Toyota Probox

By Karuga wa Njuguna

Toyota Probox has been one of the most popular car in Kenya for the last five years. The car was introduced by Toyota for the Japanese market in August 2002. It is a small station wagon designed for commercial use as a delivery vehicle and the predecessor of Toyota 102/103 . Toyota Probox has a simple engine and come mostly 1500 cc engines while a few are 1300 cc VVTI petrol .They are five speed manual and four speed automatic transmission while it's a five door station wagon. It has a simple dashboard with basic features like the speedometer, a digital odometer, the air conditioning system and the radio.The rear seats can be removed to create more carriage space. The car seats are mainly fabric. There are no leather seats for this model. This makes it more of a factory car than a luxury car. The car has only one shortcoming that is is not manufactured with leaf springs to carry more weight that Kenyans would love. It has coil springs but still a strong car though it is much lighter. It is worth noting that there is another model known as Toyota Succeed which has lights bordering the number plate area. The Probox has no lights on the rear door and has a more serious look while Succeed assumes a sporty look but basically the same car. This is a good car for a starter businessman since one can get one for between 350k to 650k.Toyota Probox has found it very rough in Kenyan big towns because most of the owners are small businessmen who are really misusing and abusing this car which is actually taking the punishment. The worst hit is in Kisii town, some Probox belonging to police officers and nicknamed 'Olwenda' ply town service routes carrying up to 12 passengers. They pick their passengers from the heart of the town in full glare of police. In Nairobi's Umoja estate they ferry upto 16 bags of charcoal to the venders while others supply meat in the capital. Miraa traders are also inlove with the car. They ferry Miraa to small towns using this 'ground missile' which is often driven so fast and dangerously on Kenyan roads. Taxi drivers in major towns also use this car in their business and is also loved by them due to the low consumption of fuel. Security companies have also been using using as chase cars for the cash in transit vans and proved to be a beast of burden. While small businessmen like the car, many people hate the car. In the capital Nairobi these cars are always driven recklessly in a hurry to deliver goods or people. At the police roadblock you will never pass with out being stopped and searched for any illegal goods especially if the car has tinted windows. Most owners of this model live in fear for theft as this car is a hot cake in Kenya and neighboring countries. Few years ago Turkana Police have unearthed a theft syndicate in northern Kenya targeting Toyota Probox vehicles which are sold in South Sudan. However the 2014 model has arrived 0 The Probox vehicle models stolen from other areas are hurriedly driven to far away Turkana County and later sold to the neighbouring country.Due to the porous nature of Kenya’s border in the north, criminals from South Sudan easily cross over to Turkana where they find ready supply of stolen vehicles.Investigations by a local media house (The Standard) established the Kenyan criminals are daring enough as they drive the stolen vehicles to Turkana without changing the number plates.The syndicate sells stolen vehicles to their counterparts across the border at throwaway prices in order to keep the members flush with cash.The criminals target fairly new Probox vehicles, and sell them for between Sh350,000 and Sh400,000.Apart from South Sudan, there is also high demand for Toyota Probox vehicles in major towns in Turkana, especially in Lodwar, Kakuma, and Lokichoggio. Want a delivery car,then this is the car to but but make a point of securing it by all means.