Toyota has announced it is to discontinue its Hiace van and exit the UK van market at the end of 2011, due to the impending requirement for all new vans to meet Euro 5 emissions standards. The Hiace’s current 2.0l diesel unit doesn’t meet the Euro 5 standard – and somewhat surprisingly, Toyota cannot or will not come up with a suitable replacement.

Although it is not a very major player in the UK van market, I’ve always liked the Hiace and it does have a steady following amongst tradesmen and other owner-drivers looking for an alternative to the VW Transporter.

Hilux drivers need not fear that Toyota is going to abandon the commercial market completely – the company has already announced an updated Hilux model for 2012.