Unlike its cousins from Citroën, Peugeot and Opel, the “non-utility” Toyota Proace still exists in diesel in 2022. nine-seater the cheapest on the market.
Car tested: Toyota PROACE Combi Medium 2.0 140 D-4D BVA8 Dynamic
|
From€37,550
€10,488 penalty
|
When you buy a derivative of utility to take your big family on vacation, convey your favorite leisure equipment or multiply the road trips, it rarely comes to the idea of choosing a 100% electric version. However, this is what the trio Citroën SpaceTourer, Peugeot Traveler and Opel Zafira Life have been imposing since January 2022, in order to avoid Stellantis heavy fines from Brussels for CO emissions.2 too high. A threat far from worrying the fourth thief, Toyota, a past master in the art of compensation: its range rich in wise hybrids makes it possible to maintain the catalog of real sports cars (GR Supra, GR Yaris, GR 86), as well as internal combustion engines on its heavy and low-profile models (Proace Combi and Verso, Land Cruiser, etc.).
Of the four cousins, the Toyota Proace Verso therefore remains the only one to market its three diesel versions (1.5 120 hp in BVM, and 2.0 140 hp or 180 hp in BVA8) which can be combined with three body lengths (Compact, Medium or Long). Each can carry three rows of three seats, i.e. nine passengers in total and the maximum authorized by permit B. Afterwards, you have to pass the permit D assigned to public transport! More seriously, there is no longer an equivalent at this price, especially in our Combi version, which is more of a glazed utility than a luxury van…
Toyota Proace Combi prices and penalties
In the short Compact version, the Proace Combi starts at €32,850 in a unique Dynamic finish. It is then necessary to be satisfied with the small 1.5 diesel of 120 ch with mechanical box, already struck by 3 800 € of malus. Our test version 2.0 140 hp BVA8 imposes the Medium format, which climbs to €37,550 in catalog price and €10,500 in ecotax. If the additional premium seems eliminatory, it disappears for large families, who benefit from a reduction on CO2 emissions2/km (at a rate of 20 g per child if there are three or more). In the case of the Proace Combi D-4D 140, emissions would thus fall from 187 to 127 g/km minimum, in the neutral zone of the bonus/malus regime!
A reduction also exists for the recent weight penalty on models over 1,800 kg. This time, a reduction of 200 kg per child (from three) is enough to eradicate the second tax, fixed here at 380 €. As detailed in our article, this development concerns however the owners assuming “ effective and permanent care of at least three children “. This effectively excludes grandparents who occasionally stroll their grandchildren, or even certain blended families who do not necessarily declare their taxes jointly. So many special cases to be carefully studied upstream, the reimbursement of taxes being carried out a posteriori.
The ultimate “tax loopholes” concern legal persons, who benefit from a reduction of 400 kg on models with eight seats or more, and disabled people (or the parents who are responsible for them) logically exempt from penalties for weight and CO2 on models with a minimum of five seats. In all other cases, unlike real utility vehicles (with partition) and fitted vans (with removable table, bed and kitchen area only), these LCV derivatives remain dedicated to the transport of people, therefore subject to the malus like any passenger car. Would you take an aspirin again?
Driving
Climbing into our Proace Combi with sheet metal rims, raw plastic bumpers, rubber as a carpet and radio with monochrome screen, we were preparing to move a crude utility. Nay! Despite a direction a bit heavy in maneuver and too geared down on the road, the Franco-Japanese evokes a licensed traveler. The fairly low adjustable seat and the depth-adjustable steering wheel ensure a comfortable driving position. The rotary selector knob seems to come from a more upscale sedan. As for the 2.0 diesel of PSA origin, it starts with discretion and does not raise its voice too much during the first kilometers.
Our journey in town generates the same good surprise thanks to the smoothness of the Stop & Start system, connected to a prompt alternator-starter. Equipment that has become rare at Stellantis, passenger cars generally inheriting a simple reinforced starter! The very straight sides and large exterior mirrors also facilitate urban developments despite the respectable length of the Proace Combi Medium and its poor central rear view, handicapped by the thick amount of the hinged rear doors. Chase the natural…
But he does not return at a gallop. On a degraded road, the Proace does not bounce its body with every bump, even when empty, and the chassis remains secure and dignified in corners. The very decent performance of the diesel (strong 370 Nm of torque between 2,000 and 2,500 rpm) and the reactive automatic gearbox (with gearshift paddles on the steering wheel please!) even invite you to cut the road , even the highway. At 130 km/h, the effective heading hold makes overtaking heavy goods vehicles safer, while air and road noise do not invade the cabin too much. With such an interior volume and a lot of bare sheet metal, you shouldn’t expect to travel in a well-caulked limo either, especially since the 8-speed gearbox goes down several gears when you need power… with the roar of the diesel that follows in the long ramps.
The other small faults concern the appetite much higher than that of modern sedans (count between 9 and 9.5 l / 100 km on a hilly motorway), the braking too biting to be easily dosed and the firm foundations, which do not help the folders hopelessly fixed. As for modularity, it is almost a dirty word in the vocabulary of the Proace Combi, as explained in pictures in the next chapter.
On board
competition
Like the cousins of the Proace Verso (Citroën SpaceTourer, Peugeot Traveler and Opel Zafira Life), those of our Proace Combi (Jumpy Combi, Expert Combi and Vivaro Combi) now only exist in a 100% electric version. Energy offered in parallel by the Japanese for 49,820 € (with 50 kWh battery and 230 km of autonomy) or 55,820 € (75 kWh and 330 km) before bonus of 2,000 €. But other utility derivatives with thermal engines and nine seats (optional) exist in front of our Proace Combi D-4D 140 BVA8 Medium, charged €37,550 before penalty of €10,500.
Let’s mention the Renault Trafic Combi L1 dCi 150 EDC, displayed at €40,350 + €13,109 penalty (i.e. €5,400 more including ecotaxes), but also its twin Nissan NV300 Combi, available from €42,705 + €10,000 € penalty, or the Ford Transit Custom Kombi 2.0 EcoBlue 130 BVA, sold for €39,030 + €23,300 penalty! Better equipped, the famous Volkswagen Caravelle (central touch screen, three-zone auto air conditioning, front/rear parking sensors, two sliding doors, etc.) breaks the price ceiling: €53,960 in TDI 150 DSG before penalty of €18,200, i.e. €24,000 more than our test Toyota.
Find the results of the test, the dimensions, the technical data sheet and the equipment of the Toyota Proace Combi on the following page…
