One of the oldest and squarest Toyota models is about to get a replacement. The perfectly-named Probox is a very basic model sold across most of the world aimed at contractors, delivery drivers, and cabbies who want Land Cruiser reliability with a Yaris-like price tag. Now, this time-tested vehicle is about to get an all-new version. It’s like if General Motors finally replaced the Express and Savana vans, so it’s a pretty big deal in the automotive world.
Probox Dates Back To 2002 Or 2014, Depending On Who’s Asking
2014+ Toyota Probox GX Facelift Silver Front Angled ViewToyota
If you ask around, the Probox hasn’t changed significantly since it first went on sale back in 2002, but that’s a testament to how much customers around the world love the little commercial vehicle. It actually got a complete redesign in 2014, but Toyota called it a refresh instead of a new model because it didn’t want to scare anyone off. It’s the complete opposite of most vehicles, where even the tiniest change is heralded as being all-new.
Japanese car news site Car Repo reports that a new version of the Probox is expected for 2028, and this time around, Toyota might not be able to hide that newness. This time it will have to make the jump from a platform that first launched in 2005 to something much newer.
Toyota’s TNGA-B platform is its newest subcompact vehicle architecture. You’ll find it under cars like the new Yaris and Aygo, and a host of other microcars you won’t see in the US until at least the 25-year import exemption runs out. This new platform would cut weight and add rigidity, as well as allow Toyota’s latest hybrid system to fit into the vehicle. But swapping platforms after 20 years raises an uncomfortable question for Toyota’s most cost-sensitive buyers.
Why Replace The ‘Box Now?
2014+ Toyota Probox Facelift Trunk of a White Car Being LoadedToyota.jp
Why is Toyota making a new one? Aside from the perception that it is more than 20 years old, it’s just time for a replacement. Building a platform this old and out of place with the rest of the Toyota lineup is bad for factory efficiency. The platform is also probably beginning to lag behind in terms of safety, though Toyota managed to fit its Safety Sense 3.0 system in an update last year.
The current Probox starts from 1.9 million yen in its home market, including tax. That’s just under $12,000 in US currency, which makes it a screaming deal for an established workhorse. If you want a hybrid, that will bring the price up to 2.04 million yen, or around $700 higher. The big worry is that a replacement will probably be more expensive. The report predicts a price tag at least a few hundred yen higher, and while that’s a small number in absolute terms, as a percentage, it’s massive. 200,000 yen more is just $1,200, but it’s also 10%. That’s steep.
It’s also unlikely to be the simple and basic model that Toyota sells now. That near-25-year run is very appealing when it comes to finding parts in markets where your nearest dealer isn’t just around the corner, and you don’t have a large parts store on every block.
But Toyota knows what its customers want, and that holds true in Japan, the US, and every market in the world. If there’s one company that can be counted on to build a $12,000 new vehicle that will be incredibly reliable, Toyota is probably it. As long as it doesn’t come with a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6.
Source: Car Repo
