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The 2023 Toyota HiAce range of configurations is currently priced from $44,990.
Our most recent review of the 2023 Toyota HiAce resulted in a score of 9 out of 10 for that particular example.
Carsguide Contributing Journalist Mark Oastler had this to say at the time: The rear barn-door option brings a significant boost in versatility, ensuring Toyota’s dominant market leader not only maintains its vast customer base but potentially expands it to include forklift-reliant operators who have previously overlooked the HiAce.
You can read the full review here.
This is what Mark Oastler liked most about this particular version of the Toyota HiAce: New barn-door option, Benchmark safety, GVM/GCM ratings
The 2023 Toyota HiAce carries a braked towing capacity of up to 1500 Kg, but check to ensure this applies to the configuration you're considering.
The HiAce comes ready for hard work on sturdy 16-inch steel wheels with plastic covers and 215/60R16 tyres plus a full-size spare, along with a large centre console offering a variety of storage options.
The two-tone dash layout is neat and functional with easy-to-use controls and instrumentation. There are also useful creature comforts like a tilt-and-reach adjustable leather-accented steering wheel, manual air-con, two 12-volt cabin accessory sockets and a two-speaker multimedia system with big 8.0-inch touchscreen and multiple connectivity.
The Toyota HiAce 2023 prices range from $39,820 for the basic trim level Van LWB to $58,410 for the top of the range Van Slwb Barn Door.
There’s a very good chance that your problem concerns the cable or linkage that connects the gearstick in the cabin with the actual gearbox. It’s very common for one cable or linkage to operate half the gears, and a second linkage to operate the rest. If this linkage has fallen off or become detached somehow, there’s no longer a physical link between the gearstick and the transmission selectors for those gears. At which point, it’s impossible to select the affected gears.
A quick check under the gearbox will confirm whether this is the case, and fixing it should also be a simple case of reattaching the linkage or possibly replacing a broken cable.
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This hasn’t surfaced as a common problem, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening in some instances. The HiAce rear axle should have seals on the actual differential centre as well as each axle. If these are failing continuously, there are a number of possibilities.
The first is that there’s something bent or damaged that is placing undue force or damaging the seal, causing it to fail prematurely. The second is that the seal (and its replacements) are from a dud batch of seals with either poor manufacturing tolerances or a flaw in the material from which they’re made. The third culprit would be a blocked differential breather which is not allowing the pressure inside the housing escape, and that pressure is causing the oil to be pushed out past the seals.
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From the sounds of things, you need a vehicle that can accommodate the wheelchair as an actual seat in the car rather than having the chair folded and stored for the journey. With that in mind, a van or people-mover is by far the best best bet and the news is good, because there are plenty of choices. For a while there, people were converting Ford Falcon station-wagons for this task, but since the Falcon is no longer made, vans have become the new default vehicle to convert. Which makes plenty of sense.
There are specialist firms around that will carry out whatever conversion you require and tailor-make the ramps, lock-down points and grab-rails you need to make it work for you. Switched on companies will sit down with you and discuss your precise requirements and engineer something bespoke if necessary.
At the moment, the list of car choices is pretty long and includes the new Hyundai Staria, VW Caddy, LDV G10, VW Caravelle, Renault Kangoo, Renault Trafic, Hyundai iLoad, Mercedes-Benz V-Class, Toyota HiAce and, in case you need something really big, even the Toyota Coaster. Some of these companies are also registered as NDIS suppliers.
But don’t rule out a second-hand vehicle, either. There are websites around listing used wheelchair-accessible cars for sale. Some will be ex-taxis, but others can be relatively low-kilometre cars that might just have the exact layout you were looking for.
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The HiAce has two bucket seats with the driver's seat offering adjustable lumbar support.
The cargo bay offers a sizeable 6.2 cubic metres of load volume and can carry up to two standard 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or up to three 1200 x 800mm/1200 x 1000mm Euro pallets.
The 1GD-FTV 2.8 litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel produces 130kW at 3400rpm and in auto models has 450Nm of torque between 1600-2400rpm.
Can accelerate from 0-100km/h in approximately 10-11 seconds. Top speed is approximately 190km/h.
Toyota claims an official combined average of 8.2L/100km, which equates to a driving range of more than 800km from its 70-litre diesel tank.