(first posted 1/13/2016) The Toyota Van may be The Offical Van Of Eugene today, but up until just a few weeks ago, it had been probably at least five years (maybe ten) since I had seen one in the wild, anywhere, including here in Chicago. And what a sight! This one looked to have served as a real family workhorse, judging from the full passenger load and lower body-side damage. I’m guessing on the model year, going simply by the crosshatch-grille insert in the front bumper.
I always thought these were reasonably good-looking as minivans go, even if their excessive front overhang looked just a little bit off. These Vans still look somewhat futuristic in 2016, especially when contrasted with the U.S.-market seventh-generation Toyota Camry taxi cab behind it in the title shot. This juxtaposition made me question the exact model year when the balance of Toyota’s overall styling had tipped from cutting-edge to stodgy. (1994, perhaps? 1996?) The Van looks like actual effort from its stylists was involved. The Camry, while not ugly, looks completely uninspired.
This Van’s design made its debut in its Japanese home market in 1982, a full two years before it arrived in the U.S. for model year ’84. I’ve always thought “Van” was a pretty unimaginative model name for such an adventurously-styled conveyance. What was wrong with some variation of “Ace” with a modifier, like in its home market (“TownAce” / “MasterAce Surf”)? Many folks in the U.S. play card games, and an ace often beats anything that isn’t trump. Plus, “Ace” rhymes with outer “space”, from which this pod looks like it originated.
As this Van pulled away from the intersection, I noticed the trailer hitch on the back. This instantly instilled in me nothing but mad respect for this beast of burden. Like an angular, road-going, steel-bodied donkey, it trudged forward slowly and steadily through evening rush-hour traffic on the way to its destination. One just knows it got there.
As photographed by the author in The Loop, downtown Chicago, Illinois, on Friday, December 18, 2015.
Love it!! We are original owners of a 1984 Van LE [5 speed!] – my parents purchased when I was a kid and its now babied by me 🙂 So I have a completely irrational love of these.
The story I had always heard was Toyota wanted to use “Van Wagon”, but VW said no dice – too close to “Vanagon”. They did eventually use “Wonder Wagon” in some advertisements. For whatever it’s worth, my official docs [window sticker, title, etc] all say “Van Wagon” still.
Interesting since Honda would take the same 2 words…and reverse them for the Civic WagoVan.
Not mentioned in the write-up, but weren’t these vans also offered as AWD vehicles?
With Ford and Chevy (via Nissan badge-engineering), and even Dodge now offering vans this size, it’s ironic that a “pioneer” in this segment is not currently a “player”….at the moment.
Yea these were available with an AWD powertrain
86-89 had a proper hi-lo transfer case. So truly 4×4. Previa got all-trac AWD
They were indeed offered in 4×4, as well as in a cargo variant. I found one a few years back that combined both of those attributes.
Interesting that it has such plain side panels, flat from the lower crease-line up. So often cargo versions just look like the passenger one with blanked out windows. It loses a lot of its styling appeal like this.
That van would be rockin’ on smooth pavement!
I haven’t driven one, but I have heard that they are somewhat bouncy due to the short wheelbase, like a see-saw. Right or wrong?
Right. We borrowed my brother-in-law’s one to pick up some furniture from 80 miles away, and I remember front-to rear swaying, sharp jolts over bumps from sitting over the axle, and the load shifting over bumps taken at highway speed. Toyota hadn’t fully figured out suspensions yet, and it was still basically a truck chassis.
This was what my mom drove in the early/mid 90s. I remember having a hard time getting into the front seats. Had to fold myself up like a piece of origami to get over the road wheel, but under the steering wheel. Remember my dad saying a mechanic told him the engine would easily be good for 200,000 miles. Never made it that far… mom wrapped the rear hatch around a telephone pole or something while backing out. As I recall these vans had some interesting striping/decor options on the sides. Never really a fan of this when young, but brings back some fond memories.
Like many things in the early-mid 80’s, these did indeed sport a set of stripes more often than not. Hilux pickups and 4Runners were also commonly bestriped–maybe it was a Toyota “thing”?
