Weird cars from Japan (Toyota Edition)

Toyota Spade

The Spade is classified as a compact MPV but is a four-door hatchback. The  passenger door (shown above) slides like an MPV while there's conventional doors on the driver's side of the vehicle. (Remember this is a Japanese vehicles the steering wheel is on the right.) It's a funky and odd ball of a car but that sliding door is really cool and clever for tight narrow parking spaces.



Toyota Sienta

Remember the Mazda 5? It was a compact MPV which could seat up to six or seven people despite only being 180.5 inches, which is small for an MPV. However, the Sienta is 13.8 inches smaller than the Mazda 5 and can seat up to seven people. Yes, a vehicle that's barely bigger than a Golf can seat seven people. Toyota has made clever use of the available space for this vehicle so it can seat up to seven people with available hybrid drivetrain. We kind of wish this was sold here because it's kind of a neat looking vehicle.



Toyota Noah

No, this is not a Japanese version of the arc from the bible. It's a a seven-seat MPV with futuristic styling inside out. We find it quite strange that Toyota sells the better looking vehicles in Japan while the rest of the world gets some rather bland and less stellar options. The body-kit in some eyes may scream trying too hard, but in Japan this seems to be quite the popular trend. We like how massive the front grille is and how it's cleverly packaged. It's about 3.5 to 4 inches longer than a Mazda 5.



Toyota Previa

The Previa was an odd MPV when it was sold here in the US. It was egg-shaped with a supercharged engine and all-wheel-drive. The engine was sandwiched between the front seats giving it an MR (mid-engine) layout. This one sold in Japan looks very futuristic. We know this wouldn't sell all that well here in the US because everyone wants crossovers. However, if that fad starts to fizzle and people want proper MPVS, Toyota should put this on their list of cars to comeback along with the Sienta.



Toyota Alphahard

Despite having a odd name, this Toyota has the most in your face grille we've ever seen. It's massive and full of chrome. We're guessing this is the MPV for men who have to drive an MPV but don't want to look 'lame' or 'soccer-mom' driving it. It's the about similar in size the Volvo XC90 and has three rows of seats.