Making an investment can make or break you. If it goes well, you’ll see a surge in productivity, and if it goes badly, you’ll spend more time trying to put it right then actually being productive.
Toyota have a long history of producing hard-working professional vehicles. Tradespeople, families, and weekend adventurers have all benefited from over fifty years of the legendary Toyota Hilux. The launch of the ‘Toyota Professional’ range is brought about in combination with the new Toyota Proace City.
“The Toyota Proace?” I hear you ask. “That’s not new, I’ve heard of them before. There are plenty on the roads already”. Well, yes and no.
The Toyota Proace is Toyota’s popular medium-sized van. It’s the winner of a long list of awards, and it is the preferred choice of the Public Sector (think Councils / NHS Trusts / etc), those that cover a lot of miles annually, and those that want reliability. No doubt, it has a lot to do Toyota’s heritage of bullet-poof build quality, iconic five-year warranty, and now five-years roadside assistance.
So yes, while there are plenty of Toyota Proace vans on the road, this is not the Toyota Proace. This is the all new Toyota Proace City. The little brother to the well-established Proace, and ready to take your business around country lane corners, little town back streets, and busy city centres.
Looks
Where you and your business are concerned; you only get one chance to make a good first impression. When a potential client sees your new Toyota Proace City on the road, branded in your company colours, you’re going to leave them with something worth remembering.
The Proace City is a compact van, available in both Short (L1) and Long (L2) body styles. The Long (L2) offers an additional 30cm of cargo space, but they share the same wheelbase, which is perfect for agile manoeuvring in tight spaces. The City, takes its design cues from its bigger brother; the sleek grill with chrome highlights, stretches to join the headlights, topped with a modern clam-shell style bonnet.
First and foremost, buyers of the Proace City van are going to want it to be practical. So, it’s not just a box on wheels. It features twin 180° doors on the back, and most impressively, sliding side doors on both sides – a big trump card over its compact competition.
Toyota likes to keep things simple. There are two models to choose from: the ‘Active’ and the ‘Icon’. The ‘Active’ is a workhorse, but upgrade to the ‘Icon’ for a mobile office from which to run your business from. The Proace City ‘Icon’ comes with Front & Rear Parking Sensors combined with a Reversing Camera – which makes looking after your new van incredibly easy.
Interior
The seats in the new Proace City van are the same across the range; simple, comfortable and hardy. If your van is a grafter, or you simply want your staff to spend more time working than playing with all the features, you’ll pick the ‘Active’. I’m careful not to call this the ‘basic’ model, because Toyota don’t make a ‘basic’ model. As standard the Proace City features Air Conditioning, Bluetooth Phone Connectivity, DAB Radio, Daytime Running Lights, and a USB port to charge your devices on the go – everything your business needs to continue working on the road. These will be more than up to the task, no matter what you need to throw at it, or in it.
All models also include Toyota’s suite of active safety features, to keep you and your driver’s safe. This includes Hill Assist, Brake Assist, Vehicle stability Control, and the e-Call Emergency system – which calls emergency services at the press of a button, or in case of an accident.
However, we suspect that the majority of customers are going to pick the ‘Icon’ grade. You get all of this, and an upgrade to the best-looking van interior on the market. Inside the Proace City ‘Icon’ there is a big bright 8” touchscreen display for the Reversing Camera, which also features connectivity for Android Auto & Apple CarPlay – upping your productivity on the go.
It also includes an additional seat in the front (total: 3), Cruise Control to make light work of those longer journeys, a modern Electronic Handbrake, and ‘Smart Cargo’ – a godsend from the City’s bigger brother. ‘Smart Cargo’ means you can carry awkward cargo that other brand’s vans normally have to put on the roof, or leave behind, for larger vans.
Thanks to Toyota’s ‘Smart Cargo’ design, the passenger seats drop, revealing a large hatch in the bulkhead. You can load long items through from the rear doors to the front footwell, adding an additional 1.3 meters – a total of 3.4m in the Proace City Long (L2). Fitting a ladder, pipes, or timber inside the cargo space rather than on a roof rack, makes this little van much more practical than the competition, and adds up to a huge saving on fuel.
Talking of cargo, both the Short (L1) and Long (L2) models will easily be able to carry two standard pallets.
