Toyota Hiace 2018 - Five standout features

If you live in Asia, it will be something short of a miracle if you haven’t seen the Toyota Hiace. This workhorse from Toyota has been around for ages and is silently soldiering on without any real competition or nary a worry. All in all, the Toyota Hiace has been the favourite vehicle of those with large families or want to rent out their cars to tour operators. Heck, it is the most stolen vehicle in Japan. Beat that! Here are five features that we think endear the Hiace to us as well as the rest of the world. You’re free to add your high points in the comments section below.

Space in the cabin

Now being a bread box has its own benefits. It looks like Toyota never hired a designer to specifically work on this car. The Toyota Hiace uses every inch of the cabin to maximise space. This has ensured that the occupants in the cabin have ample space. Not only for themselves but also their accompanying luggage. If the occupants are less, but the baggage is more, the fourth-row seats tumble down and provide for a flatbed. One of the very aspects why this Toyota is loved so much. The cubby holes in the cabin are aplenty, and there are some hidden ones too. Did we mention it is the most broken into car in Japan?

Reliability

Toyota cars are known to be reliable. Sometimes even more than the life of their owners. We kid you not! Ever wondered why the used Toyotas, irrespective of the year of manufacture, still sell for an excellent price? It is because of the peace of mind that comes with owning a Toyota. The Hiace is no different. Owners have reported using it for more than three lakh kilometres and still, the multi-purpose vehicle is going strong. Again a substantial reason for buying this car.

Power

Ever seen a Hiace owner grumble about the lack of power from his car? Chances are you haven’t. While the older 2.5-litre diesel had enough grunt, the fresher 3.0-litre turbo unit has more firepower under the hood. The 134PS of power and 300Nm of torque to be precise. This coupled to either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission. The newer of the lot gets a 6-speed automatic gearbox. But not in the Philippines. We might get it once Toyota rolls out another subtle update to the van with restyled lights and the like. Waiting!

Ageless looks

Spot a Hiace in the traffic, and it will be hard to tell if this is the car from the current generation or from 1966. We kid you not! The Toyota Hiace will become a timeless relic in the future. If you’re involved in a crash, it’s easy to fix as well. Cos most of the parts can easily be sourced irrespective of the generation of the car you own. Neat!

Safety

The Toyota Hiace doesn’t offer blind spot warning, radar guidance, and all the modern gadgetry one will associate with a new age car. What it does instead is offer ABS as well as dual airbags standard across the range. The brakes themselves are , and an initial drive in a 2017 example which had clocked close to 80k km confirmed that they are still as sharp as the day they rolled out of the showrooms. With the increasing global safety standards, it is likely that the Hiace will also receive lots of equipment which will increase its crashworthiness. We wait for that day with bated breath!

There you have it. All the good points of the Hiace. A car that Toyota built to move people and will continue to do so for at least a decade more before the electric revolution takes over!