A Brief History and Overview of the Toyota Paseo

The Toyota Paseo is probably one of those vehicles that not many people remember, ever, like ever. However surprisingly I really wanted one for a brief time.

I remember finding one on Craigslist when I was shopping around for a car, and it was around $500, which was perfect for me. It was a 2 door coupe, looked like it could be fun to drive, and had a few of the markings of one of my all time favorite cars, the Toyota Celica. 

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That said, this car is kinda like the forgotten awkward cousin of the 3 well known brothers, the Celica, Supra, and the MR2.

Unfortunately I never did end up buying that car, and I don’t really remember why. Probably didn’t have enough money at the time or something. However since then, I have always kept an eye out for them.
So with that said, let’s take a look at the history of this car! There isn’t much of it…. but let’s take a look!

Side note: You can find tons of these cars on the used market. So if you plan on this, make sure to read about what to look for when buying a used car.

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First Generation of the Toyota Paseo

The first generation Paseo was released for the year 1992.

There isn’t a ton out there on these vehicles, however the first generation came out with a single engine option of a 1.5 Liter, 90 horsepower engine.

That’s right, 90 horsepower.

The vehicle did however have two transmission options, being an automatic and a 5 speed manual.

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One of the shining achievements of this vehicle was the great gas mileage, reaching into the 30 miles per gallon range.

The Toyota Paseo wasn’t an overly elegant design of a car, however in it was a great value, and had the Toyota reliability.

Second Generation of the Paseo

The 2nd gen Paseo came out in 1996, with minimal changes to the first generation.

While not a ton changed into the second generation, the changes were mainly the nose, rear, and some window changes. They did also add some additional air bags.

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I doubt many people would be able to spot the difference between the two generations.

The biggest change to this vehicle happened in its final year, where a convertible was launched. Unfortunately this was short lived, as in 1997 the Paseo was no more.

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