I recall that when they first came to America that they touted 10,000 miles between oil changes and 100,000 miles between spark plug changes. Although these intervals are normal today, they were stretched beyond reason due to inaccessibility of the engine. I have no doubt this alone contributed to the early demise of a significant number of them.
I’ve always thought that design looked really weird, but then the Toyota cars of that vintage always looked a little strange… think of the Tercel….
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/curbside-classic-1984-toyota-tercel-wagon-built-for-the-really-long-haul/
…while it may have been very reliable, it still looked like it was sporting a bank machine on its stern. ;o)
That said, I had an ’84 Celica GT… It was just the basic coupe with the trunk, not the fancy GT-S Hatchback… but that car was a real blast to drive.
A friend of my wife’s got several years of use out of one of these in the DC metro area. By the time they got rid of it, it had been in enough scrapes that the bondo in the lower side panels probably significantly lowered its center of gravity.
I’m not sure about the early demise for mechanicals. Like the 22R engine, the 3YEC and 4YEC are both known for longevity. Not in the US, but other Townace/Hiace/4Runners/Hilux used this family. Lots of commercial applications where longevity was a priority. I believe the 4Y was even their forklift engine. The 100K plugs were platinum-tipped, so not sure it was beyond reason.
Oil changes are actually SUPER easy, so anybody that pushed those is a fool. You don’t even have to jack it up to crawl underneath since enough ground clearance. The oil filter itself is easy to get to as well (actually is accessible, like the battery, from INSIDE the van)
2CT were a good engine in these virtually unburstable but even the gas engines have extremely long service lives and Ive seen LPG fueled 4Ys in Toyota forklifts only two tonne versions though they use something more powerful in the bigger models.
I agree – I should have replied to kevinB above. His claim about these things dying early is way off
Yeah that’s all BS from a non-owner. Solid and reliable, with compartments that open up for access to almost all maintenance items. The NGK platinum’s were the best plugs on the market, cost more and were well worth it.
Yes; they’re still the official van of Eugene. I could go out and probably shoot half a dozen or more in a short drive. Well, i do know a few driveways that have several of them, so maybe a dozen wouldn’t be hard at that.
They’re considered to be as bulletproof as just about any Toyota has ever been, so I expect to keep seeing them for a few decades more. 🙂
5 years after this was first posted and I rarely see these around Eugene anymore. Just today I saw several Hi-Ace/Delica-type 90s vans but no 80s Vans.
These would have sold better, but as I recall, they cost a screaming fortune when new. I have not seen one in the midwest in quite awhile. Love your photos (as always).
Master Ace likely stemmed from its original title the bare bones commercial version is called LiteAce van and cab chassis/pickup.
A 5th-gen HiAce minibus (I think the 15-passenger model) was parked at a Tucson Safeway; it had Chihuahua plates. Usually Mexican nationals drive Yankee models, but now & then one sees non-US types like this.
http://www.toyota.com.mx/homevehiculo/vehiculos-comerciales-y-pick-ups/hiace/
I suspect crash-safety & the 4-cyl. are why they won’t sell here.
I would love if they offered those in the US! I certainly get why they don’t, but I would still love it 🙂
They’re everywhere in Australia. Even get used for taxis.
I am ready for some guns to stick out of the windows and start shooting……
Here’s the recently unveiled brand new Toyota van, the ProAce. The result of a PSA-Toyota joint venture. Pictured the MPV, it will be available as panel van too of course.
If you squint it looks like a 2/3 size Sienna. Is the cabover layout disappearing from this class in Europe?
Yes, cabover/forward-control vans -and the light truck equivalents- have completely disappeared. In all size- and weight segments.
They have disappeared from Europe, but the TownAce and HiAce are still available in Japan in the cabover format, I believe.
I expect they’ll probably continue with these, as exterior footprint is even more important in Japan than urban Europe, hence smaller kei trucks like the Suzuki Carry & Honda Acty, which I understand you can buy secondhand in America for restricted use, depending on the State.
I think other E. Asian countries use kei trucks or the like. And I remember seeing 3-wheeled mini trucks yrs. ago in Greece, don’t know if these are still around.
