The Toyota bB is a

mini MPV Mini MPV— an abbreviation for mini multi-purpose vehicle— is a vehicle size class for the smallest size of minivans/MPVs. The mini MPV size class sits below the compact MPV size class and the vehicles are often built on the platforms of B-s ...

produced by the Japanese car company

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

. The first generation launched in 2000, and the second generation was jointly developed with

Daihatsu , commonly known as Daihatsu, is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers. The company's headquarters are located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. Historically, Daihatsu was ...

from 2005. The car has been

badge engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a ma ...

and sold as the Daihatsu Materia,

Scion xB The Scion xB is a compact car (subcompact car in its first generation) made by Scion (automobile), Scion, a now-defunct fully owned division of Toyota, for the United States market. It is a box-shaped, 5-door hatchback. First generation (XP30; ...

and Subaru Dex. __TOC__

First generation (XP30; 2000)

The first generation bB was based on the

Toyota Vitz The is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota from 1999 to 2019 in a three- or five-door hatchback body styles. The "Vitz" nameplate was used consistently in Japan, while most international markets received th ...

and the development was led by Toyota chief engineer Tetsuya Tada. While the box-shaped

was initially targeted towards Japanese men in their twenties, it is also popular with women buyers. Production of the bB occurred between January 2000 and April 2005 at the Takaoka plant in

Toyota, Aichi , formerly known as Koromo, is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 426,162 and a population density of 464 people per km2. The total area was . It is located about 35 minutes from Nagoya by way of the Meite ...

. Production occurred at the former

Central Motors Central Motor Co., Ltd. was a Japanese manufacturer of cars within the Toyota Group. It was founded on 4 September 1950 by Ryuichi Tomiya. The company operated five plants, all located in Japan. It was one of the biggest export vehicle manufactu ...

between August 2004 and December 2005 for the bB; export Scion xB model continued until December 2006. In more recent years, the first-generation bB has been at least privately imported to the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Engines

Engine choices include 1.3- and 1.5-litre

inline-four engine A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...

Marketing

In the United States, the first generation bB was sold under the

Scion Scion may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities *Scion, a playable class in the game '' Path of Exile'' (2013) *Atlantean Scion, a device in the ''Tomb Raider'' video game series *Scions, an alien race in the video game ''B ...

brand as the xB from June 2003 to 2007. For the Scion xB, the front passenger area was also changed significantly with the bB's front bench seat replaced with bucket seats and the column-mounted shifter changed to a floor-mounted shifter.

Open Deck (2000–2001)

The bB Open Deck was a coupe utility version of the bB.

Gallery

File:2000 Toyota bB 02.jpg, Japanese spec bB File:06-Scion-xB.jpg, North American spec xB File:2004-Scion-xB-RS-1.0.jpg, xB Release Series 1.0 variant File:Toyota bB Open Deck 004.JPG, bB Open Deck

Second generation (QNC20; 2005)

The second generation bB was unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. Production version went on sale in Netz dealers. The second generation Scion xB is not based on the bB, but was specifically designed by Toyota to appeal to American buyers, which was sold in Japan as

Toyota Corolla Rumion The , also called the Toyota Rukus in Australia, and the Scion xB in the US and Canada, is a compact 5-door hatchback produced by Toyota from 2007 to 2015. Based on the E150 series Corolla, the design of the car had been adapted from the xB to m ...

. Badge engineered Daihatsu and Subaru models were also produced, but production ceased in 2012, leaving just the Toyota model. Production of the Toyota model was also ceased in May 2016, with sales ended in Japan in July 2016, and it was replaced by the Toyota Tank and its twin counterpart the Toyota Roomy, which is a rebadged Daihatsu Thor.

Design

The vehicle was designed as "A Car-shaped Music Player" to hopefully satisfy the preferences of the younger generation. The Daihatsu version can be identified by a wider and shallower grille and indicator layout.

Body styles

Engines

Transmissions

All models include Super ECT 4-speed automatic transmission.

Daihatsu Coo/Materia

The Daihatsu Materia (Daihatsu Coo in Japan) replaced the Daihatsu YRV and is largely identical to the second generation of the Toyota bB. This generation has been discontinued. It came in 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre varieties with a

4WD Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer ca ...

option that was available in Japan and several European markets. There were manual and automatic gearbox options. times are 10.8 seconds for the manual and 13.7 seconds for the auto. The maximum speed is for the manual and for the automatic. In the tenth series of

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...

jokingly compared the Materia to the

Ascari A10 The Ascari A10 is a prototype automobile produced by the British company Ascari Cars that was conceived by Dutch millionaire Klaas Zwart. It is a road-going evolution of the KZ1-R GT race car that participated in the Spanish GT Championship, ...

, saying, "Sure the Daihatsu Materia is a good car... but on balance... I'd choose the big, yellow, shouty car instead." The Daihatsu Materia was only ever available with a 1.5-litre, 16 valve, fuel injected, petrol engine in the UK market. A limited edition Daihatsu Materia Turbo version was available only for the South African market. The vehicles were built in Head (Ikeda) Plant, Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. Sales of the Daihatsu Coo ended in Japan in January 2013.

Subaru Dex

The Subaru Dex is a badge engineered version for Subaru with the K3-VE 1.3-litre engine and a choice of FWD or 4WD.

Gallery

File:2005 Toyota bB 04.jpg, 2005 Toyota bB (Japan) File:2008 Toyota bB Aero Package.jpg, 2008 Toyota bB Aero Package (Japan) File:2008 Toyota bB 02.jpg, 2008 Toyota bB (Japan) File:2008 Subaru Dex 01.jpg, 2008 Subaru Dex (Japan) File:2008 Daihatsu Materia 1.5 Front.jpg, Daihatsu Materia File:2008 Daihatsu Materia 1.5 Rear.jpg, Daihatsu Materia

References

External links

Official webpage (in Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toyota Bb BB Coupé utilities Mini MPVs Front-wheel-drive vehicles Euro NCAP superminis Cars introduced in 2006