Toyota Kijang / Tamaraw Revo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Toyota entered the AUV (or Asian Utility Vehicle) market with the Kijang (deer) in Indonesia and the Tamaraw (water buffalo) in the Philippines. The original Tamaraw built in the 1970's was conceptualized to provide a vehicle for rugged use in Asian countries. It is a cross between a truck and a pick-up truck. Several options were then available such as cab-chassis, high bed pick-up, low bed pick-up, passenger, or delivery van. Tamaraw shared the market with the Ford Fiera, its only competitor.
Revived in the early 90's, Toyota introduced a more modern tamaraw with the same concept as its predecessor, and was immediately followed by a wagon version. The wagon was dubed as the Tamaraw FX. It has a 10 passenger seating capacity, and was very popular with the local population. By this time, other manufacturers have introduced their own brand of AUV's. Isuzu entered the race with the Hi-lander, followed by the Adventure developed by Mitsubishi. Recently, Honda reclassified their C-RV from and SUV to an AUV, thereby switching competitors (the C-RV shared its former market with the Toyota Rav4).
Late in 1999, Toyota released the Tamaraw Revo to keep the lead in the market. The Revo features a fifth door that swings up rather than on the side (as the FX is fitted with).
The Tamaraw FX name was dropped in the 2006 release of the newest Toyota AUV, the Avanza.
