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Boxy designs are making a comeback and Toyota's F3R people-carrier concept is short on elegant curves. Like Toyota's smaller Scion bB box-on-wheels, Honda's Element SUV and even the latest Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, the F3R pushes for maximum space to every corner - literally.
Designed at Toyota's Calty studio in California, the F3R is meant to reflect the changing demands in the MPV (minivan) sector, which has lost out in recent years to 4x4s and SUVs. In the US, MPVs are increasingly bought by older buyers, but Toyota wants to win back young families, who have been tempted into trendier alternatives.
"I think that today's young drivers see the minivan as the vehicle they were carted around in when they were kids", said chief designer Ian Cartabiano. "It's their parents' car. They don't want anything to do with one."
The aim was to produce a practical, comfortable and roomy vehicle with three rows of seats that was also sporty, stylish and distinctively Japanese in feel.
The F3R can seat up to eight, with each row of seats differently designed. The rearmost row can, with the left-hand middle-row seat reclined and the right and centre seats folded, form a large sofa-style bench. The driver's seat reclines and swivels round and the passenger seat reclines: it all forms a lounge-type layout so, when the car is parked up, it can function as a space to hang out in. Ambience is created with fibre-optic lighting and equipment includes two flat-panel video screens and a dash-mounted DVD/games console unit with lighting controls that can be removed for use in the rear seating area.
The three-tier instrument panel is divided into modes: the upper strip contains warning lights, transmission info, clock and audio data, but turns blue when parked up in lounge mode. The second tier contains functions such as speedo, tachometer, fuel gauge, sat nav and so on, with the third tier taking on the climate control and lighting, and incorporates the removable entertainment module.
The cabin is finished off with floor panels of Ecoresin, a recyclable material and simulated leather. The F3R sits on 22-inch wheels, but although it carries Hybrid Synergy Drive logos, it is not a fully-functioning prototype complete with hybrid powertrain. At the moment, it's just a design study, though it does indicate Toyota's intended design direction for MPVs of the future.
