The LWB (Long Wheel Base) HiAce come with either 3.5 litre petrol V6 or 2.8 litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engines and a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. Our test vehicle is the LWB with turbo-diesel and auto for a list price of $45,240 before on-roads.
What brings a more upmarket look is optional Quicksilver premium paint (instead of the standard French Vanilla) and Toyota’s GL option pack, which includes body-coloured front and rear bumpers, body-coloured door handles, front fog lamps and digital rear-view mirror with auto-dimming. Combined these options add more than $1700 to the list price, which is still under $50K.
A minor and little-known HiAce upgrade in June 2020 saw the multimedia system’s original 7.0-inch touchscreen enlarged to 8.0 inches along with deletion of the CD player and an auxiliary input. Otherwise, it’s the same two-speaker system as before with steering wheel controls, DAB+2 digital radio and multiple connectivity including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Siri voice recognition, Bluetooth, sat-nav and more.
The HiAce’s standard equipment list has a useful work focus including manual air-con, folding and heated exterior door mirrors with indicators, two 12-volt cabin accessory sockets and tilt-and-reach adjustable leather-accented steering wheel to name a few. The wheels are 16-inch steels with full plastic wheel covers and 215/60R16 tyres, backed by a full-size spare.