Here’s a model that I still see occasionally around our Tokyo neighborhood – and one I don’t believe we’ve covered here at CC yet – the Toyota Granvia. It’s probably unfamiliar to our North American readers, but was and still is, quite popular in East Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Let’s take a look…
1993 Master Ace Surf
Toyota has always had a full stable of vans; small, medium, large…commercial and passenger. Up until the early 1990’s, most of these vans were flat-front, forward-control models – with the engine up front between the front seats (doghouse) and the driveshaft going back to the rear axle. But changing crash standards, primarily outside Japan, were causing Toyota to look at alternative designs.
The unique and innovative Estima/Lucida/Previa was one example – taking the four cylinder engine, laying it over on its side, and putting it underneath in the middle – then extending the nose and running a shaft to the front to run the auxiliary components, helped free up space and improved crash-worthiness. But it was overly complex, and over-engineered – and thus too expensive.
A simpler method was to just extend the nose and move the engine and front axle forward – that’s what Toyota did with the Granvia – one of its models in the large van category. The Granvia was 4.8 meters long, 1.8 wide, and around 1.9 in height – basically, about the same size as a Gen 1 Sienna, though a little taller.
Early 90’s Ford Aerostar
In profile, it reminds me of the old Ford Aerostar, which had a similar drivetrain configuration.
Moving the engine forward significantly reduced engine intrusion into the cabin.
Engines varied by location – Europe preferred the 2.4. or 3.0 liter four cylinder diesels, while other markets had the diesels and a gas 2.7 four cylinder and a 3.4 liter V6. Toyota updated the front in 1999.
2020 Granvia as sold in Australia
This series of the Granvia was built until 2002 in Japan, where it was superseded by the Alphard which went to a transverse-mounted engine driving the front wheels. But it was continued in other markets, growing larger, but retaining a front longitudinal engine and rear wheel drive.
Toyota still builds one forward control van here in Japan – the H200 HiAce which hasn’t changed much since 2004. Noted for their toughness, they are a staple of tradesmen here and are routinely seen at job sites, and in long wheelbase form are also used as a commuter van that can seat up to 15 passengers.
That 1st picture made me think of what a second gen Aerostar could have looked like. Glad it’s not just me.
The Aerostar similarity is obvious. If Ford had been able to redesign the Aerostar in 1998 to make it crash-test compliant (with dual airbags), the end result would’ve likely resembled the Graniva. Alas, potential sales weren’t enough to justify continued production–a new Windstar was already in the works for 1999. In addition, SUVs were the hot new thing by this time with the Explorer clearly setting the trend. The Aerostar & Explorer were both produced at the St. Louis Assembly Plant in Missouri; something had to go to make way for new sales. And, you now had the Expedition (1997) too, so part of the Aerostar’s initial marketing advantage (towing, payload) vs. front-wheel-drive minivans was more than supplemented in the 3-row consumer vehicle market.
I STILL miss my ’96 Aerostar XLT. Thank you, Toyota, for making what could have been…
That 2020 is the ugliest van I have ever laid eyes on. Please keep it down under. Thank you for your cooperation.
Perhaps for use as a commuter van, Toyota made it look like a bus, intentionally.
We don’t particularly want it here anyway. I’m pleased to say I’ve never seen one.
I am displeased to say that I have.
I recognize them as the HiAce, the updated model (with the big, rectangular headlights) was the last one here. After that, we didn’t get Toyota vans for several years until Toyota teamed up with PSA which resulted in the all-new ProAce and later the smaller ProAce City (a regadged Partner-Berlingo).
Exactly as in Denmark, as you might imagine. Buses extremely rare while the Hiace vans are still very common.
Put a HiAce up for sale, they make good money, and it will be sold and shipped to Africa tomorrow.
The Granvia exhibits that 90’s blandness that pervaded a lot of Japanese cars of the time.
The Master Ace Surf however looks great, it does make you want to pile in and head to the beach.
And the H200 HiAce still looks decent going on two decades, I recall seeing a 1-ton with a dual rear axle when over there outside a construction site. But the regular ones are all over the place, sort of a Japan van version of the F-150…
That Master Asses Turf flatters to deceive. If you piled in, there is a considerable chance you never see the beach. At minimum, you would get a close view of the ashphalt through those roof panels.
I always want to know how the forward control van like HiAce can pass government regulation for crash worthiness. No doubt its space efficiency is unmatched, but do you really feel safe driving this type of van around in town and highway?
In 90s IIHS crashed a Previa, its rating was very poor despite its “over engineering”. Toyota didn’t pay attention to the front structure of this vehicle. The head of IIHS then personally owned a Previa.
Again credit has to go Chrysler for inventing the minivan, front engine, front drive, space interior and relatively small exterior.
Toyota marketed a Hiace van in Australia and other markets with the Granvia’s (AKA Grand Hiace and the narrow body version Reguis) body shell and amazingly, its independent rear suspension too. For a RWD van in 1995 that was impressive.
It was sold as the Hiace SBV (Short Bonnet Van) an a more premium alternative to the regular foreword control Hiace range. It sold reasonably well for a while but was eventually withdrawn from this market as most tradies opted for the standard model as they were more interested in saving their money than their life. Interestingly at this time the SBV continued to be available in export markets like Greece.
The ads for that SBV were genuinely funny, a profile shot of a middle-aged tradie with a pretty large nose and tagline something to the effect that sometimes having a bigger nose is a good thing.
I don’t remember the advertising for the SBV’s, Justy.
But I do remember that local roads tests said it drove a magnitude of 2 million times better than the forward control shit heaps, which wouldn’t be hard to do.
One of the reasons the SBV was pulled from the Australian market was that they allegedly weren’t selling enough of them, and a Toyota executive remarked that this proved that Australians would rather save a dollar or two rather than their life, despite claiming to be interested in safety.
Oh dear, that ’93 Master Surf in the pic was the master of full instability from the full stable of vans. It was sold here as a Tarago to large families who presumably didn’t much like their kids, as the vans routinely parked on their roofs whenever deviated from the straight ahead. Dire, dire things, and unlike their non-Toyota-made occupants, unkillable.
In that context, the classy, slightly crazy Japanese boom-economy mid-engined one was an earnest redemption, and though it sadly turned out to have bad crashability, it was far less likely to do so.
The latest Granivas – which sound like a rolled-oat food for oldies, and which also look a bit like they may have already chewed on it – are sold here as the way-late replacement for the foward-control HiAce, which sold in large masses to tradesmen here despite huge Toyota-reputation prices (and what must have been gigantic profits to Toyota when amortized by about 2008). To answer questions above, they were shithouse for safety, and lovely, responsible Toyota should have been forced to stop selling them years ago.
The passenger Grannyolas come here fully loaded and a gruff 170bhp 4cyl diesel, and can be snapped up for a mere $60,000, though even at that price, you still have to look at it each day.
Oh dear oh dear, on re-reading, I finally notice it’s Granvia (which is hardly better mind, as it sounds like grannies Final Journey).
One other amendment, the price here is from $63K to $75K. Not misprints, unlike the styling sketches for them.
A former acquaintance had a 1997 Granvia back around 2002. It has the unique honour of being the only vehicle I’ve ever driven that made me, as the driver, carsick. The ride had an odd front-to-back-to-side-to-side wallow – and at 5 years old and low mileage it didn’t appear to be worn shocks to blame. I was driving it back from a church camp, ferrying a teenager who, ironically, was too carsick to be in the accompanying church bus. Given how wallowy the Granvia’s ride turned out to be, I’m surprised he wasn’t sick in it too…