Last week I bought a sofa and a dehumidifier. These things are too large to fit in my Miata, and so the store I purchased them from allowed me the use of their new Toyota Pixis pickup truck. Historically, I am not a fan of pickup trucks. I associate them with terrible driving dynamics, bloated dimensions, poor fuel economy, a common use-case of compensating for perceived inadequacies of the male anatomy, and for being both very expensive and barely more useful than a small hatchback. I was, consequently, not expecting much when the staff handed me the keys to the truck above. What an incredible and pleasant surprise. 

First, where a lot of 6,000 plus pound work trucks would struggle to hold my new sofa lying flat, the Pixis just swallowed the thing with no problems at all. I need to emphasize this. The Pixis is tiny – significantly shorter and narrower than a Honda Civic or Ford Fiesta. The sofa I bought would not have fit in a new Ford F250. That is some incredible space efficiency on the part of the Pixis.

The fold down sides on the bed were super convenient, loading and unloading was so easy it literally made me laugh, and the maneuverability was the best I’ve experienced in a car (or a go kart, for that matter). Trucks are usually $70,000 luxury nonsense with huge but fragile bling-bling wheels and a general inability to do work, but man, a real truck designed for real work is an immensely practical thing.

Second, the Pixis might have the nicest balance of stability and ride quality I’ve ever experienced. The roads here are awful, lots of suspension-breaking potholes and road heave 8 inches tall. The Pixis absolutely did not care. It did this without feeling floaty or disconnected, with leaf spring rear suspension, and 12 inch wheels. Speaking of 12 inch wheels – you can replace all four of these smooth riding and responsive 145/80/r12 tires for about 150 bucks total.

Granted, there are riding lawn-mowers with more sporting potential than this little truck, but the Pixis was a genuine pleasure to drive. In addition to the amazing ride/stability balance, the it might be the easiest to park vehicle in history, so easy it made parking fun. The visibility is excellent, in all directions. The fixed seats are comfortable, and it’s surprisingly spacious. It revs to 7500 rpm and is considerably smoother than any of the Mercedes-Benz or BMW engines in luxury cars I’ve ever experienced. This is good because first gear at redline is 22 mph, which meant I could indulge my drag racing fantasies at every redlight while remaining below the speed limit in many school zones. More practical, the granny gear also meant that the little Pixis didn’t really care about steep inclines – it just floated along at a glass smooth 7,000 rpm like some sewing machine/mountain goat hybrid. 

That probably sounds inefficient, but the Pixis has a grand total of 52 horsepower and a displacement of 665cc. The engine is small enough to fit in your lap and light enough to carry in your arms. It gets over 50 mpg even with an automatic transmission.

And I loved, loved, loved the interior. Incredibly simple and intuitive climate control, lights, radio, gear shifter. All of it placed in easy reach, all of it clearly labeled, all of it operable entirely without taking your eyes off the road. It never once tried to tell Sam Altman my level of sexual arousal and it even had roll up windows! After the distracting, spazzy, and frankly dangerous “safety features” on my last rental car (a Chrysler Pacifica), the Pixis was a revelation. 

In addition, it’s incredible how “fresh” a design can feel when it’s clearly designed to accomplish a real task. The Pixis is not trying to be a fashion statement, it’s not trying to compete with the local housewives for status, it’s not trying to be sporty, or to dominate traffic. It’s a simple machine made with cheap, and durable parts that are easily serviceable, designed to move cargo cheaply and efficiently on small roads. The honesty is refreshing, and in a weird way, life-affirming.

Added bonus, you can buy one new, right now, for less than $10,000. What an incredible, welcome, and hopeful reminder that new cars don’t have to be overpriced monuments to enshitification.