Toyota Porte

Debut: 2005
Maker: Toyota
Predecessor: no



"Porte" is the French word for "door". Choosing a French word as the name of the car is quite interesting. It makes you wonder if it is a copy of Peugeot 1007. The French car is the first hatchback gambling on electric powered sliding doors.
Toyota might be inspired by it and decided to build its own version. The development started later than 1007, but while Peugeot / Pininfarina was troubled by the technical difficulties of making the doors meeting safety regulations, the Japanese worked more smoothly and eventually launched the car only 2 months later than 1007.
 
Both cars are all about electric-powered sliding doors. The French car has two of them, one on each side. The Japanese car with a French name has only one such door at the passenger side while the driver access via a conventionally hinged door. The power sliding door is a merit for congested cities like Tokyo. When you park the car in tight spaces, you don't need to worry about locking up yourself in the car, because the sliding door take virtually no space to open. So the only constrain is your big belly.
 
You might ask why the French need twin-sliding doors while the Japanese need only one. The answer is: the Japanese car wants to cut costs. Power sliding doors are not cheap – this explain why Peugeot 1007 is seriously overpriced. To save one door could save hundreds of dollars, or tens of thousands of yen. So how can the driver get out of the car in tight parking space? The answer is through the passenger side door. This is easy in the Porte, as it has a flat floor free of transmission tunnel, or so-called "walkthrough capability". The door opening is very large – some 1165mm tall and 1020mm wide. The front passenger seat is mounted on rails. It can slide back and forth for 750mm. Slide it to the rearmost position allows the driver to get out easily. Slide it to the frontmost position eases rear passenger access.


 
The Porte has a spacious cabin, thanks to the exaggerate height of 1720mm – an Opel Meriva is nearly 100mm lower than it ! it has a long wheelbase and width to match the Opel multi-activity vehicle, so it is a class bigger than 1007. As you expect, there are a lot of storage cubbies and thoughtful features in the colorful cabin. The seating arrangement is reasonably flexible, what a pity the rear seat can only flip up but not fold flat. Moreover, the tailgate aperture is small. While it is a good people carrier, it is not as impressive as a cargo loader.

As you would have guessed, this car is not designed to go fast or corner flat. It is underpowered (biggest engine is the familiar 1.5 VVT-i) and automatic only. Its tall body and comfy suspension setting work against handling. This car is all about doors. Everything else is not important. It is sad that our motor industry has developed to this stage – cars are no longer cars, they are doors, they are music box, they are living rooms… Fortunately, the majority of car buying public still prefer conventional cars. This mean Porte is only a niche in the Japanese market.
The above report was last updated on 21 Jul 2006. All Rights Reserved.
 





Specifications




General remarks

Porte 1.3
Porte 1.5

Layout
Front-engined, FWD
Front-engined, FWD

Chassis
Steel monocoque
Steel monocoque
Body
Mainly steel
Mainly steel
Length / width / height 3990 / 1690 / 1720 mm 3990 / 1690 / 1720 mm
Wheelbase 2600 mm 2600 mm
Engine
Inline-4
Inline-4
Capacity
1298 cc
1496 cc
Valve gears
DOHC 16 valves, VVT
DOHC 16 valves, VVT
Induction
-
-
Other engine features
-
-

Max power
87 hp 109 hp

Max torque
89 lbft 104 lbft

Transmission
4-speed automatic
4-speed automatic
Suspension layout
F: strut
R: torsion-beam
F: strut
R: torsion-beam

Suspension features
-
-
Tyres front/rear
175/70R14 175/70R14
Kerb weight
1090 kg
1110 kg

Top speed
-
-

0-60 mph (sec)
-
-

0-100 mph (sec)
-
-

Performance tested by: -






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