What is special about Toyota Century?
The goal of driving a Toyota Century is to acquire some kind of Zen-like state of grace while behind the wheel, and as a driver, you rapidly realize this. The controls have been softly adjusted so that they do not bother anyone is sitting in the rear seat. You must, however, approach the situation as if it were something nautical that has been stranded (in our instance, 20-odd hairpins) as you reach a turn. It sloshes from one side to the other with great body roll, making it seem like a drunken jelly. While it is dishonorable to the utmost, it is amusing to hustle such an ungainly bulk to the point where it raises the front tire. Our juvenile zeal, on the other hand, exposes us to detection: the tyre scream alarms some army types with heavy weapons, and we're escorted back down the hill to do some penitential bowing.
When the passenger seat folds into the glove box like a piece of origami art and an ottoman is created in its place, even the worst traffic jams no longer produce tension, and the waiting period is transformed into a health experience. In addition, the driving experience is almost ghostly, giving the impression that you are floating like air amid the clouds from the comfort of the roomy cabin.
You glide around like a ghost on the wind, propelled softly yet forcefully over city streets by a whisper-quiet hybrid and well sheltered from the frenetic world outside in a steel cocoon. The regular city bustle that seems to pass past the car's windows has little effect on the passengers of the vehicle. What may seem to be absolute leisure for the passenger, however, is a challenging task for the chauffeur.
It's the peace and the beautiful sound of stillness of Toyota Century that truly grabs you when you're in the rear of the car. The interior is like an anechoic chamber, thanks to double windows, four mufflers, and in-built noise cancelling, similar to what you'd find in a good pair of headphones.
The Toyota Century is so quiet that you can hear the click of the light relays on the automated headlights, which doesn't exactly have the same cachet as the other cars in the class. After arriving in Toyota's snobbish halo product, I found myself in the parking park of Family Mart, eating pizza buns, bento boxes, and stinky fish with the rest of the crowd.
You would be amazed at how many are drawn to its grandeur and atmosphere. Visitors to the Toyota Century are politely stopped, given a second look, and proudly recognize the skill and heritage that the building symbolizes. There's a tangible feeling of national pride in the air, which is one of the reasons it attracts us aficionados as well. As a result of the fact that we are unable to own this peculiarity, we want to possess it.
In our increasingly globalized society, the cultural palette is sometimes criticized for being too uniform and lacking in uniqueness. The oversharing of information on social media is causing civilizations to mix and grow increasingly homogeneous, to the point where nothing distinguishes one from the other.
The Toyota Century is notable for the fact that it does not stand out. It is defined by what it lacks, rather than by what it accomplishes. That is one of the reasons why it appeals to those who purchase it. Nonetheless, the world is moving faster than ever before, and driving in the Toyota Century can only be defined as a fundamentally amazing experience.
CHAPTERS
intro------- 0:00
Fuel consumption----2:03
wheels----------------------3:14
rear of the car-----------4:51
boot space----------------6:10
Interior ---------------------7:48
HVAC controls---------11:43
Rear seats----------------19:22
Engine specs-----------25:48
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