7 interesting facts about the Toyota Passo as the Myvi's JDM donor ends production

The Malaysian automotive landscape completely changed on 25 May 2005 with the launch of the first generation Perodua Myvi. P2 was the second choice among Malaysians and it was even stated explicitly in the name but the Myvi became a sensational smash that Perodua began overtaking Proton as Malaysia’s best-selling brand not long after.

The Myvi has gone through 3 generations since its launch nearly 20 years ago and barely stepped off the top podium in the sales chart every year. It’s not the same fairytale story for its Japanese donor though as it was announced that production of the Toyota Passo has ended in September 2023.

After 19 years, the Passo which started with a lot of fanfare and broke sales records in the first month of sales in June 2004 ended with barely a whisper. The current third-generation Passo is vastly different from the third-gen Myvi but its name remains associated with Malaysia’s highway supercar.

Also read: Evolution of the Perodua Myvi in 3 generations – Malaysia’s most loved hatchback?

The first and second-gen Passo are favourites among local Myvi owners who convert them to resemble their JDM twin. Beyond that, however, here are 7 interesting facts on the Toyota Passo beyond just a donor for the Myvi.

1. The Passo was designed for female buyers

Toyota’s alliance with Daihatsu ran very deep with their partnership beginning all the way back in 1967. While the D-badge is more known for its small, compact cars and supplying rebadges to Toyota, the Passo was the second collaboration product between the two carmakers after the Avanza-Xenia.

Also read: 50 mil cars later, here are 12 reasons why the Toyota Corolla remains strong

Toyota was in charge of planning and marketing while Daihatsu was in charge of design, development, and production. This is the norm these days as in the case of the all-new Toyota Vios which was developed by Daihatsu but sold as a Toyota but nearly 20 years ago, this was very new.

Also read: D92A 2023 Toyota Vios: Designed by Daihatsu? Let's spot the similarities with a DNGA Ativa

Toyota already offered a similar-sized hatchback when the Passo was in development with the first-generation Vitz/Yaris though this was a global model. The Passo on the other hand, was developed mainly for the Japanese domestic market and its design was catered for female buyers.

Hence, the Passo had characteristics that make it appealing to females with the use of a column shifter and foot-type parking brake to free up room for front occupants to place their bags on the floor.

The dashboard of the first-gen Passo also came with plenty of small storage spaces to store phones, purses, and other knick-knacks. Perhaps it is no wonder that the Passo racked up more than 3.5 times its monthly sales target in the first month of its unveiling with 25,000 units sold.

The Passo’s female appeal continued all the way to the current third generation with various trims and special editions introduced across the 3 generations. Toyota and Daihatsu would try to replicate this feminine strategy with the Passo Sette and Boon Luminas which ended as a sales flop but found redemption as the first Perodua Alza in Malaysia.

Also read: Designed for women? How the Toyota Passo Sette turned from flop into the Perodua Alza?

2. There’s a TRD version of the Passo

Though the Passo was mostly catered to female buyers, there was a variant that was meant to appeal to males or at least females who just wanted something that didn’t conform to their stereotype. Enter the Passo Racy which was just a sportier version of the Passo with a bodykit and lightly spiced-up interior.

Under the hood is a naturally aspirated 1.3-litre K3-VE 4-cylinder that makes 90 PS and 123 Nm. All show and not much go but the Racy is also the most famous variant used in Myvi conversions.

But just when you thought that’s the hottest Passo, think again because the humble hatchback was also tuned by TRD. Based on the existing Racy variant, the Passo TRD Sports M was equipped with TRD sports suspension, TRD muffler, and a Momo steering wheel.

However, the biggest addition was the transmission which came with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Though that might not seem unique at first glance, the JDM Passo was only offered with a 4-speed automatic transmission and the manual gearbox was taken from the overseas Daihatsu Sirion.

Power for the 1.3-litre unit was boosted to 95 PS which doesn’t sound like much but in a hatchback that weighed 925 kg, that meant it’s a special pocket rocket. It’s possibly the most fun and rarest Passo of all time.

Also read: The Perodua Kelisa is proof that fun can come from the most unexpected packages

3. There’s an adorable reason behind the Daihatsu Boon name

Overseas, the Passo was sold as the Daihatsu Sirion. Its name was carried over from the previous generation which was sold in Japan as the Toyota Duet and Daihatsu Storia. It wasn’t quite a memorable car despite the retro looks.

Also read: Once upon a time, retro-inspired JDMs were popular in futuristic Japan

The Passo became more successful than its Daihatsu twin which is called the Daihatsu Boon. The name is another way to describe joy in English so it has no relation with a common Chinese name but Daihatsu offers another interesting inspiration behind the name.

Daihatsu was seen as a playful carmaker compared to Toyota with a more whimsical approach to marketing its cars. The Midget II truck is one such example of Daihatsu’s quirkiness from the front spare wheel cover to its weird commercials.

Also read: Only 6 in Malaysia, this Daihatsu Midget II is a whimsical lil' truck

As for the name’s origin, according to Daihatsu, it was “inspired by the sound that small children make when imitating the sound produced by an automobile”. Some of you might be thinking that the noise a child makes when playing their Hot Wheels is “vroom” not the name of your Chinese colleague, but this is from a Japanese point of view and different cultures have their own depiction of noises.

