The “Century” is Toyota’s most luxurious model. The name has been in use on its flagship sedan since 1967. Earlier this year, Toyota introduced an SUV bearing the Century name for the first time.<\/p>\n
The Toyota Century SUV is built at the company’s Tahara plant in Japan. However, at the end of the assembly line, the SUV doesn’t just go through a regular inspection, but rather, a laborious 3-hour process consisting of 17 steps. The person inspecting the Century SUV goes through a rigorous training program to earn a certification, only after which they are allowed to inspect the car. Since the car isn’t a series production model, the master inspectors take their time with each car, ensuring all 17 steps are followed correctly.<\/p>\n
The inspector checks the paint, panel gaps, panel gap joints and engine bay, among other areas of the car. Reports state that the standards for the Century SUV are stricter than those for a Lexus. If defects are found during the paint inspection process, the car is sent to a so-called “Coating Clinic” where the problem is fixed.<\/p>\n
Once the aesthetics are checked and confirmed to be in order, the Century SUV moves to another inspection station to have its mechanicals inspected. The SUV drives itself in pure electric mode, with city driving conditions being simulated. There is also a dedicated test course where the car is driven at higher speeds to check for any weird noises, all the while Toyota makes final adjustments to the wheels & headlights. Also, being a PHEV, a new test has been added to analyse how the car behaves when in pure EV mode.<\/p>\n
Toyota plans to sell 30 units of its flagship luxury SUV each month, all of which will undergo the inspection process, lasting 3.5 hours from start to finish.<\/p>\n