This is a Toyota HiAce Super Custom van from 1995, it’s four-wheel drive, it benefits from recent suspension upgrades, and it’s powered by a bullet-proof 3.0 liter 1KZ-TE turbodiesel.
Retro vans like this have been enjoying skyrocketing popularity in recent years, and this one has the added bonus of genuine off-road ability.
Fast Facts – Toyota HiAce Turbodiesel 4WD
- The 1995 Toyota HiAce Super Custom is a four-wheel drive van powered by a famously durable 3.0 liter 1KZ-TE turbodiesel engine. It features recent suspension upgrades and retains its original four-wheel drive system, making it suitable for both on and off-road use.
- The Toyota HiAce, introduced in 1967, has earned a reputation for reliability and fuel efficiency. The fourth generation, which includes this model, was produced from 1989 to 2004, maintaining the original cab-over-engine layout before switching to a front-engine design in the sixth generation.
- Four-wheel drive HiAces were relatively rare, only making up a small fraction of total production. However, with the rise of the “Van Life” trend, these models, particularly the 4×4 versions, have seen increased demand due to their versatility and retro appeal.
- The van now sports a fresh black and white paint job with retro decals, a roof-access ladder, upgraded suspension, and off-road tires. Inside, it has fabric-upholstered seats, electric windows, rear sunroofs, and climate control, offering both comfort and off-road capability.
The Toyota HiAce: A (Brief) History Speedrun
The Toyota HiAce (pronounced “High Ace”) made its debut all the way back in 1967. Over the intervening decades Toyota has released six generations of the van, and it’s developed a reputation for reliability and economical operation, becoming one of the best-selling van varieties in history.
The increased ground clearance, four-wheel drive system, and 235/75 Toyo Open Country A/T tires give this HiAce vastly better off-road chops than its standard, rear-wheel drive counterparts.
From the first to the fifth generation of the HiAce, Toyota remained with much the same design layout – a CoE (cab-over-engine) arrangement up front, rear wheel drive, and a simple, box-like steel body with ample rear room.
The sixth generation would change all of this, it now came with a front-engined design and a more prominent nose, offering better aerodynamics and a more roomy cabin while losing some of the design language of its predecessors.
The model shown in this article is a fourth generation Toyota HiAce, this model series remained in production for 15 years between 1989 and 2004, becoming one of the most recognizable vans in the world.
It could be ordered in a vast array of different specifications, from simple cargo vans to deluxe people mover minivans. Though it’s not widely known, Toyota did offer four-wheel drive versions of this model with either the 2.8 liter or 3.0 liter diesel engine.
These four-wheel drive versions only made up a tiny fraction of the total production volume, and they became popular with those seeking camper vans as the four-wheel drive system opened up a whole new world of possibilities for them.
With the current surge in popularity of the “Van Life” trend, the modern iteration of the 1960s Hippie Van movement and the 1970s Custom Van movement, these 4×4 HiAces have been in significant demand.
The interior is downright luxurious by the standards of 1990s-era vans, with electric windows, automatic climate control, rear cabin heating and cooling, power-operated sunshades, and a Sony stereo head unit.
The Toyota HiAce Turbodiesel 4×4 Shown Here
As difficult as it may be for many of us to imagine, vehicles from the mid-1990s are now being assigned vintage status as they’re beyond 25 years in age, and rapidly approaching 30. The 1995 Toyota HiAce Turbodiesel 4×4 you see here is one such vehicle.
It now benefits from new paintwork featuring black and white with orange and yellow side graphics along with HiAce Super Custom and Toyota decals. A ladder has been added to the rear for roof access, and the van has been given upgraded suspension to better handle off-road use.
The original four-wheel drive system remains in place, with a live axle in the rear and an independent suspension system up front. Power is provided by the 3.0 liter 1KZ-TE turbodiesel Toyota inline-four, an engine famed for its excellent reliability, and it can be accessed through a hatch inside the cabin.
The van has front disc brakes and rear drums, and it uses a four-speed automatic transmission to send power to all four wheels – this transmission does also have a button-operated overdrive on the T-bar.
Inside the cabin you’ll find fabric upholstered seats left and right, electric windows, automatic climate control, rear cabin heating and cooling, power-operated sunshades, and a Sony stereo head unit. The rear has two rows of folding bench-style seating with seat belts, surround windows, and dual rear sun roofs.
The rear has two rows of folding bench-style seating with seat belts, surround windows, and dual rear sun roofs.
The van now rides on 15″ steel wheels fitted with 235/75 Toyo Open Country A/T tires, and by van standards the ground clearance as well as the entry, ramp-over and departure angles all look respectable – a promising sign for its off-road ability.
If you’d like to read more about this unusual vintage HiAce or bid on it you can visit the listing on Bring a Trailer here. It’s being offered for sale out of Thousand Oaks, California in righthand drive configuration, with 104,000 kilometers (approximately 65,000 miles) on the odometer.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
