While sedans are preferred by the US and European markets, many people in Japan prefer to buy MPVs that offer the interior space provided by family sedans while being a lot smaller on the outside. The Toyota Wish is exactly that, a small MPV, which can offer space for up to seven people or up to five people and a lot of luggage while being just as small as any other hatchback.
The car is a great seller in Japan and East-Asia countries, but rumors say that the upcoming mid-life facelift of the car will also come to Europe and likely to the US. We are not sure if it will be able to compete successfully against a large number of great looking hatchbacks and crossovers but still, Toyota always managed to sell their vehicles in decent number no matter of obstacles and competition.
The 2016 Toyota Wish will likely get quite a few exterior and interior updates in order to meet the demands of these markets, but it may also get quite a few tweaks to its powertrain which is already dated by this point.
In Japan the car costs roughly the equivalent of $20,000 for a base model so we expect that it would cost roughly the same in the US or Europe as well. However, its top end versions will not go past $30,000 in order to make it competitive which will likely be quite hard as both these markets are already set on sedans or even crossovers.
As we mentioned, rumors say that the Toyota Wish will ditch its current 1.8 and 2.0-liter engines in the favor of a smaller unit, a 1.5-liter turbocharged inline three-cylinder petrol engine which Toyota borrowed from BMW a while ago.
This approach is all-new for Wish and it will allow Toyota to provide more power and torque than before with a better fuel consumption. Rumors suggest that the engine will be available in two different outputs, one with 150 horsepower or so for the front wheel drive car and one with slightly less power for the four-wheel drive version in order not to strain the transmission. Both of them will get either a CVT gearbox or a manual transmission.
The ongoing model of the car looks quite good and it perfectly fits the Japanese market but the 2016 Toyota Wish might get a small facelift in order to meet the new markets better. This means that the car will likely borrow from the design of the Accord with the slimmer grille, headlights, and the more aggressive profile.
The interior should take a similar approach as well, but here the equipment level and materials are going to be identical to those of the Japanese model. Currently, this vehicle is only in rumors for U.S. and European market but we do expect it to come with few upgrades.
