[Scrimble]

for a 2.5 litre engine there not very powerful on paper with not much torque either,

[tench0771]

looks good jonny when u sign rite the van it will look even beta

[Dave Willis]

looks good - couple of odd coloured panels there?

Power isn't everything, they are built for hauling weight not outright speed. Low  geared too. I drove mine up from Bath to Grimsby and back overnight, comfy drive nice and relaxed.

[rah]

looks good - couple of odd coloured panels there?

Power isn't everything, they are built for hauling weight not outright speed. Low  geared too. I drove mine up from Bath to Grimsby and back overnight, comfy drive nice and relaxed.

+1, Like driving a car.

[Jonny 87]

looks good - couple of odd coloured panels there?

Power isn't everything, they are built for hauling weight not outright speed. Low  geared too. I drove mine up from Bath to Grimsby and back overnight, comfy drive nice and relaxed.

What age is yours mate?

Found an 07 plate with 45,000 miles on the clock. It's about 1,500 more but looks like a winner. Another immaculate example. Probably a corner shop type fellow owned it for carrying his cans of noodles and Pepsi. 

[robertphil]

which ever way you look at it you cannot get good fuel economy  from a heavy van with a big lump of an engine .


  either way you take the hit, 100% jap reliability but You spend a ton of fuel, or  hit-and-miss reliability (french ) but save on the fuel.

 if the japs could design a light-ish AND reliable van they would dominate the market  ,seems they cannot
 

[Jonny 87]

which ever way you look at it you cannot get good fuel economy  from a heavy van with a big lump of an engine .

 thats why 4 x4 are not as popular as once were, now they really drink fuel like theres no tomorrow, its nothing to have to spend £150 filling them up in one hit

It's less than £100 to fill up a hiace from people's experience. And it only gets 5mpg less than my caddy at the minute.

Plus the fact that yearly maintenance fees are cheap as chips.

I'm yet to find someone who owns one that doesnt like them. And believe me I've been trying!

[robertphil]

 i meant the 4 x 4  are 150 to fill up

 it might pay you to buy fuel in bulk with your own tank at  the side of your home-i know of one person who does that
 i believe (i might be wrong as legsilation changes )you dont need a licence for a 1000 gallon above ground diesel tank  long as it has a concrete bund
only need a licence if you have a full- size below ground bulk fuel installation

[Dave Mills]

If your going to get one you'll never regret it.

Got to phone the dealer with a decision. I'm pretty certain it's a yes though. Need to get a bit more info on it.

I think it only has partial service history, but I'll probably just put it through a big service when I get it. Cam belt etc. They seem not too expensive to replace?

It's got 100,000 miles on the clock but I only do 8,000 miles a year so the high mileage doesn't worry me. It's not got a mark on it inside or out, silver with a rhino roof rack already on.

Still about the £5000 mark mind but it looks solid.

Cambelt £60 fitted, if I remember correctly.  Might have been £40.

[Dave Willis]

I normally spend about £40 a week on fuel. Had a Despatch before that but higher power, seemed to use about the same amount of fuel.

Despatch is the perfect van for one operator in my opinion. Twin sliding doors are a bonus but seating for three isn't really on. Payload was too tight for 650l and three in the front.


Toyota don't do a 4x4 Hiace  

They do make a Hilux though.

http://vans.honestjohn.co.uk/van-reviews/toyota/hiace-2007/

The 2l Citroen is supposed to do about 42 combined to the gallon. Toyota would be similar to Transits, Vivaros etc give or take a couple of mpg.
 
all depends what you want/need

[Jonny 87]

Just bit the bullet on a hiace I just saw. Had to move quick on it I feel.

Deposit paid and I pick it up on the 28th.

07 plate, one owner and 45,000 miles.

I'm looking forward to filling all this new space I will have! Bigger tank and poles inside the back of the van properly without hitting my passenger on the head.



Thanks for the reassurance from all you fellow hiace users.

Cheers,

Jonny.

[Spruce]

My Citroen Relay 2.0 hdi SWB gives me between 22 and 28 mpg. It gets driven sedately as well.

Fuel consumption is much better on the motorway ticking over, but our work is all stop start and mainly within 10 miles from base. Today I did 4 miles.

[Dave Willis]

Forgot to mention they come with two batteries. I had a live connected to one battery and I've run my pump every day off that on the original batteries (06) for a couple of years now with no problems whatsoever.

 that van looks absolutely mint inside by the way.

[Clever Forum Name]

Doesn't look like its had a hard life at all. Looks like its had paint tho

[rah]

which ever way you look at it you cannot get good fuel economy  from a heavy van with a big lump of an engine .


  either way you take the hit, 100% jap reliability but You spend a ton of fuel, or  hit-and-miss reliability (french ) but save on the fuel.

 if the japs could design a light-ish AND reliable van they would dominate the market  ,seems they cannot
 

They no longer make van's, the new pro-ace! is a Renault/ Citroen mess up! chatting to the part's manager in ;local toyota dealership, they have already suspended sales twice due to problems with part's!

Toyota badge, but that's it, they sold of the emissions to develop the Lexus brand.

[Jonny 87]

Thanks mate, can't believe how tidy it is.

What's your road tax btw?

They are putting it on for me and he said its £220? Thought it was nearer the £300 mark.

Another couple of pics......I am half expecting to get down there and see that the pics have been photoshopped.lol looks too tidy to be true.

[Dave Willis]

My road tax is £135 per year. 2006 model. Don't know why it's so low it's just luck.

[Jonny 87]

My road tax is £135 per year. 2006 model. Don't know why it's so low it's just luck.

Nice one.

I think in 07 they tweaked the engine. Must have done something to get it rebanded and made it more. I don't mind though, things seem so reliable from my research.

[Simon Mess]

which ever way you look at it you cannot get good fuel economy  from a heavy van with a big lump of an engine .


  either way you take the hit, 100% jap reliability but You spend a ton of fuel, or  hit-and-miss reliability (french ) but save on the fuel.

 if the japs could design a light-ish AND reliable van they would dominate the market  ,seems they cannot
 

 

They no longer make van's, the new pro-ace! is a Renault/ Citroen mess up! chatting to the part's manager in ;local toyota dealership, they have already suspended sales twice due to problems with part's!

Toyota badge, but that's it, they sold of the emissions to develop the Lexus brand.

Toyota do still make their own vans, it is just that, for whatever reason, they are not sold in this country, nor, i believe, in Europe. The Hi-ace sold in Australia and Asia is a forward control design (no bonnet), which i have to say, i really like. It is available as a standard van, and a lwb high roof version.

Toyota's decision to badge up a dispatch/expert/scudo as the pro-ace is a strange one, given the age of the design. Surely a new model cant be that far away?. Still, that isn't half as strange/cynical as mercedes grafting one of their grills on to the front of a renault kangoo (another van which is starting to get on a bit) and charging a small fortune for it. Puts me in mind of the Allegro vanden plas (I know, showing my age there!).

But back to the hi-ace up for discussion, i think they are cracking vans, maybe not as cool or trendy as some, but extremely reliable, and usefully more compact on the road than a standard sized transit or vivaro. They are rear wheel drive, so in slippery conditions, if loaded, you will have better traction than a front wheel drive van ( but if empty....!, well lets just say you could be a hooligan and indulge in your 'drifting' fantasy's!)  

[Jonny 87]

Haha, I spent a good hour or so last night watching YouTube videos of hiaces drifting. It seems so wrong seeing a van pull a 50 metre sideways drift. Lol.