Toyota Hiace gets significant safety upgrades in Australia

MANILA: In Australia, Toyota has updated the lower-spec versions of the Hiace. Specifically, the commercial-grade trims of the Australia-spec Hiace received additional safety gear and tech features.

To note, the said variants of the Toyota Hiace in Australia are roughly equivalent to the locally available Hiace Commuter Deluxe and Deluxe Cargo variants. In the Land Down Under, however, their Hiace version also comes in a two-row “crew version” designed to transport teams of technicians and workers together with their gear. 

For the safety upgrades, the Australian Toyota Hiace received adaptive cruise control, lane trace assist, and the emergency driver support system—the aforementioned work in tandem to detect if the driver has become unresponsive whenever cruise control is activated. Once the system finds the driver unresponsive even after audio-visual alerts, the vehicle will automatically come to a stop with its hazard lamps turned on. 

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Additional safety is provided to the van by a safe exit system, which alerts the driver when passing vehicles or cyclists are detected. The crew version of the Australia-spec Hiace also comes with a total of 10 airbags, which is significantly more than the Philippine-spec model’s dual front airbag setup. 

Moreover, the Hiace commercial-grade trims in Australia also received a new seven-inch digital gauge cluster and an electric parking brake for all automatic transmission versions. Interestingly, Toyota Australia offers only one manual version for the entry-level Hiace. All other trims (seven in total) utilize a six-speed automatic transmission. 

With all the said improvements for the Australia-spec Hiace, Toyota Australia claims it will become more appealing to both private and commercial users. The additional safety gear is of particular note, and considering present driving conditions on local roads, the Philippine version of the Toyota Hiace could well with the upgrades detailed above as well. 

Toyota Hiace in PH

Mechanically, the Toyota Hiace in Australia is practically the same as the ones available in the local market. The ones sold here are propelled by a 2.8-liter inline-4 turbodiesel mill capable of producing up to 172 horsepower (hp) and 420 Newton-meters (Nm) of torque.

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The Australian versions with the automatic transmissions make more torque at 450 Nm, similar to the Philippine-spec GL Grandia and Super Grandia models. 

Here is a table detailing the mechanical specifications of the locally available Toyota Hiace Commuter Deluxe: 

Engine	2.8-liter turbodiesel
Drivetrain	Rear-wheel-drive
Transmission	Six-speed manual
Front suspension	MacPherson strut
Rear suspension	Leaf spring
Brakes	Front disc, rear drums
Seating capacity	15
Wheel size	16-inch

Price-wise, the locally available Toyota Hiace Commuter Deluxe retails at P1.877 million. The Toyota Hiace Deluxe Cargo, meanwhile, is priced at P1.621 million. 

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