TOYOTA HIACE
Page 40
Page 41
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Model: Toyota Hiace Power Van. GVVV: 2,800kg. Engine: 2.5-litre IDI diesel, 78hp (58kW). Transmission: Five-speed manual gearbox, driving rear wheels. Payload: 1,225kg. Load volume: 5.4m3 (VDA). Warranty: Three years/60,000 miles; one year European roadside assistance. Price: £12,499 (ex-VAT) Price when new £12,149). Full roadtest: CM 18-24 January.
The Hiace Power Van is Toyota's all-purpose panel van, aimed at everything from the Mercedes Vito to the Ford Transit. It's compact in overall dimensions (no bigger than a short-wheelbase Volkswagen Transporter) but with a practical loadspace and a terrific 1,200kg payload. CM has had its example for the best part of a year, and driven it over 17,000 miles without a hitch— well, almost. The Toyota has suffered a few incidents (not of its own making) and our comments mainly concern the service rather than the vehicle.
In the cliffhanger to our last long-term report, we were awaiting a replacement spare wheel—after the original had been stolen from its none-toosecure underslung mounting —and a repaired radio unit, while a nasty crack had appeared in the windscreen. As expected, this meant real expense— Pinewood Toyota was initially unable to let us know how much a replacement would cost, and we were impatient, so we took the easy option of calling Autoglass. Even it was unable to supply a screen for a day or two (it had none in stock—there's clearly been little demand for Power Van windscreens so far), and they finally fitted it at the Croydon depot for the princely sum of £328.40 (inc VAT). Ouch! That's the price you pay for a bonded screen: the average 7.5-tonner's relatively old-fangled rubbermounted screen would cost less than half the amount.
Meanwhile, Pinewood proved disappointing again: the replacement spare wheel arrived, but it proved to be a 14.5-incher intended for the old-style Hiace, even though we'd already paid for the
appropriate tyre. So that was another few days effectively off the road, as no-one at CM was willing to take the Toyota any distance. Another excuse was provided by the lack of a radio: the bulkhead-free Hiace is pretty noisy at speed, and a pow
erful radio is essential. When (after a fortnight) the unit came back from Sony, it didn't fit—or at least Pinewood's mechanics couldn't make it fit...
Exasperated, we let Toyota (GB) have their baby back, and when it returned the radio was as good as new. Better still the replacement unit has a bleeper that reminds you to remove the quickrelease facia when you turn the ignition off. A nice touch, even if it had us puzzled for a day or two.
• DRIVEUNE
Naturally enough, the drivetrain has loosened up in the past 10,000 miles, and we're now averaging around 33mpg. That's a pretty good result for the indirect-injection diesel, running part-laden round our usual mix of roads: crawling along the stopstart traffic blackspots of South London and hurtling along the motorways in all weathers. The van has generally shown good handling, the only instability problems happening in gale-force winds on the M2 last month, when any van would have misbehaved.
The Toyota is still one of the quickest vans on the road in London (the elevated driving position helps) but there have been one or two gripes: one tester complained that the light, power-assisted steering felt unacceptably "dead", while the slippery roads of autumn have highlighted the Toyota's tendency to slither about when unladen. Low gearing and rear-wheel drive make this pretty much inevitable, but it's not a challenge for most drivers.
Another tester had a real problem with the driver's seat. After a four-hour stint of motorway driving in the Hiace he could hardly stagger from the cab: the ride was fine (there's independent suspension all round) but the seat is not very supportive. Toyota could learn from Ford or VW here.
Other niggles include the lack of stowage space in the cab (there's nowhere to put a can of drink) and the peculiar "central locking" system, which operates only from the driver's door and which has no effect on either of the loadspace doors. Is there a plausible ergonomic explanation for this? • SERVICING We must confess to being puzzled by the Hiace's servicing schedule: initially we were told that intermediate (oil and filter change) services came round every 4,500 miles, and we were put out that such a simple operation should cost almost DO at an official Toyota dealer—Kwik-Fit's quote of £14 seemed a much better bet. But more recently we've been informed that intermediate services are only due every 15,000km (9,000 miles)—a much more sensible interval, given that the Transit has 10,000-mile intervals. The full service is due every 45,000km (27,000 miles).
So the Power Van went for its second service at just under 16,000 miles, and our faith in Toyota garages was restored: we'd already gone to Cooper Park Lane to replace a broken door mirror (whoops!) and they'd done so very smartly, so we went back. Their service centre, which is actually in Battersea rather than
ililayfair, did the job efficiently, although the bill was increased because they had to replace the front number plate (er...).
Oddly, Cooper charged £4.34 less for the oil (Mobil semi-syn. thetic) than Pinewood had, though we reckon that £21.51 is still pretty steep.
The Toyota has suffered a couple of other war wounds—the hardboard lining to the side loading door has come adrift, and its load liner (in truth a hastily adapted plastic liner from a Hilux pickup) is in a poor state. The Hiace could do with a rubber or composite load floor like the Transporter's. Still, the six loadlashing points have come into their own for furniture-moving.
Most recently, someone (who isn't saying anything) put a dent in the side loading door that looks uncannily like the mark of a head-butt. It hasn't broken the typically flawless Japanese paint. work, but it's puzzling. And how much will it cost to put right? MI SUMMARY Toyota has introduced a slightly cheaper variant, the Duo, with fewer home comforts and a single passenger seat that folds down for long loads. But soon they'll be pleasing their traditional market of tradesmen such as carpet-fitters with a long-wheelbase version of the Power Van.
So far, we haven't seen reason to revise our initial opinion of the Hiace Power Van: it's a serious bit of kit, that should give every European van manufacturer pause for thought. Of course there are detail problems, the ergonomics are far from perfect and the engine is unremarkable, and our experience of Toyota dealers has been mixed.
But overall it's a solid, goodvalue van which we wouldn't expect to go wrong during its impressive three-year warranty period. With a wider product range, the Hiace will be an even more serious contender.
by Toby Clark