More toolbox than lounge
Inside the Probox, you quickly discover that Toyota has not confused "practical" with "luxurious." The dashboard is simple, upright and designed around functionality rather than creating a showroom wow factor.
The driving position is one of the car's strengths. You sit relatively high, visibility is good and the controls are straightforward. In Bangladesh, where traffic includes buses, CNGs, rickshaws, motorcycles and pedestrians appearing from almost everywhere, good outward visibility is far more useful than a beautifully sculpted dashboard.
The cabin also has plenty of storage. This is a vehicle designed to carry things, so bottles, paperwork, tools, small bags and everyday business equipment have somewhere to go.
The rear seats can fold, transforming the vehicle into a remarkably useful cargo carrier. Toyota quotes approximately 1,810 mm of cargo length with the rear seats folded and 1,040 mm with the seats in their normal configuration.
The weakness is refinement. The materials are hard-wearing rather than luxurious, and there is little of the soft-touch finish found in more expensive Toyota passenger cars.
For a Dhaka family using it as a daily private car, the interior may feel rather commercial. For someone carrying tools, boxes, equipment or business goods every day, however, the same simplicity becomes a virtue.
It is not a living room. It is a very clever toolbox with seats.