Toyota 4wd Station Wagon
Adelaida Frodge
Car shoppers on our continent had been steadily losing interest in wagons since the year of Peak Wagon (1977), with de-wagon-ification really accelerating when minivan sales took off in the 1980s and the SUV craze took full effect in the 1990s.
By 1996, Toyota showrooms had the RAV4 and the Previa to lure away potential Camry Wagon buyers, with the increasingly macho 4Runner standing by to snare those who didn't mind driving a truck with a jouncy truck ride.
As a member of Generation X with a decidedly 1970s childhood, I'm expected to be a fanatical supporter of station wagons. However, my own family had a full-sized Chevy Beauville 3/4-ton van and no wagons during the 1970s and all of my personal wagon-owning experience derives from an assortment of cop-auction-obtained Toyota Tercels and a Subaru Outback that I married into. I don't feel much passion one way or the other for the station wagon.
This car racked up a respectable final mile count, though 226k isn't noteworthy by Camry standards. I've found several used-up Camrys with better than 300,000 miles on their odometers, including an '87 wagon with 322,110 miles.
New Camry sedans were still available in the United States with manual transmissions in 1996 (in fact, new manual-equipped Camry sedans could be bought here through the 2011 model year), but the last year for a three-pedal Camry wagon was 1991.
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards.These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
In America, when Toyota redesigned the Camry for the 1997 model year, they discontinued the wagon. Honda would also discontinue the Accord Wagon the following year. Wagons are better than SUVs, so it is unfortunate the America doesn't get wagons anymore
The Land Cruiser FJ55 station wagon was introduced in August 1967, featuring a 2,700 mm wheelbase chassis and a newly designed body, and replacing the FJ45V 4-door van with a wheelbase of 2,650 mm. Although the FJ55 was classified as a van (commercial-use vehicle) in Japan, it was positioned as a passenger vehicle in overseas markets where it was principally sold.
The 60 Series was released in August 1980 as the successor to the 55 Series. While the export model was a station wagon, the domestic model was classified as a van (commercial-use vehicle). The external appearance was substantially renewed. The gasoline engine was upgraded to a 4.2-liter unit (2F), and a 3.4-liter diesel engine was also introduced. The front bench seating was replaced with separate seats to better support the driver's posture, thereby reducing the passenger capacity from six to five. Availability of air conditioning, power steering, and fabric seats also appealed to a wide range of individual users.
Two years later, a 6-cylinder 3,980 cc diesel engine (2H) was made available. Models with high-powered engines with turbocharger and EFI were also introduced later in the model life, along with such devices as automatic transmission and diff lock systems.
This model succeeded the 60 Series in October 1989, adding an 8-seater station wagon to the lineup. To enhance the product's competitiveness in the overseas markets including North America and Australia, its body length and width were increased to 4,970 mm and 1,930 mm, respectively, while the styling, specifications, and equipment were upgraded to the level of a luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV).
The wagon initially came with an inline 6-cylinder gasoline engine, while the van was fitted with a newly developed inline 6-cylinder 4.1-liter diesel engine (naturally aspirated or turbocharged). The leaf springs of the rigid axle suspension were replaced with coil springs to offer improved ride comfort, and higher-end models also adopted a full-time 4-wheel-drive system with a center differential. In August 1992, the gasoline engine was replaced with a 4.5-liter inline 6-cylinder 24-valve unit producing 215 PS. The vehicle's luxury SUV concept, as well as its superior performance and robustness under harsh natural conditions, won high admiration all around the world.
The Land Cruiser 100 was released in January 1998 as the successor to the Land Cruiser 80. The 100 improved its basic 4-wheel-drive (4WD) performance and enhanced its prestigious image as a luxury 4WD vehicle. The 5-door wagon body retained the separate frame structure, while the body dimensions were expanded to increase the cabin size.
The rigid axle front suspension used on the preceding Land Cruiser 80 was replaced with an independent double wishbone and torsion bar spring system. The top-end VX Limited model offered an optional new device that combined Active Height Control (AHC) with the Skyhook TEMS. The rack and pinion steering was newly adopted, and both front and rear brakes employed ventilated discs with hydraulic booster.
