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It used to be that Toyota left the kei car minivehicle market to its Daihatsu division, but no more: Today saw the Japanese launch of the first passenger minivehicle to be sold under the Toyota brand. It’s called the “Pixis Space” and putters along on a 40 cubic inch engine.
The Pixis Space goes on sale for between 1,120,000 and 1,611,000 yen ($14,670 to $21,100). The latter version comes with four wheel drive and an intercooler-equipped turbo-charged 40 cubic inch engine – in case you want to let the other guys eat Pixies dust. The car is built by Daihatsu for Toyota.
19 Comments on “Pic Of A Pixis...”
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If it were a scooter, it wouldn’t need a license to drive.
Pretty sizable difference between a cc and cu.in. ;)
49cc barely got my Honda Ruckus motorscooter up to 40mph. I can’t imagine how terribly slow a car would be with a 40cc engine!
Hah, yeah, I’m just getting everything wrong today. 0.6 L makes a bit more sense.
I wonder if Toyota would ever consider using Scion as a conduit for kei cars in the US. It would keep the brand from encroaching on other Toyotas.
I’d love to buy a Kei car for scooting around town in, and in Canada I can (it just has to be 15 years old before I can import it).
I think there are a couple of reasons why no Japanese manufacturer has ever brought a Kei car to the US. Firstly I’m not sure there would be any demand for them (they really are incredibly tiny) and secondly I’m not sure they’d stand a chance of passing all the necessary crash tests without extensive redesign work.
You can buy a kei car now and, depending on your state, drive it on the street. If your state allows ATV’s on the street, you can license them as such.
I have a Hijet myself, but unfortunately in IL I have to keep it within a 25mph gated community (like a golf cart).
You can register a Kei car as road going ATV? Seriously? The only Kei sized vehicle which could come anywhere close to ‘ATV’ is the Suzuki Jimny. The rest are just small passenger cars/cargo trucks. That’s nuts.
AWD Turbo? I’m in. Just not in that pink color above.
Too bad there probably wouldn’t be a way to bring this to the US for less than $20K
Toyota could if they thought there was a market for it. The Yaris sells for about the same price in Japan, and we get it for 14k. I guess you’re right though; it would have to be pretty expensive just to cover the cost of federalizing a car that only 10 people will buy.
Kei cars will not make it here unless the safety standards are substantially loosened. Same applies to the content expectations.
These things make sense in crowded Japanese cities and with applicable road tax discounts in place.
Driving one for anything more than a few miles is a torture. Oh, and these things (when fitted with AT) completely refuse to accelerate even with 2 Japanese-size folks onboard, once you turn the AC on.
This would be a great city car for where I live in Truckee. It would allow the 3 people that still have running Subaru Justys to replace them with a comparable car.
AWD Manual with a Hayabusa swap FTW!
Justys are the next class up. And good luck fitting 3 adults into a kei. Or it would be the last time you meet them as friends.
Unless your friends are more of the average Japanese adult size, of course. I’m sure that’s what the manufacturers meant by 4 adults capacity. They don’t have the big burly 6 foot plus, 300lbs Americans in mind.
At 6,000 feet I think that 40 cubic inch engine would wheeze and cough and choke with three adults inside – never mind adult number three would have to be dismembered by the yakuza first.
A powerhouse compared to the first Deux Chevaux 425cc, and bigger than the ’68 and after (602cc). https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/07/review-1975-citroen-2cv/
bring it on!
The original xB returns
Pixis is way more narrow than that. Nissan Cube is exactly the dimensions of the old xB, just to give you an idea.
40 cu. in. is a hair less than the 660 ml that is the statutory maximum for a Kei car.
Holy crap, it’s a Mary Kay Commando Assault vehicle!