Lifestyle RVs HiAce 2006 Review

By Malcolm Street

The mighty Toyota HiAce van is something of a legend in campervan circles. It doesn’t quite have the time honoured status of the venerable VW Kombi but it is certainly a popular and reliable conversion prospect – with both converters and owners.

A year or so ago, new HiAce vans were becoming something of a scarcity – a new model was on the way but not available for some months. That has all changed, and there are now plenty of new HiAce vans available and quite a few motorhome converters designing new campervans.

One of those is Keith Pendreigh at Brisbane-based Lifestyle RVs. Keith’s latest design is a little different from the usual layouts and therefore something decidedly interesting.

New breed of HiAce

The new model HiAce has several advantages over its predecessor. The most significant is that its petrol motor has both a greater power (a whopping 26 per cent) and torque output, and – as Toyota claims – a better fuel economy. It’s a curiosity that while most European van builders have opted for turbodiesel motors, Japanese and Korean builders have generally preferred to stay with petrol motors. There are advantages and disadvantages to both but it mainly comes down to where and how far you plan on driving.

In terms of campervan design the other major advantage that the new HiAce has over the previous model is that the body is more of a square shape (thus making it easier for campervan designers) and also offers slightly larger cubic metre area of internal load space.

On the road, the Toyota handles, well, like a Toyota. This is a commercial van and should be seen that way but it does come with most comfort and safety items that are the norm in passenger vehicles.

Sitting over the front wheels, rather than behind them does mean you’ll feel a few more bumps but the 2.7L motor powers the van along very nicely, and the dash-mounted gear lever is very slick and smooth. The under-dash handbrake seems a bit of an anomaly but apart from that the HiAce is a breeze to drive.

As I said earlier it also has most of the comfort and safety items that we’ve come to expect – driver and passenger airbags, power windows, power mirrors, power steering, air-conditioning and remote central locking. ABS brakes are an option.

In his conversion, Keith Pendreigh has used the super long wheelbase version of the HiAce. He gets the maximum interior space available because the super long wheelbase van is not only longer than the long wheelbase HiAce, it’s also slightly wider by 7in (185mm). This might not sound like much but it’s a great deal of extra space in a campervan.

Another feature of the super long wheelbase is that it has sliding doors on both sides, something Keith has used to advantage in his design. Using a full van, rather than a pop-top does have the advantage of solid walls all round but the disadvantage that anyone who is less than 5ft 5in (1.64m) tall is going to have a bent neck or stooped shoulders whilst standing up.

Although the Lifestyle HiAce has retained the standard Toyota van windows, there are clues that it’s not a normal delivery van. Flashy stripes, awning and external light are on the nearside, and gas compartment locker on the offside. MHG particularly likes awnings on sliding door vans. They not only work well in hot weather but they keep out the rain.

Moving inside

A disadvantage that HiAce vans have when compared to Euro vans is the lack of walk-through from the cab to the rear of the van. It’s possible to crawl through in an emergency but that’s about it.

This design presumes that most people are not even going to do that and the L-shaped kitchen bench sits across the rear of the driver’s cab and part way down the offside. The end result is quite a large kitchen area for a relatively small van – something that will be popular with those who do like to do a little sophisticated cordon bleu cooking when they are travelling.

Both the Smev three-burner cooktop without grill and stainless steel sink sit on the benchtop along the side of the van.

Underneath the cooktop is the Vitrifrigo fridge. A little bit of care will need to be taken when opening the fridge door otherwise your knuckles will catch on the microwave oven that sits around the corner from the fridge.

Storage is quite generous with three drawers under the microwave oven and two cupboards each with three shelves. Benchtop space with this design is also very generous.

With ‘L’ shaped kitchen benches, there is often ‘dead’ space in the corner that is not easily used. Here, Keith Pendreigh has installed a three-shelf cupboard that is easily accessible by opening the offside sliding door – a sort of external storage locker, but it’s inside. Also stashed in the step area of the sliding door are the house battery and charger plus vehicle tools: all together it’s quite a neat little idea.

Another great idea is the curved corners at the end of the kitchen bench and on the half-height hanging cupboard that sits on the other side of the doorway. They not only look good but there are no square edges to catch yourself on as you step in and out.

The entertainment department, that is a small LCD TV plus DVD player, is located above the kitchen bench behind the driver’s cab.

In the rear of the Lifestyle HiAce there’s a more conventional layout with two sideways-facing foam mattress lounges. A single pole table sits in between but is a tad small for people who like to get more than their plate and cup on the table.

The two lounges can be used as two single beds or made up into a double. Underneath are the usual storage areas, with access by top hatch or doors at the end of the seats. The offside seat area is partly taken by the gas compartment and a flexible hose shower – a very practical addition. Above both lounges are overhead lockers, a practical use of what would otherwise be empty space. Nice to see the lower edges are rounded.

In the lighting department there are incandescent fittings above the kitchen and lounge areas plus a couple of halogen reading lights for the lounge/beds. Another light above the side kitchen bench area wouldn’t go astray. For all electrical controls there’s a small panel near the rear door.

The bottom line

This Lifestyle setup is quite an interesting alternative to the usual HiAce layouts. Taller persons may not find it to their liking, nor might people who like some access to the front seats.

That said, it does have a decent sized kitchen arrangement for a small van and for people who don’t like pop-tops it offers a good alternative. The fit and finish is certainly appealing and ideas like the sliding door access from the offside and curved corner cupboards are certainly practical ideas. Combine that with the legendary Toyota reliability and the Lifestyle is something of a winner.

Contact Lifestyle RVs, Cnr French and Lavarack Ave, Eagle Farm, Qld 4009, (07) 3868 2558, fax: (07) 3868 2868, web: www.lifestylerv.com.au.

We liked:

Concept of designing relatively large kitchen area in small van.

Good use of van interior for storage space.

Offside sliding door storage area.

Vehicle engine performance – improvement on old HiAce.

We would have liked:

Taller roof, although this is Toyota problem rather than Lifestyle.

Fluorescent light above kitchen bench to avoid shadows across cooktop and sink.

Longer table – it’s a bit short for practical use.