2023 Toyota HiAce Review

If you’ve ever moved house, ordered a package for delivery, or even gone on a winery tour with your closest friends, chances are that the Toyota HiAce has been the trusty box on wheels and the unsung hero of making great things possible. This current generation HiAce was launched back in 2020 and was the iconic van’s first major revision in 15 years. It ditched the old model’s engine placement under the front seats, and finally gave the HiAce a 5-star ANCAP safety rating, thanks to a much longer bonnet. Far from resting on its laurels, Toyota has worked long and hard to make the 2023 Toyota HiAce its best mid-size van yet.

The HiAce now has the option of a very practical barn door option, letting buyers opt for folding doors, instead of a massive liftgate and promises to win the hearts of even more couriers, movers and campers. It was the best-selling mid-sized van in Australia for 2020 and 2021, and again finished first in 2022 with a whopping 37.9 per cent market share. So should your next van be a HiAce or has Toyota not done enough to fend of competitors such as the Hyundai Staria Load? Let’s find out.

Price & Equipment: 8.0/10

The 2023 Toyota HiAce range has been the victim of inflation with prices rising considerably compared to previous years. Prices for the 2023 Toyota HiAce kicks off at $46,360 before on-road costs for a liftback model with a manual transmission, jumping to $48,360 before on-roads for the liftback with an automatic

The new for 2023 barn door option adds $750 to the list price and as tested in our review, a HiAce auto with the barn door will set you back $49,110 before on-roads. You can have the HiAce with any colour you’d like, as long as it’s white.

All HiAce models can seat two occupants as standard except the Crew Van which seats five and the Commuter which seats 12.

HiAce Van pricing (plus on-road costs):

• Toyota HiAce LWB Van manual: $46,360
• Toyota HiAce LWB Van automatic: $48,360
• Toyota HiAce LWB Panel Van automatic: $48,360
• Toyota HiAce LWB GL Van automatic: $49,360
• Toyota HiAce LWB Crew Van automatic: $51,360
• Toyota HiAce SLWB Van automatic: $56,920

HiAce Van with Barn Door pricing: 

• Toyota HiAce LWB Barn Door Van automatic: $49,110
• Toyota HiAce LWB Barn Door Panel Van automatic: $49,110
• Toyota HiAce LWB Barn Door GL Van automatic: $50,110
• Toyota HiAce SLWB Barn Door Van automatic: $57,670

Toyota has fitted a very decent level of standard equipment to what will be a van destined to spend everyday of its life ferrying around either passengers or goods. The HiAce’s spec highlights include 16-inch steel wheels wrapped in Bridgestone tyres, a full-size spare wheel, twin rear wipers on the LWB bard door model, an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wired Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, satellite navigation and DAB digital radio, cruise control, a leather-wrapped leather steering wheel along with electronically operated lumbar support for the driver.

The 2023 Toyota HiAce range also includes a 24/7 Emergency Call function that calls emergency services and relays the van’s location in the event of a collision with airbag deployment or when the button on the headliner is pressed.

In a stark departure from the previous generation HiAce, the 2023 Toyota HiAce received a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2019. Standard safety equipment includes seven airbags, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, blind-spot monitoring, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic high-beam and traffic sign recognition.

The HiAce’s arch nemesis is the Hyundai Staria Load Premium van which costs $51,240 plus on-road costs. It doesn’t come with the option of a barn-style rear door, but it features a similarly powerful diesel engine and roughly the same load carrying capacity as the HiAce. It also adds wireless smartphone charging, as well as a super handy 360-degree camera.

Performance & Economy: 8.0/10

The 2023 Toyota HiAce features a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel producing 130kW of power at 3,400rpm and 450Nm of torque from 1,600-2,400rpm, with power sent to the rear wheels through a standard six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic.

Around town and on freeways, the HiAce feels fantastic. The engine is torquey, reasonably smooth and and does the job of lugging the country’s goods around effortlessly. Even when laden with some furniture, we barely felt any drop in performance with the engine easily dealing with the HiAce’s 2,200kg kerb weight. At highway speeds, it runs smoothly with the excellent automatic transmission shuffling smoothly from gear to gear. Only when do the revs cross 3000rpm do things get a little to loud inside.

The 2023 Toyota HiAce automatic uses a claimed 8.2L/100km, a figure we were able to almost match. Over one week with a mix of freeway and city driving, we averaged around 9.0/100km. The fuel tank holds 70-litres which should give delivery drivers plenty of range around town and on the open road.

In comparison, the Hyundai Staria Load comes with a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine that produces 130kW of power at 3,800rpm and 430Nm of torque between 1,500-2,500rpm. The HiAce has the Staria Load trumped with its torque figure, but the Hyundai comes with a standard automatic transmission (there’s no manual option here). The Staria Load has a claimed average fuel consumption figure of 7.0L/100km, which is 1.2L/100km less than the Toyota. The Staria Load has a 75-litre fuel tank.

