Item: Toyota Previa (Estima) 2.2L Diesel Auto
Rating: 4

mgaddison's review of Toyota Previa (Estima) 2.2L Diesel Auto

“My writing this may be premature, but I have just...”

★★★★☆

written by mgaddison on 03/05/2005

Good Points
Good value for money. I was able to afford £4000 cash rather than buying a newer £8000 model and having to pay the HP as well. Has to make sense with twins on the way! Also has overdrive to economise on the fuel. 2 sunroofs. Easy to drive automatic.

Bad Points
It's an MPV not a car. My 2.0l ghia Mondeo has had to go and so I'm having to get used to the more sedate mode of transport. Saying that there is some pick up and it doesn't feel so underpowered to be dangerous.

General Comments
My writing this may be premature, but I have just bought an imported Toyota Estima 2.2L Diesel Auto which is very similar to the Previa and so far I am very impressed. As the Japanese cannot drive cars older than 10 years old on their roads they export them. I have bought a 1994 model with 71,000 on the clock. I think of it as a modern VW Camper Van which everyone knows is a classic. One feature of it that beats the rest is that with the EIGHT proper seats in use there is still boot space the size of the average car. Not only that, the rear row of three seats folds up into the sides and with the second row of seats turned around there is the space of a small room. I bought mine from Ampthill 4WD and MPV dealer.

1993

Year Manufactured
2 weeks

Length of ownership
Performance
Practicality
Reliability
Value For Money

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Timblack57's Response to mgaddison's Review

Written on: 06/08/2007

My experience is beware: the 2.2 litre diesel engine is overworked and overheats easily. When this happens the head cracks and a new factory head will cost you the value of the car. It is essential to check the cooling system thoroughly and have it tested for combustion products in the coolant (sure sign of a serious problem). Next most common failures are starter motors and wiper mechanisms. Parts very expensive through Toyota network but at least they are available (or were up to 2004 at least). If you can find a friendly Toyota dealer that is happy to work on a grey import (not all will) it is worth having a chat with the service manager.

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Marcel Malta's Response to mgaddison's Review

Written on: 27/09/2008

I found this review helpful because...The comments are honestly assuring & show he knows what purpose it is mostly needed for. The helpfull advice of the seats is just what my wife & I wanted to hear, we desperately nedd more & more space these days. Well done I say hope to see more of his comments.

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Timblack57's Response to mgaddison's Review

Written on: 14/06/2008

I didn't know about these vehicles being imported with "neat" red antifreeze (or is it a pre-mixed antifreeze/water mixture?). However, this presumably only applies when vehicles are imported new by Toyota, and this model is exclusively a second-hand grey import.
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<br/>My experience was that following an inspection by GreenFlag, the vehicle was found to have a very weak antifreeze mixture, which the "specialist" dealer claimed was because there is "no snow" in Japan. He obviously hasn't seen Mount Fuji! The dealer changed the coolant and I foolishly I went ahead with the purchase, only to discover that the vehicle now emitted clouds of white smoke (steam?) and was continuously loosing coolant internally. But he had my money and I had a "lemon". Investigation by a Toyota dealer with a interest in grey imports confirmed a cracked head. The supplying "specialist" did not answer my calls when I tried, claiming illness and business problems. The warranty sold with the vehicle which supposedly covered "everything" didn't cover cracked heads.
<br/>And GreenFlag denied any responsibility for not making me aware of the significance of the weak antifreeze mixture, despite also missing a (well-known) problem with worn suspension stops and a fractured exhaust. More money down the drain in my view.

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Emkmf99's Response to mgaddison's Review

Written on: 12/06/2008

Cold weather will cause vegtable oil to thicken,you will have a lot colder winters in canada,than here in the uk,we mix 50% veg to 50% diesel in winter this works ok, sealed container for a couple of weeks) its summer here now and have managed to run car on 100% filtered used veg oil (runs perfect but difficult to start initially)some people use a twin tank system and a swith over soleniod (basically you start the car on diesel, then switch to veg, then about a mile before the end of the journey switch back to diesel,so the filter is full of diesel when you start it next day).

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Enolooc's Response to mgaddison's Review

Written on: 11/06/2008

Interesting...vegetable oil as alternate fuel. Just pour it in and away you go..or does freezing temperatures cause the oil to thicken? I'm in Canada. Local dealer started importing the vans from japan. Looking at buying one.
<br/>Thanks for the heads up about the red coolant.

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Emkmf99's Response to mgaddison's Review

Written on: 05/02/2008

also own one of these, lots of places doing good pattern parts (at a fraction of toyota prices) plenty of spares in breakers yards,regular oil changes and keep cooling system in tip top condition vital, they also run on vegetable oil (56p compared to £1.09 for diesel) with no modifications. Heads are a problem, some peoples last for years others dont .one of the biggest problems is when they are imported the cooling system contains Toyota red antifreeze which is neat (does not mix with water) people then try to add water which will eventually block cooling system causing over heating then cracked head.

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