Toyota Previa
The Toyota Previa, also known as the Toyota Estima in Japan, and Toyota Tarago in Australia, is a minivan that was produced by Toyota from 1990 until October 2019 across three generations.
The name "Previa" is derived from the Spanish for "preview", as Toyota saw the first Previa as a vehicle that would preview technologies used in future minivans. The Previa was the second largest minivan in Toyota's lineup in Japan after the bigger and more luxurious Alphard/Vellfire.
First generation (XR10/XR20; 1990)
The first generation, designed by Toyota designer Tokuo Fukuichi and Calty designer David Doyle in 1987, was introduced on 27 January 1990, and had only one sliding side door for the rear passengers. It featured a mid-engined platform, where the inline-four cylinder gasoline-powered engine was installed almost flat beneath the front seats, canted at a 75-degree angle from vertical to the right, viewed from the rear of the vehicle. This allowed the designers to maximize interior space for a given exterior size.The vehicle was sold in Japan as the Toyota Estima, taken from the word "estimable." In the United States and United Kingdom, it was marketed as the Previa, which is derived from the Italian previdenza, meaning providence or foresight.
The first generation Previa is long, wide, and high, riding on a wheelbase of. It was available in both rear- and all-wheel drive versions and powered by a JIS inline four-cylinder 2.4-liter fuel-injected mid-mounted engine. All-wheel drive models use a viscous-coupled center differential which normally splits torque 50/50 from front to rear. Available with a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual gearbox, this Previa also seated seven or eight people, with three seating configurations offered; however, North America only received two configurations, both seating seven passengers. All first-generation Previa / Estima vans were assembled at the Toyota Auto Body Fujimatsu plant in Kariya, Aichi.
The Previa was available with either four-wheel disc brakes or traditional front disc/rear drum brake setup, with anti-lock brakes as an option. Some rear-drive models use independent suspension at all four wheels, with Macpherson struts at the front and double-wishbones in the rear; most models are equipped with a rear suspension which uses a beam axle located by a four-link arrangement with Panhard rod. A lower-cost eight-passenger model, introduced in February 1993, uses the AWD rear suspension.
Design
Powertrain
The Previa / Estima was equipped with a 2.4 L 2TZ-FE I4 engine with a nominal output of at 5000 rpm and at 4000 rpm. Base models were equipped with a five-speed manual transmission, a four-speed automatic transmission was available as an option; higher trim levels came with the automatic as standard. For the 1994 model year, the 2.4 L 2TZ-FZE supercharged engine was made available. The supercharger was mounted in the front of the vehicle, driven by a belt off the SADS accessory driveshaft, and engine output increased to at 5000 rpm and at 3600 rpm. In the United States, the five-speed manual transmission was discontinued starting with the 1994 model year.In Japan, the Estima Lucida and Estima Emina also were available with the 3C-T intercooled turbodiesel I4 engine.
With either engine, all of the engine-driven accessories, such as the alternator, power steering pump, air conditioning compressor and radiator fan, are accessible from the front hood and are driven by an accessory driveshaft extending forward from the front of the engine, which was named "Supplemental Accessory Drive System". A two-liter oil reservoir is also located underneath the hood. Placing these items in front allowed the designers to achieve a nearly-equal front/rear weight distribution, which benefits ride quality and handling. However, it also prevented the installation of a larger engine, and meant that the design and development costs could not be mitigated by sharing the platform with other vehicles. The mid-engine configuration requires the removal of the front right seat, the carpet and an access panel to provide access to the spark plugs.
Fuel efficiency with the naturally aspirated 2TZ-FE engine is below average at for estimated combined city/highway driving; the small four-cylinder engine needs to work a bit harder owing to the power to weight ratio of the vehicle, compared to contemporary 6-cylinder engines. In instrumented testing, a rear-drive Previa with the naturally aspirated engine recorded overall. With all-wheel drive and the automatic, observed fuel consumption increased to.
The supercharged 2TZ-FZE engine is different from the normally aspirated engine, owing to a slight decrease in compression ratio and stronger engine internals. The supercharger is sourced from Aisin and engaged on-demand by an electromagnetic clutch, based on input from the engine control unit. The supercharged engine has improved power and gives slightly better fuel consumption, estimated at on the combined city/highway cycle.
Styling & interior
All configurations have a driver and front passenger seat forward, and a three-seat bench seat at the rear that splits and folds flat against the sides of the cabin. The eight-seat configuration contains a 2/1 split swiveling bench seat in the middle row, while the seven-seat configurations contain either two independently swiveling captain's chairs, in the middle row or a two-seat bench offset towards the driver's side. The third row is better upholstered in the seven-seat version.The center console is pushed backwards towards the front seat passengers, with contemporary press coverage calling it "pregnant". The stereo was singled out for praise during a long-term test review conducted by Popular Mechanics.
