Toyota PROACE Verso

What do you do if a big MPV just isn't big enough? The motor industry's usual answer is to offer up something based on a medium-sized van - which doesn't sound that appealing does it? But People Carriers of this kind have improved a great deal in recent years and if you want proof of that, then just try this one, Toyota's Proace Verso. Toyota has rarely been a marque to miss an opportunity.

That's why it's been so successful over the years.

Over the last decade or two, the brand has been co-operating with European conglomerate Stellantis (formerly PSA) in development of its medium-sized LCVs.

The PSA/Stellantis marques were keen that the commercial vehicle this produced should also spawn a proper super-large-segment People Carrying MPV, as indeed it did, Peugeot's version named the Traveller and Citroen's tagged as the Space Tourer.

There was also a Vauxhall variant, the Vivaro Life.

Joining in, Toyota created a super-large MPV from these same underpinnings too - which is what brought us the Proace Verso. Launched in 2016, this model marked Toyota's return to the large MPV segment, a market sector it'd been absent from since the demise of the Previa back in 2007.

As the name suggested, this model shared plenty with the Japanese company's Proace van, but customers were promised that the driving and ownership experience would be anything but 'van-like'.

Smart looks, high equipment levels and sophisticated technology seemed to bear that out.

This model was first available with a choice of 1.6 or 2.0-litre diesel engines, the 1.6 replaced in 2018 by an (also Stellantis-derived) 1.5-litre unit.

The Proace Verso in diesel form was discontinued in 2022, but re-launched in 2024 in full-electric EV form.

It's the 2016-2022-era diesel version of this model we look at here.

This model's frontal design firmly identifies it as a modern Toyota, with an upper grille that extends smoothly into the angled headlamp units and a large, trapezoidal lower grille surrounded by silver trimming, an aperture that aims to emphasise the car's width and solidity. There are two main Proace Verso body sizes - 'Medium' and 'Long' (though a smaller 'Compact' body shape was initially offered at the 2016 launch, then quickly phased out due to lack of demand).

In terms of body length, you're talking around 5.0 or 5.3-metres, depending on the variant you choose, so either way, you're going to need a very big garage. The dashboard design features clear, analogue dials and ergonomic switchgear and there's excellent all-round visibility from the elevated, SUV-like driving position.

The rather small 7-inch 'Pro-Touch' centre dash infotainment screen is borrowed from PSA/Stellantis, though Toyota was allowed to put its own blue background on the various screen options. The Combi and Shuttle models have a two-person front passenger seat to achieve their 9-seat capacity.

Otherwise, you get the usual two separate chairs, each complete with an armrest.

What about the rear? Well most variants get three seats in the middle row and they slide forward and back in a 60:40-split, plus the seat backs recline.

If you've got a version with the optional 'Premium Pack' (or gone for a top 'VIP' model), you'll get a Skyview panoramic roof with two glass overhead panels and overhead vents (there are four) and overhead climate controls, along with overhead reading lights.

Getting into the very back requires you to push the seat base forward, then retract the seat back forward. How many seats you get in the third row will depend on the spec you've chosen.

Normally, as in the mid-range 'Family' model, there'll be three seats in the very back, but in the top 'VIP' variant, there are just two.

Once in the third row, there's far more space than you'd get in a conventional large Galaxy or Sharan-style 7-seat MPV from this era: the van-based approach really pays dividends here, in terms of both leg and headroom.

To increase legroom, you can use the provided red lower tabs to slide the seats ahead of you forward and back.

Or if you're broad of back, the second row seats can be taken from their lower runners, then turned around to face those in the rear, facilitating impromptu business conferences on the move. Let's finish with a look at luggage capacity.

If you'd forgotten that this was a van-based MPV, you're reminded of the fact when you come to raise the vast tailgate.

Even with all the three seating rows upright, there's quite a lot of luggage space (in the 'Medium'-length model, between 603 and 798-litres, depending on the positioning of the 3rd row chairs).

You push the 3rd row seats forward by pulling on two red tabs.

And fold the seat backs using black levers - do that in the 'Medium'-length model and you can increase your luggage capacity to as much as 1,000-litres; or 1,750-litres with the second row seat backs folded too.

