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By
EWAN KENNEDY
17 September 2007
The latest Toyota HiAce looks like nothing else on the road. It
has a bluff front that defies modern-day van fashion, instead making no
bones about the fact that it’s purely a working vehicle with a working
man’s shape. HiAce has been in Australia for close to 40 years,
frequently tops the sales charts and almost 200,000 have been sold to
date. There are many users who never even consider another vehicle,
simply trading up to the newest HiAce every few years.
Unlike the sleek, sloping fronts of the modern Euro vans, this
Japanese Toyota has styling that’s square, almost aggressively
so, in shape. That’s because the HiAce continues to use a
cab-forward layout, not a semi-bonnetted one.
Cab-forward designs are generally considered less safe than
semi-bonnetted bodies, but Toyota's designer have added an extra
65 mm section to the nose to give it more frontal protection in a
collision. Careful body engineering adds a lot of strength to the
front and sides of the passenger compartment. This lets it pass
barrier crash tests as to intrusion into the front compartment.
However, the deceleration forces must be pretty high as there's
not a lot of crash-absorbing space.
The biggest advantage of a cab-forward design is the added room
available for cargo, and the latest Toyota van has space and more
space in that big, bluff-fronted body.
HiAce's rear suspension has a somewhat antique looking
leaf-spring layout. Inside the rear wheels are drum, rather than
disc, brakes. The latter aren't unusual in the commercial field,
but more and more competitors are looking to disc brakes at all
four wheels. The Toyota has discs only at the front.
There is one modern trait feature; steering now has the
precision offered by a rack-and-pinion arrangement. This has also
gives a slightly tighter turning circle, an important feature to
drivers working in cluttered conditions.
The suspension has been pretty well tuned and rides reasonably
well. For a delivery van, that is. Toyota readily admits its new
van doesn’t have the handling dynamics of European vans, but
says this is of little, or no, importance to its traditional
customers. Sales figures certainly suggest that Toyota is right.
The HiAce's engines, a 2.7-litre petrol and a 2.5-litre
turbo-diesel are both four-cylinder units with the latest in
technology. The petrol engine has intelligent variable valve
timing for its twin-cam, four-valve cylinder head.
The turbo-diesel we recently tested is an excellent 3.0-litre
four-cylinder, 16-valve common-rail unit. Power is 80 kW at 3000
rpm. Torque is a strong 286 Nm and is generated at impressively
low revs, that peak figure is developed between 1200 and 1600 rpm
so this is a very responsive and useable unit.
From the engine between the front seats power is taken to the
rear wheels. Transmissions are five-speed manual and four-speed
automatic.
Both engines have plenty of response and good 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 tastes.
Interior noise is reasonably well subdued. The seats are large
and are reasonably comfortable, though not the standards of
European vehicles in the same class.
Toyota's latest HiAce is a rugged no-nonsense van that’s
offered in a huge number of variants. These include a Commuter bus
as well as long and short-wheelbase models. Call into your local
dealer to check out the vast array that’s on offer.
Though far from stylish the Toyota HiAce has a certain
old-fashioned charm and, far more importantly, an old-fashioned
work ethic that appeals to hard-nosed operators in a market
segment where reliability and value take precedence.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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