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This article was first published in 2001.
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In the week before the four-day Easter break, every motoring journalists worth his or her salt tries desperately to prise from the remorseless grip of PR peoples the very best test car that they can find.
I mean, what would you be aiming to drive for four no-work days? A BMW M5 perhaps? Or maybe a just-released Ford Mustang? Or mebbe you wanna at least make a pretence about writing a 'holiday' type of story? Well then, perhaps the 255kW Mercedes ML55 would suit your needs...
And the Editor of AutoSpeed?
Well, at Easter he was holidaying behind the wheel of absolute luxury - steering a car equipped with two air-conditioners, a turbo, alloy wheels, sonar reversing alarm, two sunroofs, digital dash and luxuriously upholstered seats.
Yep, he did over a thousand kays driving the ....
Way back in 1983, Toyota released the Tarago in Australia. Its competition at the time comprised forward control vans very closely related to commercial vehicles - cars like the best-selling Mitsubishi Express, Holden Shuttle, and Nissan's Urvan. The Tarago was known as the Town Ace in Japan, and joined the Lite Ace and the bigger Hi Ace as the, er, joker in the pack. But while the Tarago may have taken over the mantle of the premier Toyota people mover here, in Japan Toyota just kept right on churning out multi-seat Hi Ace-based passenger vehicles... even ones like this wonderful 1985 Toyota Super Custom Living Saloon EX Hi Ace Wagon.
And so what was I doing pedalling this unusual example of Japanese automotive history? Well, one reason is that I just like driving different cars - and this one was sure 'different' - and the other reason is the luxury-spec Hi Ace is a good example of the type of car that can now be imported into Australia with very few legal problems, under the 15+ year rule. That's the law that means you can bring in any car that you like, have it modified to meet that year's ADRs, and then register it without further drama.
And it's just on fifteen years ago that Japanese cars started to get real, real interesting...
The Hi Ace looks superficially like the commercial vehicles available here in long wheelbase form, but it packs a helluva lot into its 4605mm long body. Firstly, under the front passenger seat you'll find a 2.5-litre SOHC turbo diesel developing 71kW at 4000 rpm. Considering that the Hi Ace weighs 1720kg and the diesel is tied to a 4-speed auto, performance is pretty much as expected - slow. The auto's a bit of a lazy bugger too - if you're moving at more than a walking pace, it will stay in second, rather than selecting first. However, with a fair bit of driver input (switching the overdrive in and out with the pushbutton, selecting first gear as necessary) the big car shakes off some of its lethargy. The key is to keep the revs between two and three thousand rpm - peak torque of 191Nm is developed at 2400 rpm. On the open road - where we did most of our thousand kilometres on a leisurely drive around Queensland's Sunshine coast - the Hi Ace cruised at 90-100 km/h. It would go as high as 110, but at 105 km/h a musical chime intervenes, suggesting that perhaps 105 is pushing it. Fuel consumption was variable, from a best of 11 litres/100km around town to a worst of 13.5 litres/100km on the open road.
So where's all the good stuff? It's in the luxuriously appointed cabin! First up, there are those sunroofs. Or, as Toyota puts it, a rear steel sunroof and a front (tinted) glass moonroof. Each can be fully open, with the front moonroof also having a cover that can be slid back to let the sun in. The rear sunroof is enormous, encompassing the area over the two rear rows of seats.
Rows? Not necessarily. One of the beauties of the car is that the second row of seats (split into a two/one division) can be individually spun around so that they face the rear. Formed then is a club-like lounge, made even better by the optional expanse of open sky above! To cater for this seat movement, each of the second row of seats has its own seatbelt integrated into the seat - they move as these seats spin, slide or tilt.
Aiding the immense flexibility is the fact that the rearmost row of seats (two seating positions with a centre fold-down armrest) can be reclined all the way to horizontal. Do the same with the second row and you have formed an upholstered bed. Or, if you want to fit in more luggage, the rearmost seat can be folded up, standing vertically and leaving an enormous amount of space for bags. It's all very easy to operate, very practical, and very comfortable.
The seats are soft but supportive, the leg- and head-room huge. In fact, in some iterations of the Hi Ace, a helluva lot more people are fitted into the same wheelbase - so in this form there is room aplenty. And the luxury doesn't stop at the seats. The rear occupants have their own heating and air-conditioning system, four reading lamps, electrically operated curtains (yep, you read that right!) and sliding windows.
The driver isn't neglected either. Behind the tilt-adjustable wheel is a digital instrument panel. The speed is read from large green digits, while the tacho is in the form of a LED bargraph. Fuel and coolant levels are shown with digital bars, with the fuel gauge able to be expanded to show the last 15 litres in the tank. There is also a heap of warning lights - in yellow you'll find warnings for a rear bulb failure, low washer fluid, blocked filter, and t-belt. We never did find out what 't-belt' meant, though... In red there are additional lights for charge, oil, coolant temp and door ajar.
Of course there's also aircon for the front, while between the seats is a "Cool & Hot Box" which comes with its very own icecube holder... A roof console has switches for the sunroofs plus a digital clock, while the standard sound system is an AM/FM radio cassette with bass and treble controls. Oh yeah, and there is a disable switch for the reversing sonar! However why you would want to turn it off, I don't know. The system is very effective - as you approach an object while reversing, a beeper starts, getting quicker and quicker in its pulsing as you get closer.
On the road the Toyota Super Custom Living Saloon EX Hi Ace Wagon is comfortable. The diesel rattle is well suppressed (except at idle), and while wind noise is present, it's not excessive. The car rides with a loping gait, the front wishbones and five-link coil rear-end having a long travel. Cornering is better than expected, the hefty front and rear sway bars and the 205/70 Bridgestones being worn on 14 x 5.5 alloys providing quite competent grip and poise for a vehicle of this type. However, the Hi Ace does get blown around a lot at highway speeds, and power steering that's quite vague near the straighahead position doesn't inspire confidence in holding her on the straight and narrow.
Visibility in all directions is excellent, with large electric side rear vision mirrors aided by two convex mirrors covering the ground immediately in front and behind the vehicle. Manoeuvres like reverse parking are easy - the Hi Ace is no longer than a large conventional car and its 9.8 metre turning circle and big windows make such tasks a doddle.
While a sixteen-year-old vehicle, the tested Hi Ace's condition stacked up very well. Its interior was near-perfect, while mechanically the car drove as well as you'd expect of a Toyota with only 73,000km on it. Cost? Car Imports Australia, who provided the car, have it stickered at $11,500.
If you're into performance driving, the Toyota Super Custom Living Saloon EX Hi Ace Wagon is not for you.
But if you're on a budget that excludes a new luxury people mover, but still want a comfortable 7-seat capacity with flexible seating arrangements, need diesel economy, and like the sheer character that this unique car has, it's worth a good look.
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