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Back in 2016, the second generation Proace was the most credible van Toyota had ever brought us, being comfortable to drive, practical to use and supremely efficient to run. Its development came courtesy of a platform shared with rival products from Peugeot and Citroen, but Toyota added its own feel to the finished product. In 2021 there was a full-electric variant too. Here, we look at the original versions of this MK2 design.
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What you get
This second generation Proace was a far more confident-looking thing than its predecessor, with smart, unassuming styling that might at first lead you to believe that it's not a hugely spacious thing. Actually though, there's versatility in the model configurations and the range covers a lot of bases.
In the cab, as usual in a mid-sized van from this segment, your position is high and commanding and as long as you avoid entry-level trim, you'll find the seat provided with height and lumbar adjustment. Fitted as standard was the dual front passenger bench that most users will want. We'd recommend trying to find an example fitted with the 'Smart Cargo' system with its fold-up front seat, movable desk and opening bulkhead. Pull up the outer passenger seat and, via a hatch in the bulkhead, long items can be pushed through from the cargo area. Or you can simply place a big box on the cab floor.
As for the cargo area, well even the 'Compact' body style offers 4.6m3 of capacity and 2,162mm of floor length - enough to carry two fully loaded Euro pallets, which is pretty impressive given that in this form, this Proace is only 4.6m long. Go for the mid-range 'Medium' body shape and you get 5.3m3 of cargo capacity and 2,512mm of floor length. As for the top 'Long' body style, well there, you're looking at 6.1m3 of capacity and 2,862mm of floor length.
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What to look for
You would expect the reliability of a Toyota van to be pretty faultless, but of course this isn't really a Toyota van but a rebadged Citroen/ Peugeot Stellantis product. The diesel engine can be expensive to repair and we've come across various owners with reported engine management light faults. That engine requires pricey particulate fluid and we've heard reports that the turbo air hose can burst if it rubs on a bracket behind the front bumper skirt. A few owners have reported that the reverse gear ratio in manual models is poor when reversing a trailer. And we've heard reports of knocking sounds which might indicate problems with the anti-roll bars and bushes. There been some reports of issues with the dual mass flywheel coming loose. A few owners reported clutch problems. There have been some issues with the starter motor and the ECU. And check that the sliding side doors slide properly - there have been some reports of them sticking. Check front tyres for wear - some owners reported high wear at the front. And there have been some issues with clutch juddering, so look out for that on your test drive.
The drive battery in used Proace Electric models should have quite a bit of life in it, unless you happen to be looking at one of the very earliest versions. When the battery is on its way out, you'll obviously find that it won't go as far on each charge - and when it starts to run low on charge, you'll find that the car will particularly start to struggle going uphill. When it gets old, the lithium-ion battery used here can suffer from the ionised liquid in the battery freezing certain cells; those cells are then unable to receive charge.
Before going to all that trouble though, make sure the issue really is the battery. If the car won't charge, it could be a problem with your home electrics (or those at the public charge point you're using). Check the charge light to make sure that electricity really is going through the charge port. And make sure there really is charge in the socket you're using to power from - plug something else into it to see - say, your 'phone. If that charges OK, it could be that your charging cable is demanding too much power, so try another power source. Another problem could be that the circuit may have tripped due to a circuit overload. Or perhaps there could be a problem with the charge cable: this needs to be cared for properly. Repeatedly driving over it (as previous owners may conceivably have done) will damage it eventually. Make sure you do a charge-up before signing for the van you're looking at. When you do this, make sure that when you plug in to start the charge cycle you hear the charge port and the cable locking and engaging as they should; that's all part of the charger basically confirming with the car's onboard computer that everything's good to go before releasing power. But if the charging cable fails to lock as it should, then that won't happen. If there is a failure to lock, the issue could be actuator failure, caused by a blown fuse.
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Replacement parts
(approx based on a 2021 Proace van 1.5D excl. VAT - autopartspro.co.uk) A pair of front brake pads are between £28-£37 depending on brand. A pair of front brake discs start in the £36-£86 bracket; rears are between £20-£53. Pollen filters cost around £6-£18 and wiper blades cost around £6-£38. An oil filter's in the £8-£47 bracket.
