This is a strange JDM behavior that you might not be familiar with. As part of a youth-oriented branding initiative, this vehicle is fundamentally a modest Toyota Yaris at its core, enhanced with bold neo-retro styling on the exterior. It looks strange, but it should be just as easy to live with as a normal (RHD) Yaris. The Figaro, Be-1, S-Cargo, and other Nissan Pike Factory models are the most well-known examples of Japanese home market wonkiness. But this weird little Toyota shows that they’re not the only ones. Bring a Trailer that has this Toyota WiLL Vi for sale. Bring a Trailer is owned by Hearst Autos, which also owns invoice-pricing. Beer, chocolate, fax machines, and Citroën and Yaris have all been mixed. The WiLL Vi was a project that a lot of Japanese companies did together to try to get young people to buy their products. You might have guessed from the strange style that the idea did not work out. But something is interesting about a strange duck car with classic roots. The WiLL Vi looks strange, but it’s a normal Toyota. That is, it has an automatic drive with four speeds and a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 87 whp. This car will get good gas mileage, speed up a little, and probably be reliable for a long time. All of the usual Toyota reliability that some fans might not find interesting. But the style is anything but plain. The shape and angle of the back window make me think of the Citroën Ami 6, but this one looks like it belongs in Studio Ghibli. You can see the trunk springs, and the side slats and box flares make it look even stranger. It takes some time to get used to this, but it’s like sea urchin food for cars. And now it is, for those of you who like to show up to the neighborhood car and meet in a car that no one has ever heard of. You can end your trip through downtown Tokyo by putting in a CD of your favorite Japanese hit music. The bench seats should be nice and soft. It also has air conditioning and power windows. Along with this one-of-a-kind Toyota compact, WiLL saw a lot of different companies work together on other goods for younger people. Some of these companies were Glyco (which makes Pocky), Panasonic (which makes personal electronics), Ashai (which makes drinks), and even travel and stationery companies. The WiLL Vi didn’t sell well, so it was replaced by a more common hatchback based on the Corolla. Later, the WiLL Cypha made things a little strange again, but the Vi is still the best example of a Toyota that isn’t like the others. Under DOT rules, this car is just 25 years old enough to be brought into the United States, but the odometer shows that it has already been driven 30,000 kilometers. People will look at this WiLL Vi in traffic if the person who owns it finds it funny and doesn’t mind being stared at. The sale will end on March 27.
