Toyota Pixis Space (L575A/L585A)

Over the years, Toyota Motor Corporation never made any single "Light Weight K Car" or "kei car" but their interest was made by Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd., which in fact Toyota owns Daihatsu for that reason. At the past, we see Daihatsu Storia models wearing Toyota badges as the Toyota Duet, the Daihatsu Boon as the Toyota Passo, and the Daihatsu Be-Go (known in emerging countries as the Terios) as the Toyota Rush. And now for the first time, thanks to the joint custody between Toyota and Daihatsu, Toyota finally start selling its first "kei car" under the "PIXIS" sub-brand. Meet the 2012 Toyota Pixis Space, a Daihatsu Move Conte wearing a Toyota badge!

2012 Toyota Pixis Space

2012 Toyota Pixis Space Custom

The 2012 Toyota Pixis Space is the first of the Toyota Pixis sub-brand, where these models are sourced from Daihatsu, and this is the first of its kind. The Toyota Pixis Space comes in two unique styles; standard version for simple tastes and Custom version for fashionable tastes. The Toyota Pixis Space features a boxy look which is too similar from its big brothers such as the Toyota bB and the Toyota Corolla Rumion and hey, looks like this is start of something we would like to call it Toyota's "box car" club but enough of this laughing manner because we are getting serious about Toyota's first kei car sold in Japan in cooperation with Daihatsu. On the standard version, we're looking at something simple such as the squarish headlamps, odd-looking grille, and simple rear lamps while the Pixis Space Custom, on the other hand, features a billet-style grille, odd-looking headlamps, rectangular fog lamps, and some Altezza-style rear lamps to bring out something sporty.

2012 Toyota Pixis Space interior

2012 Toyota Pixis Space Custom interior

What you will see on the interior of the standard Pixis Space are some red lines accentuated on the seats and the dashboard to give it a little something French because these red lines look more reasonable on the light interior but on the Pixis Space Custom, a blend of dark interior and white lines does suit well but if your choice was the RS version, an exclusive MOMO steering wheel is equipped to make it well mannered.

Most Pixis Space variants come with a 658cc Twin Cam DVVT 3-cylinder 12-valve engine that produces 38kW(52PS)/7,200r.p.m. of power output and 60N・m(6.1kgf・m)/4,000r.p.m. of torque output. It provides CVT as the standard transmission available on most variants and it will provide a maximum fuel economy of 25.5km/L (2WD variants) in Japan's 10-15 Mode scale thanks to Daihatsu's Eco Idle feature which provides idling stop to this engine, making it to stop automatically when stopped at the red light. On the Toyota Pixis Space Custom RS, it will have an exclusive turbocharged version of a 658cc Twin Cam DVVT 3-cylinder 12-valve engine, providing 47kW(64PS)/6,000r.p.m. of power output, 103N・m (10.5kgf・m)/3,000r.p.m. of torque output and the fuel economy of 19.0 km/L (2WD variants) based on Japan's 10-15 Mode scale.

The standard Toyota Pixis Space offers seven exterior colors such as Bright Silver Metallic, Black Mica Metallic, Plum Brown Crystal Mica, Pearl White III, Light Rose Mica Metallic, Cotton Ivory, and Mist Blue Mica Metallic while the Toyota Pixis Space Custom offers five exterior colors such as Bright Silver Metallic, Black Mica Metallic, Plum Brown Crystal Mica, Pearl White III and Urban Night Blue Crystal Metallic.

My Comment:
The team up between Toyota and Daihatsu realizing the dream to have Toyota selling its first kei car under the Pixis sub brand and the Toyota Pixis Space, based on the Daihatsu Move Conte, was the first of its kind. Consider it the petite of Toyota's box cars such as the bB and the Corolla Rumion, the Toyota Pixis Space has a lot of learning to do, even though it comes in two different flavors such as the standard version and the Custom version. Adopting the concept of "my space", the new Toyota Pixis Space is best suited to your everyday lifestyles. It wasn't easy being the first kei car sold from Toyota but the Pixis Space has a few tricks on its sleeves.

Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation