The Paseo is the kind of car that doesn’t really get noticed much in the first place; it is a bit bland. Of course, lots of cars were in the early nineties; maybe it’s just because it was smaller, and got lost easier among all the big SUVs of the time. Anyway, I had no memory of there being a convertible version. TheProfessor47 shot this in Southern California, and noted that the Paseo convertible was a one-year wonder; and for the Paseo’s last year in the US. Bet not many were sold. A future collectible?
I did not know that either, never seen one. On the rare occasion I will see a Celica convertible though.
I’ve seen at least a couple of these—I’m always on the lookout for Paseos, as a former girlfriend had one that I became very familiar with. Really decent little cars—like a sportier Corolla. They were nice for what they were. The first time I saw a ‘vert, I assumed it was a misguided aftermarket modification—not so!
I think a convertible Paseo would be a fun little runner! Doesn’t look terrible, either.
More like a sportier Tercel, at least in appearance.
The funny thing is that these weighed as much as, if not more than, the Tercel on which they were based, so they were all show, and no go.
Had a buddy look at one of these at the dealership back in the day. When he noticed the Paseo and Tercel shared an identical dashboard, he passed.
In his words, “Why buy a sporty car with an economy car dash?”
And having owned a Tercel from this era, I’d say “Why buy a sporty car when the economy car it’s based on is already incredibly compromised for styling over functionality?”
Besides the usual ’90s no-hatchback-for-you model policy, I’m 5’9″ and would sometimes bump my head on the door frame getting in, especially in winter.
I own one with 36,000 miles.
It’s a blast to drive and cost nothing to drive but gas and oil.
It’s heavy because ASC so overbuilt it. It still has no rattles.
The best thing, with only 1000 built, I have the only one around and it runs perfectly.
Same experience here. I wonder if we drove the same girlfriend—er, I mean—Paseo.
I have a 1997 black Toyota Pasco convertible that I am the only owner. It is garaged in the winters and driven only in the summers. It is a standard. I love driving it.
If you are still interested in one let me know. I am interested in selling it.
Sue
sue contact ne about your paseo
It looks like a nice combination of practicality (Toyota) and frivolity (Convertible). I’ll take one without the silly basket-handle spoiler, if they made them that way.
“Acutally?” I can’t even spell my own name…
I remember these exisiting, I think they fought against the Geo Metro convertible for the title of cheapest rag top you could buy?
Ive seen a couple of ex JDM ragtops like this didnt realise they are rare our roads are littered with strange JDM refugees in all flavours, We have so many crap Chev Blazers youd think they sold here new and those horrid little Cavaliers are brokendown everywhere all ex JDM.
I remember the Paseos well but not in this later style at all. Actually I’ve seen so few of these later Paseos in my life that I’d have thought the vert was standard. I actually had to google it to see what the coupe looked like!
I’ve never seen one.
Wonder what the female:male buyer ratio was. Probably even more lopsided than the VW Cabrio…
I do remember them, if only because in high school a kid drove a red convertible just like this, and being immature and cruel we exclusively referred to it as, in your best lisped pronunciation, “Puh-thay-o”. Like I said, cruel. But this car still looks useless to me. As the others said, a more stylish Tercel, with the top lopped off. A couple year old Mustang or Miata would have at least been a real car.
I’d not seen one since they were new, and then only one. The Portland Craigslist has one for sale from a BHPH lot, with a much rattier top than the pictured car. Looks like the spoiler contains the “Liddy Light” so there wouldn’t be a version without it.
Despite being based on the Tercel, the Paseo had a full 16 valves when the Tercel was stuck at 12 in the early 90’s iteration. Not sure if there was any engine difference in the US market after the Tercel got the updated 16 valve motor in 1995.
Starting in 1995, it appears that all US-market Paseos came with the same 93 hp, 1.5 liter engine that was in the Tercel.
I can only imagine how this thing drove with the added weight of the convertible, and with an automatic these must have been glacially slow.
Both the Tercel and the Paseo were built in Japan, unlike the more expensive Corolla and Camry, which by that time were built in the US. I’m not sure if these were very profitable for Toyota, which may be why – in addition to their small size – they’re not particularly common in the US.
Sadly, this is one of the cars I’ve seen up close after a crash. Paseo vs. Civic. Not a pretty sight. The Civic held up well as could be expected (high speed, head on) and the Paseo disintegrated. So did the person inside it.
We have a few examples of the RHD Paseo convertible here. Neither it or the roofed version were terribly popular.
