KOBE -- Responding to requests from younger customers, Toyota Motor Corp. will open a test driving center here on an unprecedented scale today in Nishi Ward.
Customers can take any of 58 Toyota models out on the road for up to two hours without a salesperson in the vehicle.
The Ride One center was intended to make test drives easier because the company learned that when purchasing a car, customers in their 30s or younger tend to analyze information gained from test drives more carefully than the older generation, Toyota officials said.
Cars are divided into three categories, and the cost of the test drive varies according to the type of car and the length of the ride, which ranges from a minimum of 30 minutes to a maximum of two hours.
The price for the cheapest class, such as a Corolla, is 400 yen for a 30-minute drive. The Crown and other cars in the most expensive class cost 2,400 yen for a two-hour drive. The price covers insurance fees and gasoline, the officials said.
They said the test drives can also be used as a short-term car rental. In two hours, drivers can make a trip across the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, they said.