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| Toyota Hiace/Regius Ace 2011MY |
As a favorite among Philippine families, tycoons, celebrities, politicians, and the rest of the people, the Toyota Hiace (also sold in Japan as this or Regius Ace) shows that this Japanese-built commuter van does it all aside from being a limousine, a school service, a taxi, or everything else we, Filipinos, do with this Toyota van.
Now, in 2010, the fifth-generation Toyota Hiace/Regius Ace received a second facelift, calling this the Type III version of the fifth generation Hiace. Since its Japanese debut in August 2004, and entered Type II since August 2007, this Hiace keeps getting better and better and I cannot help myself getting a hold of this latest minor change.
The only thing that changed in the Type-III version of the Toyota Hiace is the new front bumper and the redesigned headlamps. The new front look truly brings the new Hiace a good stance, but still too redundant to tell if this new face suits every Philippine entrepreneur among its rival vans, including the Foton View, the Toyota Hiace clone with the Alphard's front face.
While the Regius Ace only offers in van form, the Hiace comes in three forms, the van variant for family use, the wagon variant that is perfect as a taxi, and the commuter variant that makes it a perfect school service, good enough to bring the kids heading to school. Choosing which Hiace variant suitable for you depends on your outcome of your perception and if that goes well, the Hiace makes it your perfect companion for your business.
Both the new Hiace and the new Regius Ace comes with the new 1KD-FTV engine. This 3.0L diesel turbo engine has a power output of 144PS/3,400r.p.m. and a torque output of 30.6kgf・m//1,200～3,200r.p.m. Both of these vans also offer with either a 2.0L DOHC VVT-i or a 2.7L DOHC VVT-i gasoline engine. As for the transmission, either the 4-speed automatic or the 5-speed manual transmission is available for the Hiace and Regius Ace.
My thoughts about the Hiace/Regius Ace:
With Japan offering the latest facelift of the fastest-selling Hiace van, I guess we cannot wait if Toyota Motor Philippines, Inc., would bring the revised Hiace to our shores soon. With its facelift, can the new 3.0L diesel turbo engine succeed from its commercial van rivals? I hope that this new engine is good enough against the Nissan Urvan Escapade for sure.
Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation