Toyota Hiace Commuter

The Toyota Hiace Commuter mimics its basic appeal of the exterior design on the inside as well. The cabin is immensely spacious and can seat multiple people in utmost comfort, however, the layout of the all-black cabin has been kept way too simple and frills-free, with limited features on board as well.

The dashboard carries a theme of rectangular panels, including for the instrument console, centre console which has provision for a music system and glove box and storage spaces on the passenger side. The three-spoke steering wheel might not be a multifunctional unit, but is aligned very ergonomically, and so is the dashboard-mounted gear lever.

All the four rows of the Toyota Hiace Commuter have generous levels of space and do get individual AC vents for all of them.

While this Singapore-spec Toyota Hiace is different from the latest gen Hiace available overseas, it lacks the freshness and modernity of the latter, and has a somewhat bland design language. The boxy appearance of the vehicle makes it look purposeful, but not visually appealing.

The front look of the Toyota Hiace Commuter looks proportional with a sloping theme for both the front windshield as well as the bonnet designed just below it, the latter of which gets nice contours on the sides which flow sideways. The two slat grille on the lower portion of the bonnet looks decent, however, the block themed front headlamps look boring.

From the sides, the Toyota Hiace Commuter means business, with a basic and no-frills design, having large window panes and door panels, the rear ones of which open in a sliding manner. A crisp line flows sideways gives a sense of continuity, but still, it doesn’t look much appealing. Like the front bumper, the door handles, and side rearview mirrors are finished in black.

The rear profile of the Toyota Hiace Commuter is as simple as the front and side, with no major focus on styling whatsoever. The vertically laid tail lamps on the sides and large rear windshield complete the look of the van at the rear.

The Toyota Hiace Commuter is not a car with great handling prowess, for the boxy design does give it a high center of gravity, translating into significant body roll. However, the double-wishbone setup at the front and rigid leaf springs at the rear is good enough to absorb all kinds of rough stuff on the road.

The Toyota Hiace Commuter sources its power from a 3.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine, which can be had either with a 5-speed manual gearbox in the basic variant or with a 4-speed automatic gearbox in the other two variants. The engine has the capability to churn out a maximum power output of 143 PS, while the peak torque output is rated at 300 Nm.

In the name of safety, the Toyota Hiace Commuter is tad too basic, with the people carrier getting only a driver airbag, ABS, and reverse parking sensors only.

The Toyota Hiace Commuter might seem to have a limited desirability when it comes to visual appeal, which is boring in this case, and the lack of modernity and creature comforts make it look even more old school. However, for carrying people from point A to point B in utmost comfort, it surely is one vehicle to vouch for, with a generously spacious cabin and reliable engine and suspension working in its favor.