It’s pretty endearing that the Boon’s name is a play on children’s noises but the Passo’s Daihatsu twin is not just a playful town runabout. The first-generation Boon was also a favourite among grassroots amateur rally drivers in Japan with the turbocharged 1.0-litre X4 competing in various All Japan Rally tournaments.

Also read: More than "tekan-tekan preggy", watch the Perodua Ativa's Japanese twin go rallying!

4. The Passo is also sold as a Subaru in Europe

If you scour through old British magazines around the late-2000s, you might notice that there are 3 different versions of the same car being sold by 3 different brands. They are the Daihatsu Sirion, Perodua Myvi, and Subaru Justy which are essentially similar apart from the badges and in the case of the Myvi, from another factory altogether.

We are accustomed to the Myvi and the Sirion has been mentioned in this article, so what is the Subaru Justy then? Well, the Justy was initially an enlarged version of the Rex kei car but aside from being offered with 4-wheel drive (4WD) like the rest of the Subaru line-up, it was among the first production cars to feature CVT.

Also read: Besides the WRX and BRZ, we look back at Subaru's other significant models for its 70th birthday

Following that however, the Justy name was used on various rebadged models in Europe based on the Suzuki Cultus and Ignis before culminating in the Passo-based model. Unlike the previous generations, including the rebadges, the Passo-based Justy was only offered with front-wheel drive (FWD).

Also read: 12 of the weirdest rebadges ever – From a Chinese Gen.2 to a German Hilux

The fourth-gen Justy was only available with a naturally aspirated 1.0-litre 1KR-FE 3-pot engine that makes 69 PS and 94 Nm which is paired only with a 5-speed manual transmission, at least in the UK.

Despite only offering a single engine variant, the Justy was also the most expensive compared to the Myvi and Sirion. The latter two were also available with a more powerful 1.3-litre engine and it is not surprising that the Justy was short-lived having been sold in the UK for only 2 years between 2007 and 2009. In the rest of Europe, the Passo rebadge was sold until 2011.

That was the only generation where the Passo was rebadged as a Subaru though the Star of Pleiades continues to be placed on other Daihatsu models in Japan. The Justy name is currently used on the rebadged Toyota Roomy/Daihatsu Thor.

Also read: Here it is, a Subaru-badged Perodua Ativa is launched, Japan's forbidden fruit

5. The second-gen Passo features Doraemon in its marketing

As the new millennium entered its second decade, Daihatsu seemed to be reducing its whimsical character in its marketing. Perhaps it’s due to the brand being positioned higher than its respective Toyota twins aside from the kei vehicle market in terms of price.

Nevertheless, the task of making the Passo appear quirky in advertisements now swung to Toyota and with the second generation, Toyota continued to appeal to women with the introduction of the Passo +Hana.

The commercials for the second-generation Passo played directly to female buyers but when the facelift was introduced in 2014, the hatchback was part of a series of commercials called Toyota Re:Born.

The commercials depicted live-action actors playing characters from Doraemon in their adulthood. Different Toyota models were shown in the commercials which are split across a number of 30-second videos. The Passo was driven by an actress who plays Shizuka, the bespectacled and naive Nobita's crush.

6. The third-gen Boon has 3 distinct grades

By the time the third generation Passo was introduced in 2016, Toyota was no longer involved in its development, having been relegated to being a simple rebadge of the Daihatsu Boon. Gone were the unique Passo badges in front and it became the first generation to only incorporate the Toyota ellipses logo.

While the Passo came with two distinct grades – the standard X and the more fashionable Moda, its twin, the Daihatsu Boon is offered 3 different variants. The standard version is still called the X while the Moda variant is called Cliq but the third special variant is called Style.

The Boon Style is a more dressed-up version of the Cliq variant and comes with a unique front grille that makes it look happy. It is also offered with a very peachy colour combo of pink with a white roof. For those who find this to be a tad bit striking, the Boon Style is also offered with other colour options that are less shouty.

Also read: The Daihatsu Mira Gino wasn’t inspired by the original Mini, but something Italian

7. The Passo’s chapter might be over but the Boon may soldier on

From its annual sales peak of 90,000 units, the Passo has been slipping in sales with the market now dominated by the Toyota Yaris in Japan. With the third generation, Toyota has been paying little attention to the Passo and as such its days were already numbered from the day it was introduced.

Also read: Sayonara, Toyota Passo! Myvi's Japanese donor car to be discontinued

As such, Toyota ended production of the Passo in September and will continue selling the model until stocks run out. Toyota said there would not be a successor with the Yaris essentially filling that void.

While the Passo’s story ends, it doesn’t seem to be over for the Daihatsu Boon. Since it is essentially the basis for the successful Toyota Roomy and Daihatsu Thor, perhaps the Boon would continue to soldier on to the next generation.

Both the Thor and Boon are the only models in Daihatsu’s current line-up not to be underpinned by the DNGA platform. At the moment, it’s only curtains for the Passo but for the Boon, development for the next generation could just be starting.

While the outgoing generation of the Toyota Passo shares zero similarities with the current Perodua Myvi, there's no denying the significance of the name to Malaysians. From being largely designed for females, the Passo has grown into a universally beloved car more than 5,000 km away and has become a gamechanger. Its spirit definitely lives on right here in Malaysia.