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By
EWAN KENNEDY
16 October 2006
There's nothing fancy about the latest Toyota HiAce, the Japanese giant
has retained the old-style van theme and updated it in the safety and
stability fronts. In an interesting move, it continues to use a
cab-forward layout, not a bonnetted one as is used by most competitors
these days, particularly those from Europe.
The biggest advantage of a cab-forward design is
that the cabin takes up less space and therefore leaves
substantially more room for cargo without the need for an
extra-long body. Toyota HiAce van has space aplenty and there's
something for just about every operator in the light-commercial
field.
It is sold with long and super-long wheelbases
bodies, standard and high roofs (the latter with doors that go
almost to the full height of the roof), even as a Commuter bus.
Underneath the bluff body, the HiAce's driveline
is an interesting mix of the ultra-modern and the positively
antique. The engines, a 2.7-litre petrol and a 2.5-litre
turbo-diesel are both four-cylinder units. The petrol engine has
variable valve timing for its twin-cam, four-valve cylinder head.
The diesel is an excellent 16-valve common-rail
direct-injection unit. Power from the standard turbo-diesel is 75
kW, but in some of the models an intercooler is used to extract an
extra five kilowatts. Torque is a strong 260 Nm all the way from
1600 to 2400 rpm so this is a very useable powerplant.
The new engines are all real gems, with plenty
of response and good strong pulling power. Gearing is good and the
in-dash shift lever is easy enough to use, though perhaps a bit
tall in its location for some drivers’ tastes.
The engine between the front seats and power is
taken to the rear wheels in the old-fashioned manner.
Transmissions are five-speed manual and four-speed automatic.
ABS brakes are optional, but Toyota expects them
to be specified frequently because of ever-tightening occupational
health and safety requirements.
Safety has been added to the HiAce with the use
of a slightly extended front end. This gives it significantly more
protection in a crash than the outgoing HiAce. Behind that bluff
front of the new HiAce there's some clever body engineering that
adds a lot of strength to the front and sides of the passenger
compartment. Of course it passes barrier crash tests.
Having said that, we would prefer not to be in
there in a head-on collision, because the deceleration forces will
be pretty high as there's not a lot of crash-absorbing space.
Toyota HiAce doesn’t have the handling
dynamics of European vans, but Toyota says that this is of little
importance to customers in this class.
HiAce’s steering now has the precision and
tighter turning circle offered by a rack-and-pinion setup. Other
than that it’s all on the old-school side. The rear wheels ride
beside leaf springs, and inside the rear wheels are drum brakes.
Pretty low tech, even for the van market in the early days of the
21st century. The suspension has been pretty well tuned, works
well enough in real life driving and offers reasonable comfort.
Interior noise is reasonably well subdued, but
we feel it really should be lower. The seats are large and
moderately comfortable and most owners will find they are able to
spend a full day at work in a HiAce without walking away feeling
stiff and sore.
Toyota HiAce is a worthwhile package that’s a
long way ahead of the model it supersedes. Hard-headed individuals
who regard a van simply as a cargo-carrying tool, and resent every
cent they have to spend on it, will find it hard to go past this
latest load hauler from Toyota.
There will be a minor upgrade to the HiAce late
this year with extra power from a new diesel engine and some
slight changes to the interior.
The full Toyota HiAce range, with prices
(excluding on-road costs), is:
LWB 2.7-litre petrol van: $31,900 (manual), $34,230 (automatic)
Super LWB 2.7-litre petrol van: $36,400 (manual), $38,730
(automatic)
LWB 2.5-litre turbo diesel van: $34,400 (manual), $36,730
(automatic)
Super LWB 2.5-litre turbo diesel van: $39,120 (manual), $41,450
(automatic)
Super LWB 2.7-litre petrol Commuter Bus: $47,440 (manual), $49,770
(automatic)
Super LWB 2.5-litre turbo diesel Commuter Bus: $50,170 (manual),
$52,500 (automatic)
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Marque Publishing Company
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