2024 Toyota HiAce LWB diesel automatic review

Light commercial vans. Few brand-new cars on the market today are as pared back and basic as a light commercial van – which makes them endearing on a certain level.

I have a long personal history with the Toyota HiAce. I have a soft spot for the model from the 1990s, which was quintessentially 'Toyota' from that era – basic, well-built, and surprisingly fun to drive. I've also spent more time in the previous-generation HiAce than most, with plenty of days behind the wheel as I shuffled vans between JB HiFi stores across the nation.

More recently, I was privileged enough to be invited to drive the hydrogen HiAce – a prototype built by Toyota Australia using the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine from a Lexus LX600, but converted to run on straight hydrogen. However, the hydrogen HiAce was a Commuter bus, with a super-long wheelbase, high roof, and plenty of seats.

This time around, I've been handed the keys to a Toyota HiAce LWB Van – the entry-level commercial model, long favoured by couriers, tradespeople, and, increasingly, surfers and motocross riders.

But what often used to be a no-frills, bare-bones, and often uncomfortable experience has evolved. Car manufacturers like Toyota have become more sympathetic to workers who spend much of their day driving light commercial vans, making them significantly more ergonomic and safer than they ever have been – but without losing the workhorse reliability so many come to depend on.

While the HiAce is one of a diminishing list of vehicles still offered with the choice of a six-speed manual gearbox, most owners nowadays opt for the six-speed automatic transmission. It's one of the few options still available after Toyota dropped the petrol V6 some years ago – along with the ability to option different colours. What buyers want is a white, turbo-diesel van with an auto.

With the sixth-generation model having been around since 2019 – and with the history of the model dating back to the 1960s – is the Toyota HiAce still the go-to light commercial van? Let's find out.

The 2024 Toyota HiAce is priced from $48,886 before on-road costs. For that money, you're getting two seats, a six-speed manual transmission, and the choice of dual sliding doors or just one on the passenger side – with both available with or without glass in the passenger-side sliding door for no additional cost.

Changing to an automatic transmission adds $2000 to the base price. There are also various door configurations available, depending on whether the buyer wants a single sliding passenger-side door with or without glass, dual sliding doors, or some combination thereof with or without barn doors at the rear – rather than a top-hinged tailgate.

There is also an Option Pack available, which adds painted bumper bars and door handles, front fog lights, and a digital rear-view mirror with auto-dimming.

For those who need to carry more passengers, you can opt for the LWB Crew Van, with five seats, dual sliding doors with glass, and colour-coded bumpers and door handles – priced from $53,886 before on-road costs in auto-only.

For those who need to carry more stuff, the HiAce SLWB (super long-wheelbase) Van is available as a two-seater, with a higher roof and an automatic transmission – priced from $59,446 before on-road costs – with the option of barn doors or a tailgate.

All HiAce commercial models are powered by a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, sending 130kW to the rear wheels.

Torque figures do vary depending on the model: those who go with a manual transmission in the commercial van get 420Nm, while the automatic gets a bump to 450Nm.

However, those who opt for either HiAce Commuter Super bus get slightly less performance, with 120kW and 420Nm from the 2.8-litre engine, despite the automatic transmission being fitted as standard.

While buyers in this segment are spoiled for choice – with competitors from Ford, Hyundai, LDV, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, and Volkswagen – the HiAce remains the only light commercial van on sale in Australia to be manufactured in Japan. All the rest come from China, South Korea, or Europe.

The HiAce's closest rival, in both size and price, is the Hyundai Staria Load – priced from $46,240 before on-road costs. However, the Staria Load comes with a smaller engine, and eight-speed automatic transmission as standard, front-wheel drive, and styling that divides opinion.

If cost is your number-one concern, the LDV G10+ smashes the competition priced at less than $38,000 drive-away – or roughly $15,000 cheaper than the entry-level HiAce when on-road costs are added.

Both the Volkswagen Transporter SWB and Renault Trafic Pro SWB offer vans priced similarly to the HiAce; however, these are shorter in length and wheelbase, while the long-wheelbase versions bunny-hop the HiAce, offering another step above in terms of size.

Speaking of which, the Toyota HiAce LWB Van is 5265mm long, 1950mm wide, 1990mm high, and has a wheelbase of 3210mm. But like a mullet hair-do, while it's all business up front, out back is where the real party happens.

The load length is 2530mm, 1760mm wide, and 1340mm high, with the width between the wheel arches 1268mm. This provides a cargo area of 6200 litres, or up to 6.2 cubic metres of space, with a total payload of 1075 kilograms.