- The Previa gives a practically panoramic view, excluding the pillars behind the front doors. This has the side effect of effectively turning the van into a greenhouse, causing it to accumulate heat in a short period of time. Solar control glass later became an option to help alleviate the problem.
Previas are affectionately called "eggvans", "eggs" or "beans", because of their shape. In Australia, they have been referred to as "Wombats", because they somewhat resemble the marsupial of the same name. In New Zealand, they are very popular with freedom campers and are referred to as "Bucky" buses.
Safety
The Previa was the first minivan to meet all US safety standards for passenger cars for the 1992 model year, which included fitment of a driver's-side airbag, under-dash knee bolsters, and a center high-mounted stop light.When the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested a 1996 model Previa in the moderate overlap front crash test, it revealed many safety issues: the cabin structure was unstable, the steering wheel moved upward all the way to the windshield causing violent head movement, the lap belt tore which allowed the dummy to end up in a partially reclining position, and there were high forces on both of the lower legs, as well as high forces on the head and neck. It was given a "Poor" rating as a result.
Global variations
In some countries, unsold Estimas and Lucidas were re-badged as 1995/1996 Previas.Japan
In Japan, two smaller versions, the Toyota Estima Lucida and Toyota Estima Emina, were produced from January 1992, each of which were approximately narrower and shorter than the standard model. The original design continued to be sold in Japan, but became known as the "wide-body" Estima.The reason that the smaller Emina and Lucida models were developed is the vehicle tax system in Japan, which is based on the product of the length and width of the car; the smaller variants fall into a lower tax band. The Estima Emina and Estima Lucida were also available with a 2.2-liter diesel engine. In Japan, the Estima and Estima Emina were exclusive to the dealerships called Toyota Store. The Estima Lucida sold at Toyota Corolla Store dealerships. The two received small redesigns in 1994 and a facelift in 1996.
;Estima Emina
;Estima Lucida
United States
In the United States, the Previa was sold from March 1990 until 1997. It was imported from Japan to compete with Chrysler Corporation's successful Dodge Caravan minivan, and its twins, the Chrysler Town and Country and Plymouth Voyager. Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca and other domestic automakers accused Toyota of dumping the Previa, selling at a price claimed to be up to 30.5% below its actual cost in the United States in order to take market share in the minivan segment from Chrysler. While the United States Department of Commerce found the imported minivans were being sold for less than their fair value, the United States International Trade Commission determined there was no material injury to domestic manufacturers.While the Previa proved more popular than the Toyota Van which it replaced, it did not acquire significant market share from Chrysler—due to its higher price, controversial styling, lower fuel economy and engine performance—and also due to Chrysler launching redesigned minivans around the same time.
In the United States, the first generation Previa model variations, in order of lowest to highest price/option features, are: DX, DX All-Trac, DX S/C, LE, LE All-Trac, LE S/C, LE S/C All-Trac. DX is also known as "Deluxe". S/C indicates the supercharged engine is fitted, and All-Trac means the vehicle is all-wheel drive.
The mid-engine design precluded the fitment of larger engines, which proved a problem as American drivers were used to having more power; for example, the Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler models were sold with available V6 engines with slightly more power. Its layout did, however, give the Previa greater interior space than the Chrysler competitors, with of cargo capacity, compared to for the short and long-wheelbase Chrysler minivans.
Specific model year changes include:
- MY 1991–1993: North American Previas with the five-speed manual were made from 1990 through to 1993 ; the manual was discontinued for the 1994 model year, which also is when the supercharged engine was introduced, so no factory-built Previas are equipped with both a manual transmission and supercharged engine.
- MY 1992: Starting in 1991 for model year 1992, North American Previas came with a driver's side airbag and third brake-light. Dual airbags became standard in September 1993 for model year 1994, making it the first minivan to offer a passenger airbag as standard.
- MY 1992–1997: From 1991 to 1997, the optional middle-row individual captain's chairs came with a swivel feature, allowing them to be turned to face the rear of the vehicle; earlier 1990 to 1991 production also had captain's chairs as an option, but they were fixed and could not swivel.
- MY 1994: Starting with the 1994 model year, Toyota added an option for the 2TZ-FZE engine, which is equipped with a Roots-type supercharger providing of boost, and an air-to-air intercooler, bringing the engine power up to a competitive with no penalty to fuel efficiency, which remained at an estimated for combined city/highway driving. Previas equipped with the supercharged engine carry an extra "S/C" badge on the tailgate. The S/C engine option was exclusive to the LE for the 1994 model year, and the option was made available for both DX and LE models for 1995.
- MY 1996: For the 1996 model year, the supercharged 2TZ-FZE became the standard engine.