This car is like a yaris/vitz, but the passenger side is a full sliding door for easier access for disabled people i believe. I was wondering if anyone has any information on their reliability, how many were made, and how easy it would be to find a first gen to import to the US when it becomes legal. I would also like to know if maintenance parts are cross compatible with the yaris we got in the states. Any personal testimonies about the car and its reliability, practicality, features aside from the door, etc. is also appreciated!
by NeonUFO
3 Comments
The first gen is a two door (3 if you count the rear). It has a good amount of space inside. IMO You would be better off getting parts directly from Japan.
I had no idea this vehicle existed before this post, but with some googling it seems like the 1.5l engine may be the same motor in a Yaris. Doesn’t mean all engine parts would be compatible but it’s a start. Some other parts would probably be cross compatible but you would have to do digging and cross reference part numbers.
As it’s based on the Yaris, reliability should be similar. And the Yaris I do have first hand experience with. My mother has owned an 08 since new. It has about 260k miles on it and will not die. Has been hit a handful of times, has had nothing but the most basic of maintenance done to it. It’s been offroaded, done massive burnouts, and my mom once drove it down a river, well it was a dirt road that was flooded and she ran over a tree branch then. The car looks like it has been through war, she just came up to visit, it’s a 15 hour trip both ways, car does it without issue. If a zombie apocalypse ever happens I’m stealing the closest Yaris, not some big truck.
If you can’t tell, I think the Yaris is one of the best econoboxes ever made. My mom’s is also a manual, and more fun than it should be when you throw it into turns.
Oh, and as far as how easy they would be to find, I would reach out to some importers and ask them if they ever see them at auction. If you really want one it wouldn’t be a bad thing to start forming relationships with importers.
It looks like the larger engine option, 1.5L, is used in a few models that were sold here. If you imported a 2004 model in 2029 that was front wheel drive and had the 1.5, then drivetrain parts would be easy.
That said, parts are getting easier to source as importing gets more popular, and online shopping is globalizing.
JP-Carparts appears to have a mostly complete catalog for it.
The sliding passenger door looks neat, but I’m not sure how much better it is for a disabled person. It is lower than most vans, which could help.