The HiAce has a kerb weight of 2225kg and a turning circle of 11 metres.

While this isn't a proper comparison, it's worth noting the front-wheel-drive Hyundai Staria Load has a turning circle of 11.94m, load dimensions of 2607/1640/1436mm respectively, for a total cargo space of 4935L and a payload of 1018kg.

Ingress and egress – the professional way of saying 'me hauling my backside into and out of the van' – is much easier on this generation thanks to large doors, a step, and a grab handle on the A-pillar.

And thanks to the engine now being placed ahead of the driver and passenger, the cabin has been opened up, allowing for much more thoughtful ergonomics. This means more time and effort have been put into ensuring the driver's comfort.

We're not talking Rolls-Royce levels of luxury, but spending hours on the highway is no longer a chore. If a commercial van is your office, then you could do a lot worse.

The HiAce comes with an 8.0-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as Bluetooth, reversing camera, a USB port, and satellite navigation.

The driver also has stereo remote controls on the leather-accented steering wheel.

Despite the lack of sound deadening in the cargo area, the stereo is loud and clear, with a decent quality for both callers and receivers when making phonecalls via Bluetooth.

Ahead of the driver is a 4.2-inch information display located between the speed and rev gauges, with a digital rear-view mirror with auto dimming available as an option.

Toyota Connect Services are also available, allowing the owner to pair the vehicle with the myToyota Connect app, with stolen vehicle tracking, automatic collision notification, and SOS Emergency Call included with 12 months of complimentary access to the full suite, after which subscription fees from $9.095 per month apply for access to stolen vehicle tracking, recent trip data, and guest driver settings. Some services remain at no cost however, with full details here.

The 2024 Toyota HiAce has a five-star safety rating, the highest available from ANCAP – the Australasian New Car Assessment Program – with the test taking place in 2019.

While safety standards by which cars are tested get updated often, by 2019 standards, the HiAce excelled in the category of adult occupant protection receiving a score of 94 per cent.

In the category of vulnerable road user protection – meaning pedestrians and cyclists – Toyota's van scored 84 per cent, while a grading of 77 per cent was given for the safety assist category, referring to the number of active semi-autonomous safety systems available.

The HiAce comes standard with seven airbags, including dual front airbags, front-seat side airbags, side curtain airbags, and a driver's knee airbag.

Also standard is Toyota's Safety Sense system, which includes lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring (particularly useful in a van), automatic high beam, and autonomous emergency braking – with pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection.

Road-sign recognition, another standard feature, means the vehicle can read speed signs and show them on the multi-information display – a helpful reminder if you're on an unfamiliar road – with audible and visual warnings letting you know if your speed has crept up over the signposted limit.

While visibility is generally good for a cargo van, the Toyota comes with a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors to help avoid bumps and scratches in car parks.

Not bad really, considering occupant safety wasn't a thing in commercial vans up until relatively recently.

The HiAce is guaranteed with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty – with the Japanese car giant extending the engine and driveline warranty from five to seven years if the vehicle is serviced on time at Toyota's dealer network.

However, it's important to note for those using their HiAce for commercial purposes – including transporting goods on a part-time or casual basis – the warranty reverts to five years and 160,000km (whichever comes first), with no option to extend to seven years.

Service intervals are set at 10,000km or six months, which – while common for Toyota diesel models – is a big negative mark against the HiAce. While some car makers are pushing service intervals out to 20,000km and 18 months, having to book a service in every 10,000km or six months at a minimum is, at best, an inconvenience. Particularly for those who may be doing some serious kilometres each year as part of their job.

The good news is the HiAce comes with capped-price servicing, which costs $290 for each six-month/10,000km visit in the first three years (or 60,000km, whichever comes first).

Comprehensive insurance for the Toyota HiAce is $1711 annually, which is a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

It's worth noting there's a bit of a disparity between the claimed fuel-consumption figures between the two transmissions. For the manual version, Toyota claims a combined figure of 7.4 litres per 100 kilometres – while the auto sees that number bump up to 7.9L/100km.

Clearly I have a heavier foot than Toyota's engineers, because I managed an average of 10.4L/100km during my time with the HiAce. It was empty for the most part, with the exception of a day or two when I had some cargo in the back – more on that later.

The HiAce has a 70-litre fuel tank, and – if you were able to achieve the claimed fuel efficiency – would allow for a range of over 875km. As tested that effective range drops to a shade under 675km.

