Toyota Proace Review & Prices

The Toyota Proace is what you get when the world’s largest car manufacturer decides it doesn’t much fancy building its own medium-sized panel van. The Proace may have Toyota badges on the front and on the steering wheel, but under the skin it’s identical to the Peugeot Expert, Citroen Dispatch, Vauxhall Vivaro and Fiat Scudo.

There’s even a Proace Electric which - funnily enough - is the same van as the Peugeot E-Expert, the Citroen e-Dispatch, Vauxhall Vivaro Electric and Fiat E-Scudo.

It’s a bit like when your Youtube video only buffers halfway, so you end up watching the first half of the clip over and over again as if it’ll be different the fifth time around.

However, Toyota does a better job of differentiating the Proace from its identical counterparts, because it offers an improved level of aftercare and service which means that while the underlying van won’t be any more or less reliable, any problems you have should be easier to stomach.

There’s no point having a brilliant warranty and friendly service centres, though, if the van itself isn’t worth buying. The good news is that the Proace is one of the best medium-sized panel vans, and well worth considering next to the Ford Transit Custom or Renault Trafic.

The Proace gets three diesel engines to choose from, depending on the trim level you select. There’s a 1.5-litre diesel and a pair of two 2.0-litre diesels, but if you want an automatic gearbox you do have to go for the very top Sport trim.

However, all versions are quiet and pretty refined to drive for a van. Though it doesn’t feel as settled in the corners as a Ford Transit Custom, the Proace is comfortable over long distances.

One of the highlights of this van platform is the available payloads - helped by it being physically slightly smaller than a Transit Custom or Renault Trafic. The most useful model can carry up to 1,375kg, which is just a few kilos off the best in class, and a smart extendable bulkhead option allows you to make the most of the loading capacity.

There are two body lengths available but no high roof option, though you can have a crew cab if you want to balance passengers and load capacity.

If you like the look of the Toyota Proace, or perhaps are considering one of its sister vans but prefer the sound of Toyota’s aftercare, then this could be the van for you. You can check out great Toyota deals on Carwow here, and remember that you can even sell your old van through Carwow too.

Prices for the basic ‘Active’ model of the Proace start at a little under £29,000, making it slightly more expensive than its Stellantis siblings. The gap isn’t as noticeable once you move up the range, though, and every model does come generously equipped. A pair of 10.0-inch displays - one for infotainment and one for driver information - are standard, and the former gets wireless smartphone connectivity. Air-con, auto lights and wipers, and an alarm are also standard fit.

You only need to step up to Icon grade for niceties like a wireless phone charger, sat-nav or wheel covers, however you do need to go for the very top-end Sport model before you get body-coloured bumpers and door handles for a more automotive look.

A trio of diesel engines ranging from adequate to beefy - but an automatic gearbox is limited to just the top trim level

The Toyota Proace gets three engine options. There’s an entry-level 1.5-litre diesel with 120hp, or a 2.0-litre diesel with either 145hp or 180hp, the latter getting a slick eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Your engine options are limited by the trim level you select. Entry-level Active grade only gets the 120hp option. Icon models get a choice of the 120hp or the 145hp, while Icon Premium gets the 145hp only. If you want the top-spec 180hp engine, you need a ‘Sport’ model, which is also the only way to get an autobox.

That’s rather more limited than in a Transit Custom, where you can combine almost any engine and trim level your heart desires - and where an increasingly popular automatic option is available on a more basic engine variant.

Generally, we’d recommend going for at least the Icon trim, as the 2.0-litre engine feels much more up to the task of shuttling a fully laden van than the 1.5-litre variant - even though it’s a bit noisier while doing so. However, all models are easy to drive. The manual gearbox is light and quite accurate, while the auto - where fitted - slushes gears together really smoothly.

The steering is accurate and not too heavy, so arm-twirling round tight city streets won’t wear you out. Visibility is okay, but the door mirrors are quite small and the dashboard is quite high-set, so you’ll be peering over it to figure out where the front end is.

The Proace is good over bumps, even when unladen, but feels more wayward than a Transit Custom does on faster roads. However, refinement on the motorway is excellent, and with cruise control coming as standard you can really while the time away.

Not the roomiest load area, but competitive payload makes up for it

The Toyota Proace has an identically-sized load area to - you guessed it - the Peugeot Expert, the Citroen Dispatch, the Vauxhall Vivaro and the Fiat Scudo. What that means is that it's both shorter and narrower than a Ford Transit Custom or Renault Trafic, resulting in less load area - the price you pay for a more compact van overall.

The rear doors open to 180 degrees, useful for access, and there's an optional load-through bulkhead called Smart Cargo. This allows you to increase the length of the load area at floor level by sliding items under the front passenger seats.

