Toyota Pixis Joy

By sitting on Daihatsu’s shortest platform, the Pixis Joy measures exactly 3 395 mm long, 1 475 mm wide and 1 600 mm tall—numbers that position it at the absolute limit for Japanese kei-car regulations. That tight footprint keeps annual tax and registration costs rock-bottom while still carving out usable cabin space for four occupants and modest cargo.

Externally, the Pixis Joy adopts a box-on-wheel silhouette, upright glass and short overhangs to squeeze maximum utility from every millimetre. Tall doors and a high roofline aid entry in tight urban spots, and the flattened rear bumper simplifies parallel parking in Japan’s narrow city streets.

Although marketed as a Toyota, the Pixis Joy rides on the same DNGA-derived chassis found underneath the Daihatsu Wake and Tanto. Only one iteration has been offered since launch, with periodic facelifts adding new colours, upholstery options and minor equipment updates.

Inside, twin sliding rear doors transform the tiny footprint into a genuinely usable family runabout. Seats tumble and fold flat to create a low, wide load floor that rivals much larger hatches. Combined with standard stop-start, CVT economy tuning and a Japanese fuel-economy rating that slips beneath 3.6 L/100 km, the Pixis Joy keeps ownership costs conspicuously low.