Ride & Handling: 7.5/10

Where the old HiAce handled barely better than a shopping trolley with shockingly bad road manners, the new 2023 Toyota HiAce feels almost three generations ahead of it. Around town, the light hydraulic (not electric) power assisted steering is light and feelsome making maneuvering through laneways or tight loading docks super easy. The turning circle is also excellent, considering the HiAce’s size. Coupled with a the HiAce’s decent rear view camera and front and rear parking sensors, drivers can feel confident backing out of driveways without breaking a sweat. We do still feel a Hyundai Staria Load might feel more car-like in its driving behaviour.

In the old HiAce, drivers essentially sat right at the front of the van, with their knees being the crumple zone. The new HiAce has a much larger body which might not be as easy to navigate through tight spots as the old van, but Toyota has made sure that an expansive widescreen, large mirrors and lofty driving position all combine to make piloting the HiAce easy, even for first time van drivers.

At higher speeds, the HiAce feels very solid on the road without feeling like it will rollover. Its rear wheel drive chassis actually instills some confidence in drivers and the grip from the small Bridgestone tyres is decent, even in the wet.

Not everything is perfect however, as the lane-keep assist feels rudimentary and not very useful. As the HiAce doesn’t have electric power steering which can be computer controlled to steer the vehicle to where it’s meant to go, the HiAce brakes either the left of right brakes to steer. The HiAce applies the brakes abruptly and essentially slows the van down when drivers start to drift from their lane.

As there is no divider between the load bay and cabin as standard in the HiAce, the level of road noise can be a little unbearable at higher speeds. Sound reverberates around the HiAce’s body and keeping a conversation either with a passenger or via Bluetooth can feel like a chore.

Interior & Practicality: 8.0/10

The HiAce is all about offering a large, rectangular load space for carrying everything that’s needed. The HiAce has grown considerably in this generation with the LWB variant we tested. It measures 5265mm long, 1950mm wide and 1990mm tall, with a 3120mm wheelbase.

The 2023 Toyota HiAce load bay is 2530mm long, 1760mm wide (with 1268mm between the wheel arches) and 1340mm tall, giving a total capacity of 6.2m3 of space.

As our model was stock standard, with no options ticked, it came with bare metal floors prone to scratching and very little by way of amenities. Most owners will immediately add some of Toyota’s genuine accessories to make their HiAce look and feel a little better fit for purpose for the work their van will need to do.

The new barn doors are brilliant, allowing the HiAce to swallow up massive loads. They can be kept in place with small manual struts at 90 degrees, and they can hyper extend all the way to 180 degrees from closed. Compared to the massive rear lift gate the HiAce has always been offered with, they also close much more easily. Ditto to the sliding doors offered on both sides which open and shut without too much effort.

Up front, the interior of the HiAce feels perfectly built for its load lugging duties. It’s a comfortable place to spend time in with some thoughtful touches. The steering wheel, pedals and driving position all feel spot on, compared to the bus-like driving position of the old model. There’s plenty of adjustment in the steering wheel and the front seats themselves are super comfortable, too. Getting in and out isn’t too much of chore thanks to some ergonomically places steps and and grab handles. A job very well done.

Sure there aren’t any soft touch plastics to be found, but the upright and blocky dashboard feels built to last and features three cupholders. A massive storage bin sits between the front seats and can store everything from paperwork to even a small pot. Don’t ask how we know. Lastly, the rubber carpets and floor mats look like they’ll stand the test of time.

The centrally mounted 8-inch touchscreen might be behind the times for 2023 with some poor resolution and brightness, but with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, it still feels relatively decent. Just a shame that the HiAce only features a two speaker stereo which sounds boomy when driving.

Service & Warranty: 7.0/10

All Toyotas come with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which extends to seven years on the drivetrain if you service your vehicle within the Toyota dealer network. The 2023 Toyota HiAce also comes with capped-price servicing for the first six visits. With a service required every six months or 10,000km, this capped price servicing regime runs out after only 3 years. Each of these six services is capped at $260.

With some HiAces capable of covering 10,000km in just a matter of months, we do wish Toyota offered some longer service intervals on the HiAce.

Servicing the Hyundai Staria Load comes around every 12 months or 15,000km with the cost to service the Staria Load over five years or 75,000km is $1,800 (each service is $360). 

The Hyundai Staria Load also comes with 12 months of roadside assistance, which is extended by a further 12 months at every scheduled service through a Hyundai dealer for up to five years in total. Sadly Toyota doesn’t offer any roadside assistance in any form at all for the HiAce.

2023 Toyota HiAce DiscoverAuto Rating: 7.7/10

Toyota has nailed the new HiAce which feels a world away from the previous generation it replaces. Aside from a few issues, such as a patchy driver assistance suite and some relatively frequent servicing intervals the HiAce truly nails the brief for what a dependable work van should be. We’re so glad it’s much safer than its predecessor, and now thanks to the addition of barn doors, even more practical than before.

Picking between the Toyota HiAce or a Hyundai Staria Load will nonetheless be a challenging decision, with both vans offering a lot for their asking prices. Ultimately, with both options so good, buyers are the ones winning this battle, with the choice coming down to personal preference. One thing is for sure however, the HiAce is back, and better than ever.