The Land Cruiser 200 Series was launched in September 2007 as the successor to the 100 Series, expanding the length and width by 60 mm and 30 mm, respectively. Adopting a redesigned separate frame structure, the new Land Cruiser featured enhanced rigidity, durability, collision safety, and interior comfort.
The 4.7-liter 2UZ-FE V8 gasoline engine featured the intake VVT-i system, increasing the output by 39 kW (53 PS). The world's first "crawl control" feature was standard-equipped to automatically maintain a very low speed when driving on surfaces such as rocks or sand and on steep hills. A newly developed Torsen LSD transfer unit also came standard on all models, which could instantly change drive power distribution to match road conditions to deliver smooth and stable driving performance. The 200 Series was marketed in more than 100 countries as a high-end sport utility vehicle (SUV). In the North American market, the vehicle was fitted with a 5.7-liter gasoline engine and was offered as the third-generation Lexus LX, the top-of-the-line SUV model for the brand.
So let's get one thing straight: The 2012 Toyota Prius V is a station wagon. It's not a minivan (no sliding doors, no third row) and it's certainly not a sport utility vehicle or crossover (no all-wheel-drive, no jacked-up ride height).
As such, it's a smart addition to the Toyota Prius hybrid lineup, the first of several vehicles that will expand the iconic Prius label beyond the current five-door hatchback model into different body styles and sizes
From most angles, it looks more like a tall hatchback than a station wagon, perhaps deliberately. It's only with the tailgate open, looking at it from the back or side, that the squared-up rear end and vertical cargo opening become apparent.
Then, inside, the hatchback's "flying buttress" interior console has thankfully been replaced with a more traditional separate elbow bin and dashboard center stack that allows easy access to the cupholders, tray, and so forth mounted on the tunnel.
There's no question that the 2012 Prius V drives and handles like the "regular" Prius hatchback. While it's considerably larger in wheelbase and length, as well as slightly taller and wider, it's not notably different to drive.
The Prius V uses the same 98-horsepower, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine and Toyota Hybrid Synergy drive system as the hatchback, along with a very slightly reshaped nickel-metal-hydride battery pack mounted under the front of the load-deck floor.
Toyota discussed some very minor tweaks to its hybrid hardware, including the addition of liquid cooling to the second motor-generator, but on the whole, the Prius V accelerates, drives, and brakes just like any other current Prius.
Toyota managed to better its original gas mileage estimates, with the final figures coming in at 44 mpg city, 40 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 42 mpg. (At the January Detroit Auto Show launch, it had estimated 42 mpg city and 38 mpg highway, giving an initial estimate for the combined rating of 40 mpg.)
But for a station wagon meant to haul people and stuff, the significant figures are capacities and measurements. The EPA says the Prius V has 34.3 cubic feet of cargo volume with the rear seat up in its rearmost position, and 40.2 cubic feet if it's slid as far forward as it'll go. Folding the rear seat takes cargo volume to 67.3 cubic feet.
Perhaps as important is the load floor. The Prius V had an admirable 39 inches between the insides of the wheel wells, ensuring that side boxes, dog carriers, and who-knows-what-else can slide in and sit flat on the floor.
The depth of the cargo bay with the seat up, was 36 inches from tailgate to seat back, and ranged from 68 to 72 inches with the rear seat folded down,depending on how far forward the front seats were pushed.
We did notice that once the rear seat slid all the way forward, an awkward trough opened up at the front of the load floor into which small toys, food particles, and other effluvia would undoubtedly fall.
They were at the sides of the seat, meaning that if you put a box into the load bay that was too large, then decided to flip down half the seat back so it would fit, you had to walk around the car, open the door, and bend over--versus other wagons that have a button right on top of the seat back itself, easily accessible from inside the load bay.
The IIHS rates the standard 2011 Toyota Prius as Good (its highest rating) for both frontal offset and side impact crashes and rear crash protection. The NHTSA gives the 2011 Prius hatchback 5 stars overall, with 5 stars for side-crash protection and 4 stars for frontal crash and rollover safety.
The 2012 Toyota Prius V comes standard with fabric trimmed seats, automatic climate control, a tilting and telescoping steering wheel, and--still rare in wagons--a rear seat that not only folds down and splits 60/40 but also slides fore and aft and reclines from 15 to 40 degrees.
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