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By
EWAN KENNEDY
20 March 2006
Toyota has just launched its fourth-generation
Tarago, and it’s a huge step removed from the original vehicle with
the same name, the one launched in 1990. People movers used to be boxy
and boring, supposedly reflecting the mundane nature of their work.
Nowadays, most people movers are gaining sleek
styling that makes them much more interesting and desirable. The
new Toyota is arguably the most stunning of them all. Just look at
that sloping nose with the lightning-bolt headlights and
air-intake slots, at the swooping windscreen and aerodynamically
tapered roof. Then admire the tail treatment that mirrors the
lightening style of the front of the vehicle.
The cabin is reached by way of conventionally
hinged doors at the front and sliding doors on either side at the
rear. Inside, there's seating for eight. These can all be adults,
but a more realistic load will be four adults and four children.
The children being in the centre position of the centre seat and
across the three-person bench seat in the rearmost position.
Access to the first two rows of seats is good,
with a flat-floor, walk-through facility making it easy to get
from the front seats to the rear and vice versa. As is usually the
way, getting into the rearmost seats can require a bit of
contorting of the body, but as flexible kids are the most likely
inhabitants of that area it’s seldom going to be a real problem.
The luggage space is reasonably good and a
couple of large suitcases, with accompanying smaller items around
them can be accommodated without too much of a squeeze. There's a
good-sized underfloor storage area for items you want to keep out
of sight.
Being able to slide the centre-row seat
backwards or forwards lets you juggle the amount of legroom in the
five rear seats. Even with the seat in its centremost position
there's still good legroom for all. The centre-row seat base can
be hinged up against its backrest to give a lot of extra luggage
space behind the front seats. There's also the ability to
tumble-fold the rearmost seat to greatly increase the volume of
the boot.
Safety was of major consideration during the
design of the new Toyota people mover. The topline $51,990 Tarago
GLX has what Toyota calls a Pre-Crash system which senses a crash
may be imminent and tightens the two front safety belts to prepare
for it. It does so by sensing an extra-fast depression of the
brake pedal and/or that the vehicle has begun to skid.
Should a crash still occur, there are no fewer
than seven airbags in the Tarago GLX. These include a knee-bag to
cushion the effect of a collision between the driver and the
underside of the dash area.
The standard-model $48,990 Tarago GLi only has
two airbags, but paying an additional $1500 for an Enhanced Safety
Pack not only buys the extra five airbags, but also an electronic
vehicle stability control system and the addition of brake assist
to the standard ABS system. Certainly money well spent and highly
recommended by us.
The other $1500 price difference between the
Tarago GLi and Tarago GLX covers alloy wheels, a six-disc CD
player, roof rails and parking sensors at the front and rear of
the vehicle.
That sleek nose isn’t just for show. Toyota
has gone to a lot of trouble to make the Tarago as aerodynamic as
possible and has achieved a most respectable Cd (coefficient of
drag) rating of just 0.31. This is the sort of air-cutting ability
that could only be achieved with a low-slung sedan not that many
years ago.
One factor in gaining the low drag is careful
shaping of under-car components. This includes an under-engine
shield. During our test initial test drive out of Sydney the
radiator fan, which isn’t the quietest unit around, seemed to be
on almost all the time the Tarago was stationary with the engine
idling. The weather was hot, which certainly played a part, but
the 27 to 36 degrees displayed by the Tarago's in-car thermometer
is far from being unusual in Australia in summertime.
The noise generated by the radiator fan is the
only thing we are discussing here, given Toyota's tough in-house
testing regime we have no doubt that the engine was never in
danger of overheating.
Toyota has revamped the previous 2.4-litre
four-cylinder engine to give it an extra 10kW, bringing it up to
125kW. It moves the big people mover along pretty well, though the
fact that the automatic transmission is still an old style
four-speed unit doesn’t help performance. The auto is now
controlled by a dash-mounted lever to permit the aforementioned
walkthrough front seats. It has a sequential function to allow
some manual control.
New Toyota Tarago's introduction may prove
fortuitous in its timing. Many owners of large 4WDs, who really
only wanted a people mover but were attracted by the macho image
offered by off-roaders, are being hard hit by rising petrol costs.
Given the option of a ultra-stylish people mover that uses a lot
less petrol they may bail out of their 4WDs.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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