2016 Toyota Hiace Australia is New and Improved

TOYOTA HiAce STEPS UP

** Euro 5 petrol engine – power up, fuel use down **
** Two new variants – crew van, 12-seat petrol commuter bus **
** Safety upgrade including vehicle stability control **

Toyota’s renowned HiAce range has taken a substantial step forward with a more powerful yet more efficient petrol engine, the introduction of two new variants including a five-seat crew van, and the adoption of expanded safety, comfort and convenience features.

HiAce’s 2.7-litre petrol engine gains 6.3 per cent more power while cutting fuel use by up to 19.9 per cent* in city driving due to powertrain improvements including a new six-speed automatic transmission.

A diesel-powered five-seat crew van has been added to the range, along with the option of reducing the number of seats in the petrol commuter bus by two – from 14 to 12 – so it can be driven on a standard licence.

Every new HiAce is now equipped with the safety of electronic vehicle stability control, brake assist for greater stopping power in an emergency, hill-start assist control and an emergency stopping signal.

Long Wheelbase (LWB) variants gain a window in the left-hand sliding door to improve driver visibility and therefore safety.

Pricing has been held steady for most HiAce variants, reduced by $1,000 on the LWB diesel vans and increased by $500 for automatic petrol versions where the six-speed transmission replaces a four-speed unit.

The new diesel crew van – priced from $37,990# – has seating for five people with a three-person second-row bench seat added to the two front bucket seats.

When the seats are not required, they can be tipped and tumbled forward to stow neatly behind the front seats, expanding the available cargo space.

The crew van, in manual or auto guise, has sliding doors on both sides of the cargo area and is offered exclusively in the HiAce range with the option of a new exterior paint colour, Ink (black).

Toyota executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said the two new variants – diesel crew van and petrol 12-seat bus – were being introduced in response to demand from business owners and operators.

“The five-seat crew van enables drivers to transport fellow workers during the week and family members at other times,” Mr Cramb said.

“Offering a 12-seat bus that can be driven on a standard licence will be much appreciated by tour operators and other users, saving them the cost of doing their own conversion,” he said.

“Simultaneous increases in output and fuel economy for the petrol engine, standard fitment of vehicle stability control and other safety features, plus other additional features will ensure the ongoing popularity of HiAce as Australia’s best-selling van and top-selling bus.”

HiAce’s 2.7-litre petrol engine now meets Euro 5 regulations with improvements including enhanced combustion efficiency and reduced engine friction.

Maximum power increases by 7kW or 6.3 per cent to 118kW @ 5200rpm while there is also a gain of 2Nm in peak torque to 243Nm @ 4000rpm.

Simultaneously, fuel use for manual variants drops as much as 12.9 per cent on the official combined cycle*. The new automatic transmission now uses less fuel than the manual gearbox on almost every measure with consumption falling by up to 16.7 per cent, with the LWB van leading the way at just 9.8 litres/100km*.

The biggest fuel-economy improvements are on the urban cycle at up to 14.7 per cent for the manual LWB van and up to 19.9 per cent for the automatic SLWB van*.

Emissions have also been cut by double-digit percentage rates to between 237 and 263 grams/km of CO2* – all of which are below the previous best figure of 274g/km*.

The electronically controlled six-speed automatic transmission (AC60E) has a direct-drive fourth gear and overdrive fifth and sixth gears. The final-drive ratio is 4.875:1.

HiAce’s 3.0-litre diesel engine also offers extremely economical driving with fuel economy as low as 8.0 litres/100km*.

Toyota has added an ECO lamp on the HiAce instrument cluster to encourage economical driving.

Other improvements include slide adjustment for the front passenger bucket seat instead of the previous fixed seat.

Comprehensive standard features on HiAce include a reversing camera with the image displayed in the electro-chromatic rear-view mirror. It also has anti-skid brakes and cruise control.

Other features include power operated mirrors, front windows and door locks, an LCD Multi-Information Display, hands-free telephone operation and voice activation for the audio and phone.

Commuter bus models have the option of a power-operated sliding side door.

HiAce is in its 45th year of sales in Australia with sales of more than 295,000. It has been market leader of the combined van and light bus segments for more than two decades.

Last year, HiAce commanded more than 40 per cent of its light van segment with 6,432 sales and more than 90 per cent of its light bus segment with 2,615 sales.

Toyota began selling HiAce in Australia in 1971, four years after it was launched in Japan. The name originated from the combination of “High” for high performance and “Ace”, signifying a hard worker.

Over the past 20 years, HiAce vans have outsold buses by more than three-to-one and HiAce petrol vans have been at least twice as popular as diesel.

However, there has been a marked shift towards diesel during the past decade with customers buying more diesel HiAce vans than petrol vans each year since 2010.