Internal and external measurements

Exterior dimensions (Medium/Long)
Exterior length: 4,981mm/5,331mm
Exterior width with mirrors: 2,204mm
Exterior width without mirrors: 1,920mmmm
Exterior height: 4,981mm/5,331mm

Interior load length (Medium/Long)
Van
To bulkhead: 2,512mm/2,852mm
With passthrough: 3,674mm/4,024mm

Crew cab
To bulkhead: 2,017mm/2,365mm

Interior loading width

All versions
Max width: 1,636mm
Between wheel arches: 1,258mm

Interior loading height
Max height: 1,397mm

Rear door aperture height/width
All versions: 1,220mm/1,282mm

Side door aperture height/width
All versions: 1,241mm/935mm

Toyota Proace towing capacity

The 180hp automatic variant of the Proace can tow up to 2,300kg, while the lesser engines can tow up to 2,000kg. That’s less than the best version of the Citroen Dispatch, which is disappointing, and not as good as the Ford Transit Custom or the Renault Trafic. It’s still a useful figure, but this isn’t the best van for towing.

Toyota Proace payload

The most capacious variant of the Proace is the 145hp version in its Medium length - with a maximum payload of 1,375kg, just a few kilos off its sister vans and almost the same as the Ford Transit Custom. It’s a very useful figure when you consider a Mercedes Vito or Renault Trafic top out at barely over a ton.

Opt for the 1.5-litre engine and that figure goes down to 999kg, while the 180hp automatic can manage up to 1,226kg.

Lots of tech as standard, but cramped for taller drivers

The Proace gets six-way adjustment for the driver’s seat as well as reach and rake adjustment for the steering wheel, so you should be able to get pretty comfortable no matter what shape you are. However, taller drivers will find that the seat doesn’t go back quite far enough for longer legs, as the bulkhead limits rearward movement - making the cab quite cramped if you’re over six feet tall.

The double front passenger seat is also a bit of a squeeze for two, and the central occupant has to content with the protruding pod for the gear selector - even on automatic variants, where the Ford Transit has a column-mounted shifter to free up space.

Storage for smaller items is quite limited - the dashtop glove compartment is large enough for documents, but there’s no overhead storage and lots of uncovered cubbies on top of the dash. There are also only two cupholders, and they’re very small - think Italian espresso rather than a bucket of builder’s brew.

All versions of the Proace come with a 10.0-inch digital dashboard, which isn’t the clearest or most useful - especially in manual variants, where a proper rev counter would be preferable. The 10.0-inch infotainment screen is much nicer, as it comes fully-featured and even gets wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, particularly useful considering the basic model doesn’t come with sat-nav built in. USB-C ports help to keep gadgets juiced up, but a wireless charging pad is standard from Icon trim up.

Build quality feels good, with a nice solid feeling to the dashboard - even if you don’t have to stray too far to find where plastics are cheap rather than hardwearing. Technophobes will be pleased to see Toyota has retained a full panel of climate controls, unlike the totally touchscreen Ford Transit Custom.

Fuel economy in the Toyota Proace is officially up to 42mpg for the 1.5-litre diesel, around 37mpg for the 145hp 2.0-litre and up to 39mpg for the 180hp 2.0-litre automatic. In the real world you can probably expect slightly lower from the 1.5-litre as it has to work harder to move the Proace’s bulk around. Expect the best economy from the mid-powered 2.0-litre, though the more powerful automatic is a better bet if you’re doing lots of motorway journeys as it has a higher top gear for more relaxed cruising.

Euro NCAP doesn’t carry out crash tests on vans in the same way as it does cars. It did test the passenger variant of this van back in 2015, where it scored a full five stars. Its Stellantis equivalents also achieved a Gold award for their active safety tech when tested in 2024.

All the basics you’d expect are there - lane-keeping assist, driver attention alert, speed limit assist and autonomous emergency braking. Happily, you can set up a shortcut to turn the more annoying of these systems off with just one button press.

Deadlocks and a Thatcham category 1 alarm come as standard, the latter being an upgrade over the rest of this van’s siblings. Many base model alternatives don’t come with an alarm except as an option.

The Toyota Proace might not be built by Toyota but that doesn’t mean it’s not reliable. The van platform it uses has been around for several years now, using well-proven components, and has proved reliable so far.

And Toyota offers a better warranty than any alternative - provided you stick to the van’s service schedule, and use an approved Toyota dealer. At every service, you unlock a further two years/25,000 miles of warranty cover, up to a maximum of ten years or 100,000 miles. This cover is fully transferable so can be applied to used vans, too. It’s a real selling point for the Proace, and Toyota’s commercial vehicle servicing network is well-regarded and wide-ranging, including extras like a guaranteed replacement van if your repair takes longer than anticipated.