This is a convertible, in a different sense than what I was thinking of (hint, hint, hint).
If I remember correctly, when the Paseo first came out, the 5EFE engine made about 100 hp. In 1995 when the 5th generation of the Tercel came out, it came with that same engine but the engine was made OBD 2 complaint, and the changes made, reduced the hp to 93 but increased the torque raiting.
My daily driver right now is a 1996 Tercel with that engine and over 300k miles on it. I helped my now wife purchase it when we began dating in 2000 and I inherited it a few years later. We also have a Mazda Tribute and a Pathfinder but with a daily conmute of almost a 100 miles and the car still giving almost 40 MPG on the highway (4AT), it is the logical choice for going to job duty. My plans are for this year to finally let it rest and get a new or newish daily driver. Minimum requirements A/C, manual transmission if possible, and good fuel economy. I don’t ask for much.
Saw them in California and Arizona quite a bit during that year. My guess is the majority of them went to dealers in those two states and maybe Florida. They were in rental fleets in Phoenix for a while, then, too.
Had a 93 Paseo. Fun car until it was rearended by a large Ford pickup. That killed the car, and nearly took out my back, but my chiropractor and I became best buddies. Second gen Paseo was a better looking car, and still fun. Didnt sell well though, too expensive for the young buyers. Toyota finally got its act together with Scion though a few years after they discontinued the Paseo, Echo, MR2 Spyder, etc. etc.
That’s my car. I need to replace the top.
Yes it does exist, it was once my daily commuter and is a very reliable good car. After all these years I am still keeping it in prime condition.
I have one of these as my daily driver. Great little car, never gives me any trouble and gets in the mid 30MPGs. No, it’s not the fastest thing on the road but not as slow as you might imagine. Decent ride too.
Yes I have one too. Great car, great mileage and can seat 4 in a pinch
Red Conv 61k miles
My sister had a cool mica teal ’96 Paseo convertible. Wow, what an amazing car it was! That car would generate so much attention it was almost unreal. I drove it a few times and would constantly get thumbs up and people in parking lots wanted to talk about it. That Paseo got more stares an admiration than a near mint Riverside Red ’64 Corvette I once owned! My sister put nearly 300,000 trouble free miles on her Paseo. She sold it and bought a 2003 Honda CRV which is an awesome, beautiful machine. The Japenese sure have a way with cars. Always have, and always will.
I have one with 36K miles. For making only 1000, it’s very well built.
While it’s not quick of the line, it is a BLAST to drive on a curvy roads. Like a go cart.
Very solid build by ASC and the local Toyota dealer didn’t believe it existed as it sat in their service area. They know now.
Horrible headlight lens. Even with 100W bulbs and relays the lights aren’t good. Never found decent euro style replacement lenses.
Here’s the car
I have one in San Diego that I will be selling. Great shape. White, Automatic 135k miles. Serviced by Toyota. If interested, send me an email. I’ll reply with pictures. With only 1,000 made and this car is already 20 years old, it will go up in value. If I were a collector I would park it somewhere as it then becomes an investment, but this one was used as a daily driver to the airport.
Hi Ken,
God I hope you’re still thinking of selling and haven’t sold it yet. I had one as my daily driver up until last week. I was in a bad crash because of a reckless driver. I had 235K miles on it and it was still running as smooth as you can expect 🙁
But anyways, I digress… If it’s still available, I’m very interested
-Luis
I have a 1997 black Toyota Paseo convertible that I am the only owner. It is garaged in the winters and driven only in the summers. It is a standard. I love driving it.
If you are still interested in one let me know. I am interested in selling it.
Sue
I’ve just bought a Toyota Paseo Convertible in the Netherlands. 29950 miles on it and in perfect conditions after 21 years! Not a scratch, no rust, completely in mint condition. It will be stored in my garage and only comes out with beautiful weather conditions.
I like the guy that parked the Town Car in the compact vehicles only spot.
I just paid $750 for a used one with 298122 miles on it. Has some ugly rust spots, needs some TLC. But it runs and drives really well. My car is number 0671 from ASC.
Just bought number 3213. 1997 with 38,000 miles from a family member.
Feels good to own one of these despite the lack of hp. It was my Fathers he bought in 97’ he died in 2009 so this is his legacy he left for me. But this is definitely the ideal car of choice for driving down PCH In California. A forgotten JDM but awesome car to take people in. Also great for blasting Eurobeat music in.