The 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine is Euro 5 compliant, and produces a claimed 214 grams of CO2 per kilometre combined.

My, how far we've come. The current-generation Toyota HiAce may not be quite as fun to drive as previous versions, but that's because the experience is far more refined and pleasant than it ever has been. No longer is there just an old desk set up next to the factory's roller door – now the warehouse has an office.

With the HiAce no longer a true 'cab over' – where the front wheels are under the front seats – this has provided two main benefits. The first is the driver and passenger are no longer part of the van's crumple zone. There's just a lot more vehicle out ahead of you, making it far safer than it's ever been.

The second is the ride. Being that the HiAce's top shock-absorber mount is no longer inches from your bum, and the seats are now behind the front suspension, it provides a far more enjoyable driving experience over bumps and potholes. So it may not be Mercedes-Benz S-Class levels of comfort, but the longer wheelbase means there's no bucking – it's just good.

Handling has also improved. Yes, earlier models may have been more fun – in the same way it's fun to drive a golf cart – but now the HiAce feels much more planted, confident, and car-like than ever before.

With a few hundred kilograms of extra weight in the cargo area, the van drove… well, basically the same. My guess is the engine would probably be using every last kilowatt and Newton-metre to get the Toyota up to speed, but it was mostly unfazed with the job I had given it.

The 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine and six-speed automatic transmission work well together, providing a good mix of perkiness in city streets, and long legs on the freeway. And despite the lack of sound deadening in the rear cargo area, it wasn't uncomfortably loud at higher speeds.

The HiAce also gave me a good sense of its own dimensions. It's a wide vehicle, but I never felt nervous driving next to other cars. It's a long vehicle – and while I took turns later than I normally would – I never hesitated around roundabouts or turning into 90-degree streets. I'm not entirely sure how Toyota achieved this, but I think it has to do with the HiAce's relatively boxy body, making it easy to understand where it's placed on the road.

Automatic transmission model of the Toyota HiAce can tow up to 1500kg braked (400kg unbraked) – which is enough for a trailer of tools or a motorbike trailer, but means you couldn't pull most caravans or a tandem trailer with a rally car strapped to it.

The towing capability seems to be a limitation of the automatic transmission, as the manual HiAce has a 27 per cent higher rating at 1900kg braked (400kg unbraked).

While it can tow up to a tonne-and-a-half – which ain't nothing – if you're in the business of moving cars or horses across the state, a dual-cab ute might be a better option.

There's just no getting around it – if you need a van for work (or play), then nothing else will do the job. If you've ever had a van, you know how incredibly handy they are – and how the driver has been an afterthought. Up until recently.

The Toyota HiAce remains true to its roots of being the benchmark in the segment. Not because it does anything in an especially mind-blowing way, but because it does everything really well. But with each generation, it keeps getting better.

Taking advantage of my time with the HiAce, and wanting to put it to the test, I went and bought myself a trail bike – a Yamaha TT250, with a spare frame from a wrecked motorbike and boxes of bits. There were tie-down points where we wanted them, and the double sliding doors were especially handy in making sure someone could hold the bike upright while the other was strapping it down, as well as making sure nobody got trapped in a corner after everything had been loaded up.

My only complaint with the HiAce was with the rubber weather seal on the lower part of the rear cargo opening – being that it's attached to the body and not the door, it got pulled away from the body when we were sliding some heavy items from the back. Seems like a bit of an oversight.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed my time getting reacquainted with the Toyota HiAce. As I said, I have a long personal history with the model – all of it positive – and it's good to know the latest generation lives up to the nameplate.

What I find fascinating is this particular model isn't sold in Japan – they're stuck with the previous flat-nose, cab-over model. Why? I'm not sure. But I do know they're missing out on a far more comfortable and better-driving HiAce than the one they have on sale.

While there aren't a huge number of variants of the Toyota HiAce on sale, there are quite a few options available to ensure you're getting the perfect van for your needs. The best place to start is by heading to the Toyota Australia website and building one using the online configurator, found here.

As always, we strongly recommend checking the cars out in person and taking them for a test drive at a dealership before committing. You can find your closest dealership by clicking here, or you can search for both new and used Toyota HiAce vans right here at the Drive Marketplace.

Supply of the HiAce is generally good, with plenty of cars in stock and ready for delivery. However, if you have an unusual options list ticked, it's possible you will have to wait for a custom build.

If you want to stay up to date on the latest Toyota HiAce news, you can do so by clicking here.