The Toyota Brevis is a former
mid-size
Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in ...
luxury
Luxury may refer to:
* Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises
*Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars
**Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...
sedan introduced in May 2001, that was sold only in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Sales started in June 2001. The Brevis was produced for six years before being discontinued in 2007. The Brevis was exclusive to Toyota Japan dealerships ''
Toyota Store
Toyota vehicles in Japan are distributed to numerous dealership chains throughout the country. Up to May 2020, each dealership chain had a different product offering, with some models restricted to one chain to maintain exclusivity. Since May 2020, ...
'', while its twin the
Toyota Progrès
The Toyota Progrès (pronounced "Prog-Ray") is a mid-size luxury sedan which was sold in Japan from May 1998 to June 2007, replacing the Toyota Corona EXiV. The Progrès included 2.5 L or 3.0 L JZ inline 6-cylinder engines with VVT-i. Since Ap ...
was exclusive to ''Toyopet Store'' locations.
The word "brevis" is
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "brief, a short amount of time or duration".
Marketing
The marketing approach used for the Brevis was shared with a ''Toyota Vista Store'' sedan, called the
Toyota Verossa
The is a mid-size sedan produced by Toyota for the Japanese market, and was exclusive new to the ''Netz Store'' locations as the smaller companion sedan to the Aristo. The Verossa exceeded Japanese government dimension regulations concerning ...
, which used a different platform. The Brevis represented the market segment previously served in Japan by the
Toyota Carina ED
The Toyota Carina ED is a compact car manufactured by Japanese automaker Toyota in 1985 as a companion to the 1984 Carina sedan. It was positioned as the four-door Celica, with a similar focus on luxury found on larger Toyota hardtop sedans, li ...
. The width and engine displacement exceed
Japanese Government regulations concerning exterior dimensions and engine displacement, and therefore it classified in the larger "passenger car" tax bracket. Two engine sizes were offered to allow Japanese buyers which annual
road tax
Road tax, known by various names around the world, is a tax which has to be paid on, or included with, a motorised vehicle to use it on a public road.
National implementations Australia
All states and territories require an annual vehicle registra ...
they were willing to pay. The larger engine did offer higher levels of standard equipment and luxury features.
Description
The Toyota Brevis is a twin of the Progrès, which was launched half a year before the Altezza/Lexus IS with a similar platform. Brevis was made with the concept of "Mini LS430". Unlike the Progrès, the Brevis aimed at younger customers, with Toyota saying it is intended to compete directly with imports like the
BMW 3 Series
The BMW 3 Series is a line of compact executive cars manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. It is the successor to the 02 Series and has been produced in seven generations.
The first generation of the 3 Series was only avail ...
and
Mercedes C-Class
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a series of compact executive cars produced by Mercedes-Benz Group AG. Introduced in 1993 as a replacement for the 190 (W201) range, the C-Class was the smallest model in the marque's line-up until the W168 A-Class ...
. The Brevis has many styling cues from the
Lexus LS 430, and was introduced at the same time as the
Toyota Allion
The and its twin the are sedans sold in Japan from 2001 to 2021 by Toyota. The sedans are designated as a compact car by Japanese dimension regulations and the exterior dimensions do not change with periodic updates. Unlike Toyota's other v ...
. Had this car been sold in markets other than Japan, it would likely have been sold as a model in the Lexus lineup. The price range would have been between the IS and the GS, which puts it in the US$30,000-$45,000 range at that time.
The chassis and powertrain is similar to the Progrès and the Lexus IS, with altered exterior styling and a differently trimmed interior. The headlamps consist of three round type beams. The center console houses an LCD monitor and an alloy-effect sound system which consists of an on-dash CD changer, DVD and MD playback, with seven speakers on the top model.
The Brevis is based on the same rear-drive platform as the Lexus IS, using a
double wishbone suspension
A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckl ...
at all four wheels, with the wheelbase extended to . In terms of size and weight, it stands between the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series. However, dynamically speaking it can hardly match the European rivals (in Toyota's brand images, that role is left for Lexus to fulfil), even though it rides on double-wishbone suspension. The suspension is set softer than the Lexus, steering is less direct, and its kerb weight also harmed handling agility.
Options
There are two choices of power plants: 2.5 litre or 3.0 litre straight-six (
Toyota JZ engine
The Toyota JZ engine family is a series of inline-6 automobile engines produced by Toyota Motor Corporation. As a replacement for the M-series inline-6 engines, the JZ engines were 24-valve DOHC engines in 2.5- and 3.0-litre versions.
1JZ
Th ...
), both front mounted, producing and respectively. Both are equipped with
VVT-i
VVT-i, or Variable Valve Timing with intelligence, is an automobile variable valve timing technology developed by Toyota. It was first introduced in 1995 with the '' 2JZ-GE'' engine found in the JZS155 Toyota Crown and Crown Majesta.
The VVT- ...
and D-4 direct injection. It comes with 5-speed automatic (2WD car) or 4-speed automatic (4WD car) gearbox options, in which the 4WD option is only available for the 2.5 litre model.
Other options include a power-adjustable pedal, in which pedal positions can be adjusted to suit the driver's driving posture and the position of the pedals, steering wheel and driver's seat are memorized. There is also an electric rear sunshade and a
radar cruise control
Adaptive cruise control (ACC) is an available cruise control Advanced driver-assistance systems, advanced driver-assistance system for road vehicles that automatically adjusts the vehicle speed to maintain a safe distance from vehicles ahead. As ...
system to ensure a safe following distance to the car ahead in correspondence to the traveling speed. All these are standard equipment. Also included are the
Vehicle Stability Control
Electronic stability control (ESC), also referred to as electronic stability program (ESP) or dynamic stability control (DSC), is a computerized technology that improves a vehicle's stability by detecting and reducing loss of traction ( skiddi ...
(VSC) system, ABS, and high intensity discharge
HID headlamp
A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term fo ...
s.
Model changes
The Brevis was changed in April 2004 as the mesh grille design was adopted for the front grille. Models after December 2005 come with EMV (with color backing guide monitor & window shade corner monitor) and also a DVD voice navigation system for
G-BOOK and NAVI.AI-SHIFT (not applicable for 4WD models.)
References
{{Toyota cars
Brevis
Cars introduced in 2001
Cars discontinued in 2007
Luxury vehicles
Sedans