Although production of a ‘bonneted’ variant of a Japanese domestic market model in and for Europe ended in 2012, replaced effectively last year by the PSA-built ProAce, Toyota’s HiAce van line – in its original ‘one-box’ form – lives on in Asia and Australasia where it has just received a mild rework for 2014 along with updates that improve safety, comfort and convenience.
Although production of a ‘bonneted’ variant of a Japanese domestic market model in and for Europe ended in 2012, replaced effectively last year by the PSA-built ProAce, Toyota’s HiAce van line – in its original ‘one-box’ form – lives on in Asia and Australasia where it has just received a mild rework for 2014 along with updates that improve safety, comfort and convenience.
Toyota Australia said customer demand for a more car-like environment led to standard fit of a bucket seat for the front passenger, now separated from the driver’s seat by a centre console box.
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Cruise control and audio switches have been added to the new four spoke steering wheel, as well as an LCD multi-information display showing time, outside temperature and odometer.
The HiAce nose has new headlamps with daytime running lamps and radiator grille openings that are larger and adopt Toyota’s trademark trapezoidal shape.
On automatic transmission models, the latest models have a shift position indicator in the instrument cluster and an eco driving indicator light that encourages low fuel use by informing the driver when the accelerator is being operated efficiently.
A new safety package includes seatbelt warning buzzers for the driver and front passenger and a seatbelt warning lamp for the front passenger.
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HiAce adopted a reversing camera on all models from May 2012 production with a 3.3-inch image displayed in the electro-chromatic rear view mirror.
The Australian range offers three body styles, two wheelbases, two engines and two transmissions.
All styles are available with either 2.7-litre VVT-i petrol or three-litre common rail, turbodiesel engines.
A choice of a five-speed overdrive manual or electronically controlled four-speed overdrive automatic transmission is available.
In Australia, the HiAce – which first gained export traction in the early 1970s – has been market leader of the combined van and light bus segments for more than 20 years.
Last year, it took a 35.5% share of the van market ‘down under’ with 6,622 sales and 72.4% of the light bus market with 2,193 sales.
Toyota began selling the HiAce in Australia in 1971, just four years after it was launched in Japan. It also went on sale in neighbouring New Zealand, where it was assembled locally, around the same time.
The name originated from the combination of “High” for high performance and “Ace”, signifying a hard worker.
Australian customers have bought 286,250 HiAce vans and buses with sales accelerating over time.
The first 100,000 were sold at an average of about 5,000 a year between 1971 and 1990; the next 100,000 sales took just 15 years until 2005 at an average of about 6,700 a year; and, since then, sales have averaged more than 10,000 a year.
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 in the past decade with customers buying more diesel models than petrol each year since 2010.
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