Engines
The attitude towards engines is changing across the UK. More and more people want an electric vehicle, but Toyota is hedging it’s bets by offering a diesel engine in the Proace City when it launches in showrooms this month.
The reason why? Electric vehicles are expensive. And Toyota wants to offer value for your businesses hard earned cash. Also, there is the issue with range. Currently, the electric vans available offer a meagre range of just over 100 miles. And significantly less when the cargo space is filled with tools and equipment.
Toyota has designed the Proace City to work for your business, and as such offers a choice of class-leading diesel engines – still the most popular choice in this category, and significantly cleaner than their older counterparts. There will be an all-electric version to follow next year, but for now Toyota offers an efficient EURO 6 compliant diesel engine, with two power outputs, as your only choices – which is legal in all major cities with clean-air zones.
The most powerful can tow a class-leading 1.5 ton, and these proven engines benefit from Toyota’s engineering know-how; recommended servicing is relatively hassle-free, taking place every 2-years or 25,000 miles.
The Competition
Small vans are a very competitive sector. There is only so much you can do to a box with a wheel in each corner. Typically, when you think “van”, you think “Transit”. And twenty years ago, you would be right. The blue oval is the archetypal standard. However, it is no longer a market leader, and hasn’t been for some time.
Nowadays, most small van customers are walking into Citroen, Peugeot, and Vauxhall dealerships for affordable award-winning vans. And that’s not because these customers are price conscious, but because this trio is producing the best small van on the market. Well, now three becomes four. It’s no secret that the Toyota shares the same under pinning’s, but it is the only one of the four to offer five-years roadside assistance and a five-year warranty.
Thanks to this, the Toyota Proace is expected to hold better residual values than its sister vans, and even competition from the German giants, including the VW Caddy.
Business User
The new Toyota Proace City van is going to mainly appeal to Business Owners and Business Users. The Toyota Proace has been a huge success within the public sector, who depend on Toyota’s reliability to stretch every penny.
This compact van has a cavernous space that defies its size. Thanks, in part, to Toyota’s clever ‘Smart Cargo’ layout. As a class leader, it can carry up to 1000kg, or tow 1500kg. It’s packed with safety features as standard, to keep you & your employees safe, and the Reversing Camera & Parking Sensors makes sure your new van remains scratch-free.
Toyota want the Proace City to work for your business. They understand that every day your van is off the road, your business is losing earning potential. So, as well as the class-leading warranty and roadside assistance, Toyota offer 24-hour delivery on parts, and a 12-month warranty on those parts – Which just goes to show, you can buy peace of mind.
Island User
Van’s make short work of the Island’s roads; they’re designed to tackle gravel roads on worksites. But the Proace City, just like the beloved Toyota Proace, goes one step further. The suspension and seats do their job perfectly, and the Proace City van can handle unmade tracks or country lane corners without batting an eyelid.
For its bigger brother, the Toyota Proace, drivers are in awe as they jump out and claim; “It drives just like a car” – High praise indeed, considering how good most cars are to drive nowadays. Vans have had a lot of catching up to do in this respect, and this development has never been more noticeable than it is in the compact Toyota Proace City.
The standard diesel engine has 230Nm or torque, which will be plenty for most driver’s, but upgrade to the more powerful version if you intend on loading with heavy equipment or cruising at motorway speeds for extended periods.
Choices
The Value Choice: Toyota Proace City ‘Active’ 1.5 [75] Manual Short (L1)
The Range-Topper: Toyota Proace City ‘Icon’ 1.5 [100] Manual Long (L2)
The Local Favourite: Toyota Proace City ‘Icon’ 1.5 [100] Manual Short (L1)
Verdict
Buying a van is an investment. And like any investment, you can make good and bad choices.
It’s easy to buy what you bought before because you know to product. But often, especially with vehicles & technology, newer means better. Considering the peace of mind that comes with the iconic five-year warranty, a five-year roadside assistance, and the aftersales promise – Toyota makes the Proace City van tough to ignore. It’s not just a vehicle, it’s a package, a bundle, a gift that keeps on giving. It’s an investment with the self-assurance that your business is protected by one of the biggest manufacturers in the world, Toyota.
Invest wisely; choose the Toyota Proace City.
Review by Richard Winter
