Toyota Hiace

Overview

The Toyota Hiace has a long history to back up the immense popularity that it enjoys in this contemporary times. In fact, talk about vans and the name ‘Hiace’ would inevitably come up. The current generation of the model was introduced in the Philippines back in 2005 and in the subsequent year, the top-end Super Grandia was added to the lineup.

The Hiace has always had a potent and big engine under the hood. However, the power delivery has been on the conservative side as it was never an outright powerful car. It has an abundant amount of torque on offer, which could carry 15 passengers without feeling heavy on the accelerator pedal. Moreover, it is also known to be the most fuel-efficient car in the segment which can accommodate more than 10 occupants.

There is one more thing that makes the Toyota Hiace gain the kind of popularity it has in the domestic market. The base variants of the van-cum-minibus is a very affordable option for personal as well as commercial use, and even though the Hyundai Starex acted as a strong competitor, the Hiace turned out to be the victorious one.

Interior & Features

The interior of the Toyota Hiace is quite big and spacious, thanks to its boxy design and big dimensions. It has a seating capacity of 11 in the Super Grandia and 15 on the Commuter. This is nothing but the reason why the car has been on top of everyone’s mind when they think of a big van.

On the Super Grandia variants, there is a seating capacity of nine occupants including two captains’ seat at the rear. The boot space is ample on both 11-seater and 15-seater but can be increased further by folding down the rear row. The Super Grandia, especially, is just as roomy as your personal living space.

Plus, when it comes to features, the Hiace is nothing short of grandeur. The moment you step inside, you will feel that the comfort level rises. Though the Philippines is not desert-like hot, the hottest days of April and May is definitely not what you will prefer over anything else. And just for this, the Hiace has dual air-conditioning and AC vents for each row.

On the dashboard, the placement of everything, along with their quality, seem to be extremely right. The gear knob is placed on the dash to make the front seat cluster cleaner and more spacious. Plus, right at the back of the front seat headrests, there are two screens which support DVD and could be the perfect companion for long drives.

Exterior

The Toyota Hiace is an exemplary example of exquisite styling and the perfect utilization of the big size. It is bigger than any other minivans and hence, can accommodate so many passengers easily. However, it is still smaller than the 5-metre mark which gets the handling to be easier than any minibus.

The design is extremely soothing and very much relevant to a van. The upright posture and the slanting windscreen add to the attractive bits. And the good thing about such a boxy design is that the interior appears to be huge and every inch of the cabin can be utilised. Plus, the timelessness gives it an upper edge. Imagine, this current Hiace was launched back in 2005 and the same boxy design has been persisted with for over a decade now.

The front portion is distinctly recognisable for a van. The chrome grille and the large headlamps are unmistakeably fitted in with absolute perfection. The sliding doors are bigger and the B-pillars bring about a halt at the monotonous window line.

The minibus rides on 15-inch wheels at all ends, which appear to be slightly smaller for a vehicle this big. However, the tyres are quite thick in order to carry so many passengers at once.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The previous 2.5-litre diesel engine was always considered to be enough to drag 15 people pretty nicely. However, some lag could be felt due to the lack of optimum grunt. That said, the new 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine has made up for this lack of grunt quite easily.

The present 2,982-cc, four-cylinder engine is very much capable of making a maximum power of 134 PS at 3,400 rpm along with a peak torque of 300 Nm, which comes anywhere between as low as 1,200 rpm and 2,400 rpm. The power is sent down to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic gearbox. The 15-seater Commuter, however, gets the manual option only.

Though there is a good amount of torque on offer, the power delivery to the wheels is linear and at no point of the acceleration, you will feel pushed forward unprepared. Hence, the increase in 33 PS power and 40 Nm torque over the previous 2.5-litre engine feel good without being brash.

Keeping all the other things aside, there is another thing about the Toyota Hiace which you will love and won’t regret at all. Despite having a huge load capacity and a powerful engine under the hood, the car easily offers a fuel efficiency of slightly over 12 kmpl.

Braking & Safety

Truth be told, the Toyota Hiace is not one of the safest cars in the Philippines due to its big size and more bus-like seating. However, the features seem to be very much at par with other cars in this segment.

There are two safety airbags offered as standard, which are for the driver and the front occupant. Moreover, ABS is also offered as a standard fitment across all the variants barring the low ones. However, the absence of electronic brakeforce distribution and stability control makes driving at top speed, with the cabin completely occupied, slightly scary.

As for some security features, vehicle immobiliser, and security alarm are also added to the equipment list in order to make it more relevant to the competitors. There also safety crumple zones inside, just in case you encounter a bad situation. Seat belts are fitted in for all the seats.