My Paseo accompanied me nearly 3 years while I was in Melbourne. I still miss the enjoyment of driving Paseo. 最高!!!Sporty and prestigious, yet modestly priced
The dictionary defines coupe as a two-seat motor car with enclosed body. However, with the passage of time the word has been stretched to include a far greater variety of styles. Our North American friends commonly use the word to describe a two-door saloon, while the four-door version is called a sedan. The coupe in this context is usually the bargain basement model in the range. Companies like MG correctly used the word to describe the closed version of their two-seat roadster, so in that usage the coupe was a sporty car. Others like Rolls-Royce and Rover have used it to describe a very luxurious up-market, two door, version of the standard four door model. Thus it seems that today the word is used to describe whatever the manufacturers want it to designate.
Spirited sporty performance
Toyota have opted for a cross pollination of the various descriptions for their new Paseo coupe. It does have just two passenger doors and it does have an enclosed body so it satisfies the simplified dictionary description of a coupe. It is a car with a spirited, even sporty, performance, but it also has four seats and is aimed at a more exclusive prestigious segment of the market. Unlike some coupes, generally referred to as 2+2s, which have tiny, useless, upholstered cushions behind the two front seats which are passed off as seats, the rear seats in the Paseo are fully capable of accommodating adults on short journeys.
Performance with economy
The Paseo is powered by a one and a half litre four cylinder DOHC engine driving through a five speed manual gearbox. It produces 66 Kw @ 5,400 rpm and 130 Nm @ 4,400 rpm, so it has a reasonably sporty pedigree. To put that into prespective it is almost identical to the Mazda MX5 which has a one point six litre engine, while Opel produce around the same figures with one point four litres in the Tigra coupe. This gives the Paseo a top speed of around 115 mph and a 0-60 mph acceleration time of around 10 to11 seconds. On the road this translates into a car that is interesting to drive and with a lively level of performance. As both the fourth and fifth gears are overdrive ratios, you get a good level of fuel economy as well. To help you to enjoy the driving experience the Paseo comes equipped with anti-lock brakes as standard, a third high mounted stop-lamp and with driver and passenger airbags.
