The Toyota Porte (Japanese: トヨタ・ポルテ, Hepburn: Toyota Porute), the plural Italian word for "door", is a mini MPV produced by the Japanese automaker Toyota from 2004 to 2020 that features an electric-powered sliding door on the passenger side, similar in approach to the Isis. The driver's door is of the conventional swing-open type.
The Porte was introduced in July 2004, available only in Japan, and therefore only produced with right-hand drive. The Porte is based on the first generation Vitzsubcompact car and is made in 4-seater and 5-seater versions.
The vehicle is powered by either a 1.3-litre or 1.5-litre gasoline engine, with automatic transmission only, and with either front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. It was similar in concept to the 2002 Peugeot Sésame concept and the slightly smaller Peugeot 1007 which have electric-powered sliding doors on both sides. However, there is only a sliding door on the left, passenger side of the Porte.
In July 2012, the Porte was redesigned and the Toyota Spade (Japanese: トヨタ・スペイド, Hepburn: Toyota Supeido) twin model was also introduced, sporting a different front and rear design, as well as a slightly different interior colour. The second-generation Porte was sold at Toyota Store and Toyopet Store dealerships while the Spade was sold at Corolla Store and Netz dealerships across Japan. Beginning in August 2015 the Spade was also exported to Hong Kong and Macau.
While the Spade's name is transliterated the same way as is the suit of cards, and the badging includes an image of the spade symbol, the name is actually slightly different in Japanese: supeido (スペイド) rather than supēdo (スペード). This is because the name in katakana is actually a portmanteau of the English words "space" and "wide".[5]
In addition to the 1.3-litre 1NR-FE engine, an improved 1.5-litre 1NZ-FE engine was also introduced, mated with the Super CVT-i (Continuously Variable Transmission-intelligent) automatic transmission, an available Smart Stop feature for the 1.5-litre variants has a fuel efficiency of 20.6km/L (58mpg‑imp; 48mpg‑US) under the JC08 test cycle (equivalent to 113g/km (6.4oz/mi) of CO2 emissions) of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).[6] The two different engine sizes gave Japanese drivers a choice as to which annual road tax obligation they were willing to pay; vehicles with the larger engine were equipped at a higher level than the lower trim level in compensation.
In July 2015, the 1.3-litre engine option was dropped and a newer 1.5-litre 2NR-FKE engine was used for front-wheel drive models. This version has a fuel efficiency of 22.2km/L (63mpg‑imp; 52mpg‑US) under the JC08 test cycle.[7]
Toyota stopped production of both the Porte and Spade in December 2020.[1][2]
12"トヨタ、「プリウスα」「プレミオ」など5車種を生産終了"[Toyota discontinues production of 5 models including "Prius α" and "Premio"]. ITmedia (in Japanese). Japan. 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
12"トヨタ自動車、プレミオ、プリウスα など5車種の生産終了を発表"[Announced the end of production of 5 models including Toyota Motor, Premio, Prius α]. Response (in Japanese). Japan. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
12Brooks, Glenn (2013-03-01). "Getting back on top". Automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com. Retrieved 2018-07-04.