Top Gear Paseo Test

May 3, 2004

The Portuguese are the worst drivers in Europe. Bar none. Never mind good judgement - but for luck and lashings of ABS, both this page and my expression would now be seriously blank. Furthermore, German plates, as worn by Toyota's new Paseo coupe at its Portugal launch, are a sure recipe for disaster. The Portuguese, it seems, really hate the Germans. A lot.

The Paseo is the first of Toyota's new range - it's attempting to replace all its cars over the next two-and-a-half years. Aimed squarely at under-30-year-old handbag-toters, the Paseo competes with Vauxhall's Tigra and Honda's Civic coupe.

We'll get a choice of two models in the UK; the £12,485 ST and the £13,940 Si. Differences come down to equipment: The posher Si gets ABS and a CD player, alloys and a spoiler as standard. Common to both versions is a new, lightweight, 1.5-litre, 16-valve engine good for 89bhp and quoted performance of 0-62mph in 10.9 seconds and a 114mph top whack.

At first sight, the Paseo is disappointing. Though it is a tidy enough visual package, the front is far too Hondaful to be wonderful, and the back is, frankly, very drab indeed. Now I can't profess to be thrilled by the Tigra's looks, but Portugal is absolutely littered with them (some even the right way up), and ample opportunity for direct comparison leaves the Paseo lagging. Perhaps some gratuitous spoilerage may do some good here. We'll see.

On board, things improve. Though snug, the Paseo does not imbue its driver with the nagging claustrophobia bought on by Tigra occupancy. The steering wheel is fixed, but height adjustment to the rear of the seat squab allows for plenty of headroom, and a satisfactory driving position. Confusingly, the seats boast unnecessary, throne-like shoulder support, merely adequate lateral bolstering and not enough in the lumbar department.

Rear seat accommodation, which folds as one piece to let the boot in, is definitely of a plus two nature only. Though more comfortable than the Tigra's foam-skinned plastic church pew efforts, head and legroom are on a par with the Vauxhall. Uncomfortably jazzy 'runaway-forklift-at-the-paint-factory-shock-horror' upholstery does little to counter an unexceptional dashboard, which is only enlivened by the now ubiquitous, but still reasonably tasteful, white instrument dials. Switchgear, all standard Toyota issue, gives no cause for either complaint, or writing home.

Put the Paseo to work, however, and you quickly warm to the car. A tidy five-speed gearshift and light, power-assisted steering might sound like the same old Japanese story, but the steering has far more weight and feel then the Civic's and the Paseo's wheel communicates far more to the driver than its Honda rival. Even on what passes for roads in Portugal, the Paseo displays admirable coupe ride characteristics; sending plenty of information through the underpants yet coping in suitably supple fashion with all but the very worst road surfaces.

Free revving and smooth pulling though the engine may be, it doesn't exactly make the Paseo a fast car. However, entertaining handling erring towards the foolproof is likely to offer more than adequate compensation to the Paseo's target market. You can lash through longer bends with gentle drift, whilst hoofing it through the tighter stuff promotes predictable, controllable understeer.

So, those that find a Tigra too cramped, and a Civic too uncommunicative, may well warm to the Paseo, particularly if they aren't, in the words of that fine man from Vauxhall, "gagging" for the Tigra's looks