Smallest van segment now is something like this, the Fiat Fiorino. It could be rebadged as RAM ProMaster DownTown, or something like that.
That doesn’t look cabover to me – the doors (and I assume thus the front seats) are behind the front wheels
993cc,
Lovely moniker you chose. The picture you posted maybe described as cab forward, but cab over has the door in front of the front wheel and the drivers seat over the front wheel.
So is this the joint venture in the Czech Republic near Prague?
Vans joint venture is Sevel Nord, France. The small cars joint venture is CR.
I discovered recently that Daihatsu sold a version of this van in some markets, called the Delta Wide. (Toyota has owned a stake in Daihatsu for many years)
One article I read claimed that Daihatsu did much of the original engineering work on the van, which is plausible, given Daihatsu’s expertise with small, narrow commercial vehicles — however, I never followed up to see if that claim had any accuracy.
These vans (the Toyotas, that is) are rare here in Virginia, however there is one 1986 example that serves as a daily driver around here.
Cool – I’d never seen the Daihatsu version. But if that’s the Delta Wide, does that mean there’s a narrow-bodied version? I hope not!
I’m familiar with Daihatsu’s Delta trucks of this era – thankfully this looks nothing like them.
+1. New to me too.
Most of the smaller Toyota commercials have a Daihatsyu stable mate I have seen Delta Wide on a van but am so used to seeing oddball JDM badging ignored the actual vehicle, I’ll take more notice next time and maybe a photo.
Count me as another person who didn’t know about this one, and I knew about the Daihatsu Altise (Toyota Camry).
I, too, haven’t seen one in several years. I blame rust.
I love this van shape which, despite it’s lower side ’embellishment’ in the example you’ve brought us, is nice and clean without the distracting bodystriping that seems to be on every one I’ve seen in the flesh.
My brother-in-law, a conservative farmer, managed to get a plain white one without stripes. Then he put a big alloy ‘roo bar on the front!
these were so interesting I knew someone that had one
Near me there is an appliance repair guy who must love these. In this streetview shot I see 3, and suspect there are several more in and behind the barn.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Shaw's+Appliance+Services/@42.5706855,-84.4083961,3a,60y,25.58h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sp2ufs9JIPSrGZDxL3_-N9w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xcf7c8265df299428!6m1!1e1
I suspect he owns most of the remaining examples in Mid-Michigan.
Three Toyota Vans, a Chevette, a 1st-gen MR2, an early aero Town Car, and a final-gen Eldorado.
I think we’ve found the Official CC Appliance Repair!
saw an interesting Toyota van here in Peterborough. was in traffic so I couldn’t pull out the camera(a big legal no-no) in Ontario.
a Toyota previa awd with small ‘sc’ letters on the back…supercharged??
figure it must have been imported from the southern states as most previa vans returned to the earth here eons ago.
another famous CC ‘write about it and they will appear!’ moment.
Yup – supercharged. They added it as an option in 1993 I believe and for the final year (1997) it was the only engine. You could get a supercharged awd version that was very nice. Some family friends had one that was fully loaded with dual sunroofs, leather, etc. was a SWEET car!
Whenever I see these vans I think of the older Korean couple that lived on the street I grew up on. Through the years they had different cars but they always kept the van, which was in pristine condition.
I thought it was very peculiar with the wheels being over the passenger compartment. This van and its engineering piqued my interest way more than the Corvette a neighbor owned further down the block, which all of the other neighborhood kids obsessed over (I never liked “fast cars” anyways…).
I was always conjuring up scenarios of how an engine and the drivetrain could fit under a very short hood–or so I thought. My ‘little engineer’ mind didn’t realize that the engine was in the passenger compartment and that there were plenty of other vehicles that had a similar design.
From time to time they would bring over something they made to our house and other neighbors. Both loved to cook and cooked well. Sometimes you’d smell the aroma just by walking by their house. I always looked forward to the bulgogi, except every so often they would stray from tradition and serve it over soba noodles, which was my favorite.
