These cars aren’t really Toyotas
5 of them are in disguise
With the addition of the Toyota Raize, Toyota Motor Philippines now offers 22 models for you to choose from. But not all of them are bona fide Toyotas, 5 of them are hiding under the badge, can you guess all 5 of them? Let’s find out how you did.
Toyota 86
The Toyota 86 is actually the Subaru BRZ, it’s a joint project by the 2 car makers, but the cars are built by Subaru at their assembly plant in Gunma prefecture, Honshu, Japan. In fact, the 86 is powered by a Subaru FA24D boxer engine.
Toyota Avanza
Yes, the successor to the Toyota Tamaraw FX Revo is not a real Toyota (Yes, the Revo wasn't replaced by the Innova) it is in fact, a Daihatsu. In other southeast Asian market, it’s called the Daihatsu Xenia, but it is powered by the Toyota NR engine.
Toyota Raize
The newest kid in the block, where it came from, it’s called the Daihatsu Rocky, and it is powered by either a Daihatsu or a Toyota turbo engine depending on the variant.
Toyota Rush
Toyota gave it an exciting, very active name in the Philippines, but in our neighboring countries, it’s called the Daihatsu Terios, which at least for me sounds less cool. Fun fact: the previous generation of this car was actually driven by Jeremy Clarkson.
Toyota Wigo
Toyota’s smallest car in the Philippines is actually a Daihatsu, too! It came to me as no surprise as small cars are Daihatsu’s wheelhouse. It’s called the Ayla on its Daihatsu guise, and they share a Toyota 1KR-VE 3-cylinder engine.
Conclusion
Not being a bona fide Toyota is not a bad thing, this is just Toyota’s way of offering us way more cars to choose from, this is making good use of their Daihatsu ownership. Outsource the job of making small and sensible cars to a company that has been doing it for the longest time.
Knowing this actually delights me, because Daihatsu is my favorite car manufacturer. And being owned by the largest car maker in the world is a good thing, it means, a stronger firm and more better cars for us all.
