TMC Launches Redesigned 'Porte' and New 'Spade' Compact Minivans in Japan

Toyota City, Japan, July 23, 2012―Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces the launch in Japan today of the completely redesigned "Porte"¹ compact minivan, and its new counterpart, the "Spade"². The pair will be sold across Japan―the Porte through "Toyota" and "Toyopet" dealers, and the Spade through "Toyota Corolla" and "Netz" dealers³.

Recently in Japan, demand has been increasing for compact cars with minivan-like features, such as a large sliding door and a spacious cabin. With the Porte and the Spade, TMC aims to be a leader in the compact minivan market.

The Porte and Spade are fun-yet-functional and feature a large, wide, remote-controlled electric sliding door for extremely easy passenger egress and ingress. Both the Porte and Spade feature a simple design, with the Porte emphasizing a relaxed feel, and the Spade sporting a sharp, presence-enhancing form.

Monthly Sales Target for Japan

Assembly Plant

Higashi-Fuji Plant, Toyota Motor East Japan Inc.

Porte and Spade Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Prices

Vehicle Outline

Fun and Functional

The Porte and Spade come standard with a large, passenger-side remote-controlled sliding door that is 1,020 mm wide by 1,250 mm high. The door can be opened and closed using a wireless key or by the touch of a button from the driver or rear seats.

In combination with the large sliding door, the flat floor (front-wheel-drive models), is a mere 300 mm off the ground, allowing children, seniors, and passengers with their hands full, effortless ingress and egress.

Opposite the sliding door, on the driver's side, front and rear swing-open doors offer convenient access to the rear seats.

The cabin, 2,160 mm long and 1,380 mm high, features a passenger seat that can be adjusted back and forth 700 mm (front-wheel-drive vehicles), and a 60/40-split rear seat with seat cushion tip-up function (front-wheel-drive models grades Y, F and G).

The vehicle's design stresses everyday user-friendliness, with creative storage spaces placed within easy reach of the driver. These include hooks for hanging shopping bags, a convenient in-dash storage compartment large enough to accommodate a box of tissues, and an in-dash driver's side tray perfect for storing important small items.

Forward-diagonal visibility has been improved by mounting the driver's side door mirror on the door panel and by slimming down the front A-pillars.

A minimum turning radius of 4.6 m (14-inch wheels) enables superb handling and agile maneuvering when going around tight corners or backing into parking spaces.

A Simple, Familiar Design

The "square oval" motif, a simple, polygonal design with combinations of straight lines and arcs, was incorporated throughout the vehicle to create a simple, functional, familiar-feeling design, with the interior evoking the sense of a comfortable living room.

• Porte

  The square oval headlights, grille and bumper combine with the overall rounded body form to give the front view a familiar and refined feel. The large sliding door and window help create the atmosphere of a spacious cabin, while the slide rail and door handles are placed along the character line for a clean side-view. The square oval bumper and rear combination lamps are integrated with the rounded back door for a functional, clean and distinctive rear view.

• Spade

  Side character lines extend to the headlights, emphasizing the horizontal layout, while the headlights and bumper corners are stretched out to create a cool, robust front view unique to the Spade. Slide rail and door handles are discreetly placed along the sharp character line running from the headlights to the rear to create a clean, smart side-view. The clear, rear combination lamps emphasize the taut, horizontal layout and have a supple form, giving the rear view a functional, cool look.

• Interior

  The instrument panel is designed to stress a sense of horizontal space, thereby giving an impression of spaciousness and peace of mind beyond its specifications. Controls have been combined in the center console for plenty of legroom.
  Interior features such as the air conditioning controls and the driver-side rear door pocket have been designed to evoke the familiarity of living room furniture.

Friendly to People and the Environment

With a highly versatile 1.3-liter 1NR-FE engine or an improved 1.5-liter 1NZ-FE engine, all vehicles have Super CVT-i (Continuously Variable Transmission-intelligent) automatic transmission for a smooth ride and high fuel efficiency. 1.5-liter front-wheel-drive models with the optional⁴ Toyota Stop & Start System idling-stop function have a fuel efficiency of 20.6 km/L under the JC08 test cycle (equivalent to 113 g/km of CO2 emissions) of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).

1.5-liter front-wheel-drive models with idling-stop function exceed MLIT 2015 fuel efficiency standards⁵ by ten percent, while 1.5-liter front-wheel-drive models without idling-stop function and 1.3-liter front-wheel-drive models with idling-stop function meet the standards, qualifying⁶ both the Porte and Spade for tax reductions under the Japanese government's tax incentive program for environment-friendly vehicles

The Eco-Vehicle Assessment System (Eco-VAS), a unique environmental evaluation system developed by TMC, was employed to reduce environmental impact, with environmental goals set at initial development stage for a balanced reduction of environmental impact. A lifecycle assessment (LCA) was also conducted to help reduce total CO2 and atmospheric pollutants emitted not only at the vehicle utilization stage, but at all stages from production to disposal.

A review of materials, processing methods and adhesives used for interior parts has reduced the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOC), thereby reducing interior odors to levels below the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association's "Vehicle Cabin VOC Testing Methods for Passenger Cars" voluntary standards.

Vehicle Stability Control controls brake and engine output to maintain vehicle stability if skidding occurs. Traction Control controls wheel spin to simplify acceleration operation.

ABS with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) maximizes braking performance, with the EBD appropriately distributing braking force in front, to the rear and on the left and right side wheels according to driving conditions. Also, a brake assist function generates extra braking force in emergency braking situations.

Wide Range of Package Options

Customers can select color, seat type and options to create the Porte or Spade perfectly suited to their needs.

The Porte and Spade each have an available eight body colors and two interior colors7. The Porte's eight body colors include the new Air Green Pearl Crystal Shine and Cream Beige, and the Spade's eight body colors include new Citrus Mica Metallic. Together with two interior color choices, Plum and Fromage, it is possible to create a uniquely personal color combination.

Four selectable front seat types―a new bench seat (Grade Y) in addition to three single-seat types―enable choice to suit the user's lifestyle. The single-seat types include a heated seat that warms the shoulders and back to quickly provide comfortable seat temperatures and aid efficient cabin warming (Grade G, driver's seat) and a water-repellent seat (Grade F).

To meet user preferences, it is possible to upgrade to six packages (multiple package selections allowed).

WelcabsVehicles with factory-installed features for the disabled and the elderly

A wide variety of specifications that take advantage of the large sliding door of the base vehicle are available⁸.

The Welcab Lift-up Front Passenger Seat models have a motorized seat that slides down outside the vehicle to facilitate smooth ingress and egress. These seats have a seat sliding and reclining switch on each side, with a wireless remote control (only for the seat sliding operation). The Type B model comes standard with a motorized device for loading and unloading a wheelchair.

The Welcab Side-access models, operated by a wired remote control, can bring a person in a lift-up and detachable type passenger seat or a dedicated wheelchair directly into the front passenger seat area easily through the large sliding door. The Type B model with lift-up and detachable type passenger seat comes standard with a motorized device for loading and unloading a wheelchair.

Some Welcab models meet the requirements for tax reductions under the Japanese government's tax incentive program for environment-friendly vehicles⁹.

Porte and Spade Welcab Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Prices^*1