The Passo perfectly sits my family of six
What you need to know:
For these motorists, the Passo Sette is the perfect car since it is spacious, easy to maintain and also friendly when it comes to fuel consumption, writes Roland D. Nasasira
Racheal Nansamba
I t has been six months since I bought my Passo. One of the features I like about it is its ample interior space. For instance, I have a family of six and when we travel upcountry to spend time with the grandparents or for a weekend getaway, the car will accommodate us perfectly.
Most cars that run on Four-Wheel Drive (4WD) systems are known for high fuel consumption rates but the Passo Sette gives you a friendly fuel consumption rate because of its small but powerful petrol engine of 1500cc. It also gives you a reliable and dependable driving experience, ensuring that you do not get stuck anywhere or skid on and off-road.
There is also enough legroom for the driver, co-driver and middle passengers regardless of their height. And when there are no passengers at the back, the middle seats can recline to create sleeping or resting space.
Most children want to use their parent’s phones when travelling over long distances but my car is fitted with a small screen that hangs between the front and middle seats to allow passengers watch anything while travelling.
Derrick Guma
The Passo Sette offers one of the best mileages per litre of fuel among the multipurpose vehicles I have previously owned. It runs on a 1500cc engine that gives me eight to 10km per litre when driving in areas with slow moving traffic and approximately 16km per litre on the highway, depending on how you accelerate.
From a mechanical perspective, it is a car that shares spare parts such as brake pads, air cleaner, fuel and oil filters, among others, with most Toyota brands. It runs on basic technology that when you experience any mechanical issues, sourcing for a mechanic to save the situation will not be hard.
It is also a car whose mechanical issues you can easily diagnose by listening to the sound it makes. The fact that it is a 2008 model means it runs on some of the latest technology whose faults can be diagnosed from a change in car performance that will inform your next course of action.
On average, I spend Shs100,000 on minor service and approximately Shs350,000 on major service that I carry out after every six months.
George Mutumba
One of the downsides of the Passo Sette is that it has small tyres and low ground clearance. The tyre area is equally small that using big profile tyres and smaller rims as one of the ways of raising its ground clearance is impossible. It limits you to a particular tyre size and this means it leaves you with spacers or stronger shocks to raise it to the required clearance if you are to drive on potholed roads.
On the positive side, the Passo Sette is a reliable car that rarely breaks down, unless you are the kind of motorist who does not pay attention to mechanical problems in their early stages.
If one mechanical fault manifests and you ignore it, it will lead to another and that is how service bills end up accumulating.
Because it is relatively a new car, you have to pay attention to every light that appears on the dashboard. It is one of the ways of curbing mechanical problems before they become difficult to handle.
Passo specifications
Drive Type: AWD/FF
Engine Capacity: 1,495cc
Maximum Power: 109ps
Number of Seats: 7