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On the road
If you have to drive a van and it has to be reasonably large, it's always nice to find yourself at the wheel of one that still feels wieldy and manoeuvrable - as this Toyota does. Testers who'd found the sheer size of some other models in this segment quite daunting were, we found, much more easily able to acclimatise to a Proace when dealing with narrow streets and squeezing through gaps in the traffic. Thanks to clever springs and a stiff, sophisticated platform, it rides better than most of its rivals. It's also more refined than most other LCVs too.
As for the diesel engines on offer, the line-up opens with a 95bhp 1.6-litre unit but a better all-round choice probably lies with the poker 115bhp version of this powerplant, which gives you the greater flexibility of a 6-speed gearbox and 300Nm of torque. A couple of years into production, these two 1.6s were replaced by equivalent 1.5-litre engines, which weren't much different. Even greater pulling power is on offer from the 120bhp 2.0-litre diesel option which can tug along up to 2.5-tonnes, a figure many rivals struggle to match.
What about the post-2021-era full-Electric version? Well this isn't one of those EV vans that impresses you with its startling acceleration. The rest to 62mph sprint takes 13.1s in the 50kWh Proace Electric and 14.3s in the 75kWh model. That choice of batteries is the same as with this model's Citroen, Fiat, Vauxhall and Peugeot counterparts. The smaller of the two powerpacks won't take you very far - the 50kWh model manages a best of just 148 miles combined, or up to 196 miles in the city. With the pricier 75kWh battery fitted to your Proace Electric van, there's a 211 mile combined range, which rises to 267 miles in the city.
There's not too much to adjust to when driving this full-electric mid-sized van. Turn the key in the ignition, then wait for the starting beep, then flick the gear toggle into Drive. There's a drive-mode selector that allows you to switch between 'Eco', 'Normal' and 'Sport' modes. The 'Normal' setting restricts you to 109hp and will feel a bit like driving a lower capacity diesel. 'Eco' mode restricts you further to 81.5hp and reduces the power consumption of the air conditioning and other accessories. If you want the full 136hp of the electric motor, selecting 'Sport' mode unlocks it. There's also a gearshift selector 'B' option that ploughs extra regenerated energy back into the battery, offering more resistance while you're slowing down. Top speed is just 84mph.
Charging via a 7.4kW wall box (11kW for faster charging is an option) will take over 7 hours for the 50kWh battery - it's more than 11 hours for the 75kWh unit. If you find a 100kW DC rapid charger when you're out and about, you'll be able to get the smaller battery from near empty to 80% full around half an hour: it'll take around 45 minutes to do the same with the larger capacity unit. A 13amp Type2 cable in a domestic socket will give you six miles of range per hour - and will need around 36 hours for a full charge.
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Overall
There was plenty to like about this MK2 Proace van. Thanks to its sophisticated underpinnings, it was light enough to facilitate an impressive set of efficiency stats, while at the same time being tough enough to take the kind of treatment that mid-sized vans must put up with in regular use. The practicalities add up too, especially if you get a version with the 'Smart Cargo' system with its variable front seat layout and configurable bulkhead.
As for problems with this LCV, well there aren't too many and they tend to be things that may not bother many potential company buyers very much. It isn't, for example, the sharpest steer in the segment. And some customers could be disappointed that Toyota couldn't offer a choice of roof heights. Beyond that though, there's really not too much to complain about.
Otherwise, this Proace's main issue probably lay in the fact that much the same package at much the same price was available badged as either a Peugeot Expert or a Citroen Dispatch (and subsequently also a Vauxhall Vivaro and a Fiat Scudo), with all those Stellantis rivals offering a wider choice of engines and options. From new, this Toyota's advantage over these two design stablemates probably lay less in product design and more in the after-sales peace of mind that came with its class-leading five year warranty. Vans from this brand have a history of selling to real professionals. Don't expect that to change any time soon.
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