Please contact us for an exact up-to-date valuation.

Look particularly closely for dents and scratches around the bodywork given that the car will have been driven to places where it will be easy to pick these up.

And inspect the interior for child and luggage damage and make sure that the upholstery and the carpets aren't stained.

Make sure that all the screens and media connectivity systems work as they should.

And of course insist on a fully stamped up service history. With this diesel-engined model, there are a number of product recalls you need to know about.

In some models built in 2018, the plug in the sump that the engine uses to drain oil out during a service might be loose, allowing oil to leak out.

In some models made between 2020 and 2021, the AdBlue liquid injection system may struggle in extremely low temperatures.

And models produced between 2020 and 2022 had an issue with the fuel line coming into contact with the bodywork and plastic parts - which can lead to fuel leakage.

In some of the last models produced in 2022, the high voltage wiring harness may be defective - which could result in increased risk of fire.

There was a problem in models produced between 2019 and 2020 with the rear seat adjustment lever.

For models produced in 2020, there was also an issue with wheel bolts.

And in models produced in 2021, there was an issue with head rests on the front modular seat on 9-seaters.

Make sure that with the version you're looking at, these recall issues have been addressed by a dealer.

(approx based on a 2020 Proace Verso 2.0 diesel 180 excl.

VAT - autodoc.co.uk) Expect to pay around £4-£12 for an oil filter, around £9-£16 for an air filter and around £4-£25 for a pair of wiper blades.

Front brake pads cost around £37-£70 for a set; rear pads are in the £17-£42 bracket.

For front brake discs, think around £48-£60 for a pair; rear discs cost in the £25-£66 bracket.

A starter motor costs in the £65-£95 bracket.

A fuel filter is around £9-£24.

As you'd expect, all the Euro6 units engines on offer in the combustion Proace Verso are diesels and if your needs are mainly based around lighter people carrying duties and short distance urban work, then the entry-level 118bhp 1.5-litre diesel unit (which replaced the original 1.6-litre diesel in 2018) may well be quite sufficient.

For heavier payloads and longer journeys however, you'll be needing the 2.0-litre diesel engine, which gives you a lot more pulling power and is available with either 148 or 175bhp, the most powerful unit mated to the brand's efficient 8AT auto transmission.

Otherwise, you'll be using a 6-speed manual.

And the feel at the wheel? Well yes, it's based on a van, but the current generation of medium range vans actually handle pretty well, so this MPV might well surprise you with the way it responds through the bends. That's helped by quite a low centre of gravity and steering that, though not especially feelsome, responds quite quickly to inputs.

But who throws a vehicle like this about? The ride should particularly impress.

Special wishbone filtering is provided to dampen the impacts from our country's terrible tarmac and the variable stiffness springs and shock absorbers should deliver decent levels of comfort whether the vehicle is loaded or unloaded.

Refinement is also surprisingly good for such a large, square MPV. Plus this model feels quite manoeuvrable.

Testers who'd found the sheer size of some other big MPVs in this segment a little daunting when dealing with narrow country lanes and squeezing through gaps in the traffic were, we found, much more easily able to acclimatise to a Proace Verso.

The bonnet's set quite high, but the nose has a squared-off shape that we've found during our testing programme makes this Toyota easy to place in tight urban situations.

The turning circle is pretty tight too - at just 11.3 metres - making this a surprisingly manoeuvrable vehicle for use around town.

Toyota's diesel-powered Proace Verso might not have all the fancy electronic extras of its Peugeot Traveller, Vauxhall Vivaroi Life and Citroen SpaceTourer design stablemates from the 2016-2022 era, but it's likely that many family and business buyers won't care very much about that.

It's practical through and through. Like its PSA/Stellantis design stablemates, this Proace Verso is much cheaper than the models that previously ruled the super-large MPV segment, the Volkswagen Caravelle and the Mercedes V-Class.

And in some ways, it's easier to drive because it feels more compact on the road.

Yet this Toyota is just as spacious inside, with room for up to nine.

If you've regular business clients to carry or your own private parking bay at the maternity unit, it might just be everything you really need.