The Toyota RV-5, known in Japan as the Toyota RV-5, was a concept vehicle shown by the Toyota Motor Company at the Tokyo Motor Show in the early 1980s. Its name stood for Recreation Vehicle, reflecting its presentation as a study aimed at expanded leisure activity. At the time, few observers in the industry expected it to reach production.
The RV-5 was a large station wagon with front-wheel drive and switchable rear-wheel drive. Its rear side doors carried the label Bird Watching, and the show car was fitted out accordingly, with an electric sunroof and a roof platform designed to allow use of a video camera and a parabolic microphone. Its styling featured a tall roofline that increased headroom and cargo space, along with distinctive tall third side windows that extended deep below the beltline, curved up into the roof, and could be opened outward like wings.
The concept reached production as the Toyota Tercel 4x4, introduced at the Paris Motor Show in autumn 1982. The rearmost side windows were reduced in size and fixed in place for the production version, but retained their tall shape as a distinctive design element. The high-roofed wagon proved commercially successful despite its unconventional appearance, including in the Swiss market.
