The Toyota Passo was a subcompact car sold in Japan from 2004 to the end of 2023, a rebadged version of the Daihatsu Boon. It was sold at Toyota Corolla Store until the dealer networks were consolidated in 2020, and its name is Italian for “step”.
Toyota Passo at a glance
| Maker | Toyota, built by Daihatsu |
|---|---|
| Production | 2004–2023 |
| Market | Japan |
| Class | Subcompact car |
| Based on | Daihatsu Boon |
| Engines | 996 cc and 1.3-litre, later 1.0-litre |
| Drive | Front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive |
| Gearboxes | Automatic, with the selector beside the steering wheel |
| Export twins | Daihatsu Sirion, Perodua Myvi, Subaru Justy |
| Special versions | Passo +Hana, Passo Moda |
| Name | Italian for “step” |
The Passo is a rebadged Daihatsu Boon and is described in the English Wikipedia article on the Boon; photographs of the Daihatsu version are used because they show the same car.
History of the Toyota Passo
First generation (2004)
Development of the first Daihatsu Boon was led by Toyota chief engineer Tetsuya Tada. In Japan the Passo and Boon came with 996 cc and 1.3-litre engines, front- or four-wheel drive, and an automatic gearbox whose selector was placed beside the steering wheel on the dashboard, with the handbrake below the steering column. A 936 cc turbocharged four-wheel-drive Boon X4 was also offered. The car was designed for European tastes with a larger, stockier body of about 940 kg, and luggage space grew from 225 to 630 litres with the rear seats folded. The same design was sold abroad as the second-generation Daihatsu Sirion, as the Perodua Myvi in Malaysia from May 2005, and as the Subaru Justy from 2007.
Second and third generations
The second-generation Boon and Passo were unveiled in Japan on 15 February 2010. Toyota also offered a better-equipped version with a smoothed front end called the Passo +Hana, with champagne-coloured door handles and mirrors and no Daihatsu equivalent. The third-generation Boon and Passo appeared on 12 April 2016, with a better-equipped Boon CILQ whose pill-shaped grille differed from the redesigned oval headlamps; Toyota sold that version as the Passo Moda, replacing the +Hana. A facelift on 10 October 2018 brought the Passo an improved collision avoidance system, Smart Assist III, able to detect pedestrians, vehicles and obstacles and to switch between low and high beams, and the CILQ, Style and Moda submodels gained a much larger grille reaching the bottom of the bumper.
The Passo Sette
A separate, larger model, the Passo Sette, was developed jointly with Daihatsu and sold from 2008 to 2012 alongside the Daihatsu Boon Luminas. It was 580 mm longer, 20 mm wider and 85 mm taller than the regular Passo, with the wheelbase stretched from 2,440 to 2,750 mm, and Daihatsu handled development and production while using Toyota’s product planning. The Passo and Boon were discontinued at the end of 2023.
Design and features
- Daihatsu twin: the same car as the Daihatsu Boon, built by Daihatsu.
- Compact package: about 940 kg and up to 630 litres of luggage space.
- Dashboard selector: the automatic gear lever sits beside the steering wheel.
- Smart Assist III: collision avoidance added with the 2018 facelift.
Toyota Passo versions
- First generation (2004): 996 cc and 1.3-litre engines.
- Boon X4: 936 cc turbocharged four-wheel-drive version.
- Passo +Hana (2010): better-equipped second-generation version.
- Passo Moda (2016): version of the Boon CILQ.
- Passo Sette (2008–2012): larger seven-seat relation, also sold as the Boon Luminas.
The Passo was Toyota’s smallest Japanese model alongside the Aygo and shared its Daihatsu parentage with the Cami. More cars are in the Toyota collection.
Sources
- Daihatsu Boon, English Wikipedia: generations, versions, equipment
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