If you’re a professional in need of a medium-duty van and for whatever reason, you don’t like the Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat badges and/or the selling and service points of the aforementioned brands, there’s a fourth variant of the series from Toyota.
The Japanese carmaker wanted to re-enter the light commercial vehicle segment in Europe after suspending sales of the HiAce van and decided it would be better to sign an OEM agreement with PSA group and re-badge the Citroen Jumpy / Peugeot Expert, which is also offered under the Fiat brand as the Scudo.
Toyota’s model is named the ProAce, with the only differences between the four vans concerning the front grille design and the exterior and interior trims and badges. The French group will build the ProAce and supply Toyota with the vans.
The ProAce will be available with a range of Euro 5-compliant diesel engines. The entry-level model features a 1.6-litre unit generating 89bhp and 180Nm of torque, matched to a five-speed manual transmission.
On the upper end of the range, there’s a pair of 2.0-liter diesels with outputs of 126 and 161bhp and peak torque figures of 320 and 340Nm respectively. Both 2.0-liter units come with a six-speed manual gearbox.
According to Toyota, the 2.0-liter versions of the ProAce are equipped with an 80-litre fuel tank that provides a theoretical driving range of more than 770 miles (1,239 km).
The Toyota will be offered in two lengths and heights, giving load capacities of 5m3. 6m3 or 7m3, payloads of up to 1,200kg (2,646 lbs) and a towing limit of up to two tonnes. In addition, buyers will be able to specify the ProAce as a panel van, glass van or crew cab.
The ProAce will go on sale in Europe from spring of 2013 with first deliveries to take place during the second quarter.
The agreement signed by Toyota earlier this year, also includes collaboration on next generation vans, which are to be produced by PSA Peugeot Citroën, with the Japanese carmaker to participate in their development and investment costs.
NEW TOYOTA PROACE 
PEUGEOT, CITROEN & FIAT VANS 
