Toyota Lite Ace

The overall cabin of the Toyota Lite Ace might look too functional and a bit drab with the cheap hard plastics all over, but it ranks high on practicality. The cabin has an all-black layout, with the seats having a dual-tone black and grey theme.

The Toyota Lite Ace comes with a basic four-spoke steering wheel and an all-analogue theme for the instrument console. The centre console in the dashboard of the Lite Ace has a wide design and comes integrated with a rectangular 2-DIN audio system stacked between vertical AC vents in the upper part. The lower centre console comes with a transmission lever mounted in the left part and rounded dials for the manual AC in the right part.

The Lite Ace comes with a two-seater cabin as standard, with the rear part occupied by the luggage bay in different styles. The Lite Ace also gets a few other basic features, like a two-speaker audio system and a height-adjustable driver’s seat.

Having a very basic appearance, the Toyota Lite Ace is purely functional in the way it looks. The overall design of the Lite Ace goes well for an entry-level goods carrier, and has a touch of uniqueness to it, especially at the front.

The Toyota Hi Ace has a distinctive front profile, which is divided into three parts. The upper part is a slanted windscreen, while the lower part is an all-black plastic front bumper, which comes with a split design for the front grille integrated into its upper and lower areas. In the middle, the Lite Ace gets a wraparound theme for the apron, which stretches towards the fenders on the sides in a protruding manner.

The basic-looking side profile of the Toyota Lite Ace comes with rounded wheel arches placed on the far ends of its length. The Lite Ace comes with steel wheels and a black finish for the door handles and rearview mirrors. In the panel van version, the Lite Ace comes with sliding doors for accessing the cargo area. Both the door panels on the sides come with a sharp crease running through them, which emerge from the upper edges of the slanted, two-part headlamps placed above the upper corners of the front bumper.

The Toyota Lite Ace comes with a very basic and boxy-looking rear profile, consisting of a rectangular rear windscreen, rectangular housing for the license plate with a black garnish above it and vertically-aligned tail lamps on the outer edges. While the Lite Ace comes with a high-mounted stop lamp above the rear windscreen, the load-carrying van comes with a basic-looking black rear bumper.

For excellent load-hauling abilities, the Toyota Lite Ace comes with a basic but sturdy suspension setup of Macpherson struts at the front and leaf springs at the rear. However, in the panel van version, the Lite Ace gets 5-link coil springs at the back. The ride quality is on the harsher side, but the Lite Ace feels rock solid over undulations. The Lite Ace comes with 14-inch steel wheels and a payload capacity of up to 950 kg.

The only engine option offered in all the iterations of the Toyota Lite Ace is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which is paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard. Channelling the power produced to the rear wheels, the 1.5-litre petrol engine produces 98 PS of maximum power and 134 Nm of maximum torque.

The Toyota Lite Ace comes with only a few safety features like dual front airbags, ABS and vehicle stability control.

For the sole purpose of carrying loads from point A to point B, the Toyota Lite Acec feels decently accomplished, thanks to its reliable engine and sturdy suspension setup and chassis.