1997 Toyota Paseo Review & Road Test at Automotive.com
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Toyota
Paseo
1997

1997 Toyota Paseo Review

Below is a full, detailed review and road test of the 1997 Toyota Paseo written by either the experts at New Car Test Drive or by one of Automotive.com's very own. A full evaluation of the driving experience, price, equipment, and specs are here in a ...     read more
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1997 Toyota Paseo Review

Fresh air fun on a budget.
Introduction
Regardless of what kind of powerplant is

lurking under the hood, convertibles equate with fun.

But compared to their hard-topped counterparts, they also equate with

premium prices. And when there's lots of horsepower, your friendly statistical

forecasters in the insurance industry think the fun may get out of hand,

which is why so many ragtops are saddled with sky-high premiums.

That's the beauty of the new Toyota Paseo convertible. It delivers plenty

of stylish fresh-air fun, but dodges the purchase price premiums and insurance

penalties associated with most other ragtops.

Yes, it's true that this new convertible costs quite a bit more than

the Paseo coupe. The basic Paseo costs $13,628, including a $420 destination

and delivery charge, while the topless version starts at $17,148.

But that's still a bargain price for a convertible. The only ragtops

that are cheaper are the Geo Tracker and Suzuki Sidekick sport-utilities.

And with only 93 horsepower, the Paseo doesn't attract much unfavorable

scrutiny from the insurance companies.

However, please don't be deceived into thinking this is some sort of

anemic snail like the late and unlamented Geo Metro Convertible. With less

than 2200 pounds 93 hp produces better performance here than you might

expect.

Toyota introduced the Paseo early in 1991 as a 1992 model. Translated

from Spanish, the name means walk or stroll, which may suggest something

about the car's performance that isn't quite true (remember it has a favorable

power-to-weight ratio).

Although the nifty two-door bodywork is unique to the Paseo, the rest

of the car--front-drive chassis and powertrain--is shared with Toyota's

subcompact Tercel line.

However, even though there's a lot of mechanical commonality, the Paseo

has a distinctly sportier personality than its more conservative cousins,

and is more fun to drive. Next Page


1997 Toyota Paseo