Stock photos, the odd window in a window made me notice. Near as I can tell, this is a sixth Generation Toyota HiAce 13 passenger van, the one I saw was certainly full of passengers. (I was driving, so I do not have a picture nor did I get a accurate count, my wife guessed 15) Toyota has never before imported the HiAce to the US, I really doubt they import it now. As far as I can tell, no version is a hybrid. Toyota HiAce - Wikipedia
Cool! My bro saw an Estima Hybrid last week. I sat in one at the L.A. 2010 Prius launch/test drive event back in March 2010.
Here is the full lineup in Singapore for anyone interested. Toyota Singapore | Trusted Choice for Your New Vehicle While I was looking up 2020 prime a few months ago, somehow I got a site with the Vellfire and Alphard video promotions.
This reminds me of the front-mid-engine first-generation Toyota Previa I almost bought way back when shopping for our first mini-van.
Gotta admit, I’ve always had a soft spot for Toyota’s early van efforts. Not many left, like most good trucks they were worked to death. @JimboPalmer You’ve made me curious why we haven’t seen the Toyota HSD on any sort of truck or van? What part of it can’t scale up to the mass of a small van?
I don't know, the HiAce on I-55 did not strike me as 'bigger' than a Highlander. Which has an HSD. A very similar transmission runs a Pacifica, so it CAN scale. The V6 in the HiAce is a 3.5l 7GR-FKS The big Lexus LS 500h uses a 3.5 l V6, the 8GR-FXS so the tech is there. Perhaps the packaging is awkward.
Maybe we'll see a hybrid Sienna after the release of the new HiHy. The current one has a high price for the hybrid for what appears to be a small gain in fuel economy. Without the RX to carry it, the HiHy may have gone the way of the Prius v and c. There are Toyota minivans with HSD, but they are smaller than an American minivan. The system in the LS is new. How long after the first Prius did Toyota put that system into another model? The new Tundra is rumored to get it. I don't think the the system is any bigger than a traditional transmission. Devoting space for the battery in a van might be more noticable than in a car or truck.
It would be nice to have a hybrid Hiace; I recently purchased a Hiace (same as the first photo, except is the top spec Japanese one with lots of features, and is a 'Hiace Grand Cabin'. It is 2.7 petrol automatic, and it is very fuel-hungry... The main issue is that the Hiace is rear wheel drive, so you would need to rotate the HSD by 90 degrees, and then connect it to the rear diff, and I don't want to think how the rest would work (regenerative breaking on the rear wheels might be interesting!). Alternatively, you could convert it to front wheel drive; there would still be a LOT of work to do on the brakes, power steering, vacuum pumps, and so on. It would be worth it, if you had a lot of time and could keep the van off the road for months as a project. The Gen 2 HSD would work fine in my van (which is the biggest Hiace, super long wheel base, high roof, wide body version) - if it could be fitted... In the meantime, I will keep scouring the internet in an effort to locate where the engine computer is, in a Hiace - it is a closely guarded secret!
I live about 115 miles from Blue Springs, but I was driving south of Canton when i saw it, so 190 miles?
Not something I've ever seen in the USA, but have ridden in quite a lot in other countries. Here's the one that broke down taking us from Lomé to Mango, Togo. Vehicles break quite often there. It's not a trip to be taken on a whim.
A nice ride and a blast from the past. I hope they improved the engine compartment insulation. I rode the early ones with the insulation not good and a/c is just running okay can be a real good sweat box. Other than that they're reliable, multi-passenger vehicle.
The specs for the current HiAce and Alhpard can be seen on the Toyota Philippines site. New Vans and Pickups | Toyota Motor Philippines I think they are also available in India First time I saw that I was a bit shocked that land barges like those are sold in areas with such high population counts. But after seeing them for the first time I'm not shocked much by what is sold these days in any market.
