey bags) and the passengers in the last row always complained about the leg room. I've never known an SUV to have better cargo/passenger capacity than a mini-van.

ANSWER: The FORD (europe) S-MAX

seats 7 in comfort

range of engines from frugal to 225 bhp 2.5T that does 0-60 in under 8 secs and still does over 30mpg.

beats all the others hands down

IF YOU WANT TO SAVE FORD USA (and achieve between 32-48mpg) REPLACE THE ENTIRE PRODUCT LINE WITH WHAT WE DRIVE IN EUROPE.

check out
www.smaxownersclub.co.uk

Ford has said that they are bringing several vehicles from Europe to the US, but haven't said which models. The S-Max is suspected to be one of them. I do hope that's the case.

the usa version should get the 1.8cc. it is just as economical as the 1.5cc & has the extra omph for usa highways.

toyota make a bad mistake with the original scion xb. they could had sold double the xbs if they only included a 1.8cc.

this car is doomed to failure in the usa.

Though gas prices have dropped recently there is a lot of money to be made for the car companies who develop green technology. It's right in front of them. Wondering if one of the AMerican companies will just in

Toyota already sells a 7 passenger MPV called the Picnic... 4 cylinder, 4 spd auto, 142hp. I was in Hong Kong over the holidays and saw it. Looks sweet... didn't get a chance to ride it but if it's a Toyota car-based platform, it'll sell.

I'd much rather have the Mazda 5. There is a point where a vehicle becomes too small and the Mazda is already pretty tiny! Mazdas are also more fun to drive due to better handling and are also very inexpensive. The problem with the Mazda is they don't spend any money on advertising so few people know about it. I guess it doesn't matter since they still sell out!

Toyotas, in my experience, are overrated. My dad's brand new Rav4 is the worst riding vehicle I have ever driven. The biased automotive press never mantioned that fact in all the articles on the Rav! If it had an American logo on the hood it would have been ripped apart. Don't believe me, go drive one - you feel every bump in the road twice! First when the tire meets the bump and second when the suspension overreacts to it.

BTW. For the individual with the strange idea that SUVs should be outlawed for safety reasons... We had a driver killed locally in a Ford Expedition when it was hit by none other than a cement truck! My wife was almost killed in an accident where she was driving a Ford Festiva and was broadsided by a paper truck. The passenger seat literally folded in half and the passenger side door panel was touching the stick shift! Luckily there was no passengers in the car with her. Seat belts and air bags were useless in both these cases. "Bigger" doesn't always = "safer" but more times than not the smaller vehicle loses! Getting rid of SUV won't make any sense until you get rid of every other giganitc vehicle on the road.

Well,
I did not leave a comment here or anywhere else on bloggs.
But this is ...
The car is basically the Toyota Corolla Verso (minus 20cm), which is on German streets for the last 5 years (minimum).
So to answer the crash test remark (I am sure it will make it).
The engine should be strong enough to drive on the Autobahn as well.
All in all I am really annoyed by the companies for bringing out only select models in different countries. And yes, I have lived in 3 different (going on 4) and traveled over 30.

Just offer the same cars in all countries to the equivalent price and let the customers deside what they wanna buy.

Michael Graham Richard, thank you for the post, maybe you agree with me since you weren't able to find the Verso either.