We wouldn’t dare call the Toyota Hiace a small van. At over five meters long, it’s anything but compact. As it is, the Hiace has loads of room for both people and cargo which is what vans are, well, for. If you need even more real estate, there’s the high-roof, extended wheelbase GL Grandia Tourer.
But there are times you’ll need an even bigger van. For that, you’ll need something like Toyota’s biggest van yet. It’s been introduced in Europe, and it’s called the Toyota Proace Max. Should you still need something bigger, may we suggest a minibus like the Coaster?
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Even without the official dimensions, one can say with certainty that the Proace Max towers over the Hiace. Mind you, the Proace Max isn’t purely a Toyota product. It’s actually a rebadged version of the Fiat Ducaro and Peugeot Boxer. So, how did that happen?
In Europe, Toyota has a partnership with Stellantis to produce commercial vehicles. The result is this Proace Max and the smaller Proace models that are also based on Peugeot and Fiat vans.
Like the Peugeot and Fiat versions, the Toyota Proace Max is available in different body styles to suit various or specific needs. These include two wheelbase options, three overall lengths and two styles. A cab and chassis version is also to be expected.
This being a (massive) van, it only makes sense to talk about the room inside. According to Toyota, the Proace Max has up to 17 square meters of cargo space at the back. For reference, some studio apartments are even smaller than that. There were no interior configurations mentioned, but we’re expecting a couple of factory-built conversions down the line. There’s also the aftermarket business to take care of more specific needs.
But the main highlight here is the powertrain. Diesels will likely be a given, but the Proace Max will also be available with a pure electric version. Simply dubbed the, um, Proace Max Electric, the company claims a range of up to 418 kilometers. That said, a full load can easily drop that down to the 300 kilometer range.
As it’s a product co-developed with Stellantis, we’re not expecting the Proace Max to be offered outside of Europe. A shame, really, as it would be a good candidate for a ‘Manila-proof’ conversion.
