The 2016 Toyota HiAce has been given a revised 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine to improve both fuel economy and emissions.

THE 2016 TOYOTA HiAce has been given a revised 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine that now meets Euro 5 emissions levels and offers economy improvements of around 4.6% on the urban cycle.

But what is Euro 5? Euro 5 is an emissions standard that all petrol and diesel vehicles sold in Europe must meet. Euro 1 was introduced in 1992 but was legally enforced in 1993, indeed, all enforcements for Euro standards begin one year after the introduction due to the time lag in new vehicle registrations. So, Euro 5 mandated that all new diesel vehicles must be fitted with a particulate filter with NOx (nitrogen oxide) limits reduced by 28% compared with Euro 4 limits. Euro 5 also introduced a limit on particle numbers for diesel engines in addition to the particle weight limit. It’s worth noting that Euro 6 came into force in Europe in September 2015, so Toyota is a little bit behind the times as are many other manufacturers offering Euro 5 compliant vehicles here in Australia.

According to Toyota, the key improvements include a diesel particulate filter with manual as well as automatic regeneration. Toyota said, “the biggest fuel-economy gains around town – where HiAce performs most of its duties – are for the Long Wheel Base (LWB) crew van and Super Long Wheel Base (SLWB) van with the five-speed manual gearbox. These variants also deliver a city-cycle improvement of 3.5% with the optional six-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission. Combined-cycle economy is either unchanged or rises marginally”.

Toyota has expanded the HiAce range by adding two new commuter bus diesel variants with a no-cost option of 12 seats instead of the standard 14 seats, allowing them to be driven by anyone with a regular car licence.

In addition, “Toyota now gives customers the choice of a left-side window or steel panel on the white automatic LWB (Long Wheel Base) diesel van, based on feedback from the dealer network,” Toyota said in a statement. Petrol vans were upgraded to Euro 5 early last year. Since then, “every new HiAce has been equipped with the safety of electronic vehicle stability control, brake assist for greater stopping power in an emergency, hill-start assist control and an emergency stopping signal”.

Toyota HiAce pricing (not including on-road costs):