The Toyota Probox is a reliable workhorse

Probox is short for Professional Box. Since its release by Japanese automaker Toyota in 2002, the Toyota Probox’s population on the roads has grown exponentially.  Mainly manufactured as a commercial vehicle, it comes with manual and automatic transmissions for user preference, writes Roland D. Nasasira.

Rogers Tumwine

I run a retail shop and every time I need to restock, I no longer incur costs of hiring pick-up trucks to transport merchandise from Kikuubo in the central business district of Kampala to my shop in Kisaasi, a city suburb. I can comfortably load the Toyota Probox with as many as six to 10 bags of sugar and I will drive through Kampala traffic jam without any worry of burning a lot of fuel.

A Toyota Probox is small in size but big on the interior. The rear passenger seats, can be removed or folded to create more space to accommodate a lot more luggage regardless,  whether you are using it for town rounds or travelling upcountry.

I once drove it upcountry to Mbarara and loaded it with 60 trays of eggs that I brought back to Kampala and upon offloading, I had lost only a handful of eggs. It is more of a farm vehicle you can use for any kind of activity.

When I am travelling upcountry for the festive season or unexpected emergencies such as loss of loved ones, it is the same car in which I move with my family of six. It is a car of all seasons. It is not only economical when it comes to fuel consumption but it is also cheap and affordable to maintain.

Every time I go to the garage, I spend less than Shs200,000 on carrying out major service. With this amount, I will change spark plugs, oil and air filters, brake pads, engine oil, wiper blades and other important parts.

I have not had to park the car for days because I have failed to get a particular spare part; most parts I have needed are locally available from Kisekka Market.

Paul Masaba

I am a delivery driver for one of the courier companies in Kampala but I find the Toyota Probox the friendliest car to use when transporting different items even those that are fragile as long as they are packed well. It can carry up to 300 kilogrammes of cargo and still does not burn a lot of fuel to carry this load.

When it is well loaded, it is fast and this will not affect or compromise its stability as long as you know how to apply the brakes well without overturning the car. I have also driven on murram roads but its four wheel drive (4WD) system allows you go through such roads without skidding as long as the tyres have treads.

With its fuel tank capacity of 50 litres and an engine size of 1500cc, I can comfortably drive from Kampala to Fort Portal and top up with as little as Shs100,000 at Kyenjojo and drive back to Kampala. This gives you more mileage on a very low fuel budget because of its small engine.

On average, it gives me approximately 15 kilometres on a highway using one litre of fuel depending on my rate of acceleration and speed at which I drive.  In urban areas, with slow moving traffic, it gives me between seven to 12 kilometres using one litre depending on the intensity of traffic. 

Emmanuel Nsubuga

The Toyota Probox is one of the station wagons that can carry heavy loads of cargo and its ground clearance will not be affected.  When I had just bought the car in 2019, I had to replace the shock absorbers it came with for much stronger ones and since then, it has been an obedient car.

When I do not have any upcountry field work to do, I use it as my office car. I live in Bweyogerere and run a wholesale shop in Kampala City. In a week, I use fuel worth Shs120,000. This is possible because I leave home as early as 5:30am before the traffic jam builds up and leave town late at approximately 8pm when traffic has cleared. When I fill its tank of 50 litres, it can take me for three weeks without refuelling.

Its service and maintenance is as pocket friendly as the load the car can carry. For the many times I have been to the garage, I have not spent more than Shs180,000 on doing major service.

Even when I am worried that I overwork the car, I am surprised when my mechanic says it has no major breakdowns upon carrying out a thorough inspection.

The downside of the Probox is that since they are many on the road, its parts such as the side mirrors and wheel caps are sought after by car vandalisers.

I have heard scenarios where the entire car is stolen but I am still lucky to have mine. The key I use for locking is different from the one I use for starting the engine.