My ’89 Consumer Guide has these getting 22/24 mpg with the manual, 21/23 with the auto. Base price was $13,608, the base AWD was $3k more. An Aerostar retailed for around $11.5k, a base Caravan around the same. The B-Body wagons, FYI, started at $15k.
I know these Vans are probably much more dependable than the domestic vans, but if I had a small family I think I would’ve gone for the Caravan. Forward-control vans make me nervous. I remember reading Which Car? as a child and they did a special on used cars to avoid, and one was the Ford Spectron: a rebadged Mazda van with seats, basically. All the Japanese automakers started off with these crude van-based people carriers and they aren’t exactly renowned for their crash safety.
These are another installment of “oddball older vehicles you can still find in Richmond”. Not Eugene-common, to be sure, but it seems like there are quite a few of these guys still running around. If I take a certain route home from work I’ll see three of them (though to be fair two are at the same house).
I always liked these as a kid. I do think it was the space pod-like styling–despite quite a bit of angularity, they looked quite futuristic.
I’ve always liked this version of the Toyota Van. It may not be as safe in a frontal collision as a car would be. But so what? Don’t get in an accident and you’ll be fine. Drive carefully.
Daihatsu “Crew Cab”
The HiJet “Deck Van”
https://www.daihatsu.co.jp/lineup/haiso_deckvan/index.htm
In 1985 my aunt, uncle, and cousins came visiting and rented one of these. We kids called it the “Toyota 2000 van” because it looked so futuristic!
My father in law called them “Moon Mobiles”.
It would be interesting to see how these vans perform in a modern crash test, with the driver serving as the crumple zone.
I remember these. They were expensive and were a far cry from the practicality of either a Voyager or a Caravan. Toyota made them overseas, and it seems that their dealers wanted something to match the success of the Chrysler minivans. These weren’t them.
I especially disliked the tippy feeling driving them. Like a throwback to the old Ford Falcon vans from twenty-five years earlier, they had a dog house between the front seats and just couldn’t hide the fact that they were just a Toyota pick up truck with a tippy box on it. Toyota quality, sure – but not even close to what the market wanted in minivans in 1988.
Vanilla, I beg to differ. I owned a 1987 LE from 1997 to 2006. The most practical car I have ever owned. For its size, it could carry the most stuff with the least effort, could carry 7 people, it was easy to park, it had a very small turning radius allowing U turns (especially useful in parking in San Francisco), it got 30mpg on the highway. Outward vision was excellent in all directions. The ride on bumps was awful, my cousin called it a Pogo Stick, however on smooth pavement I had no complaints. A friend didn’t enjoy driving in crosswinds though. While alarming, the total lateral movement in a 25 mph crosswind was probably less than a foot. The understeer was amazing, and probably its best safety feature. I would often drive Highway 1 north of San Francisco where every drainage involves at least a 180 degree curve. While I felt I was driving fast, my actual speed was rather limited. I worked on it myself, and while generally I was happy with the Toyota experience, the electrical panel on the car was crap. It had a little jumper wire that would burn up and damage the panel. I had to replace mine, and I found the used replacement had the same kind of damage, though less of it. The performance was adequate for me, 98% of the mileage being solo, and ok when loaded with a raft, frame, oars and cooler as well as personal gear for 3 plus two passengers. It was telling when my friend insisted on driving it in 4th gear on the freeway, saying
it had more power that way” despite my suggestion that she use fifth gear. She drove a Ford van with a giant V8 and automatic. I really liked the Van and would have kept it if the sunroof had not got a big rust blight and general old age. Really, it’s replacement was offered to me at a great price, a 1997 Previa! From angular to oblong. From the king of oversteer to balanced driving dynamics. From terrible crash expectations to mediocre crash expectations. From 5 speed manual to automatic, from normally aspirated to supercharged, from good mileage to bad mileage (18mpg), from Pogo Stick to comfortable, but worst of all, much less practical for carrying large objects. Seats are hard to remove. Rear loading hatch is smaller, etc. Still, the new beat the old… Speaking of which, the Van is still going! Life on the streets of San Francisco.