Toyota Tarago GLi 2006 review

Tarago might not have been the first people mover. The Volkswagen Kombi started it all before things like the (Isuzu) Holden Shuttle joined the fray. Toyota Tarago appeared here in 1983 as a 1.8-litre. As Toyota usually does, once it's in there it does it well and it does it for a long time.

Ten years ago, one in two people movers sold in Australia was a Tarago. Lower-priced (Korean) models have provided competition, and although Tarago sales numbers remain steady its relative slice of the cake is thinner as total sales have grown.

People movers started out as vans – one-tonne commercial vehicles with a few rows of extra seats bolted in. No amount of velour interior could disguise their teetering cornering, dodgy brakes, iffy steering, wheezy performance and fingers-crossed safety.

Now, a decent people mover is designed to be so from the start, with up to eight people, not cargo, the main concern.

This new Tarago is a fine example of that.

It has a new body, yet most will easily pick it as a Tarago. It has 20mm more width inside where it feels very spacious and open, particularly in the second row of seats: slide that row back and those passengers get more leg-stretch room than in a Holden Caprice. That second-row seat can slide over 65cm of rails.

The base of that seat can fold up to provide a cavernous space amidships, accessed by big sliding doors each side of the vehicle.

The second row of seats can split-fold 60/40 – as does the third row, which has limited leg room but can squeeze in three smaller people. All occupants get height-adjustable head restraints. The third row can be somersaulted forwards to create more boot room.

That luggage space is accessed by a single, lift-up tailgate. Storage and security are aided by handy bins under the rear floor. All three rows have fold-down central armrests.

The new Tarago roof is 30mm lower, at 1750mm, meaning there shouldn't be many underground car parks that will catch it.

Although the Tarago feels big inside and needs some familiarisation to get used to where the left of the vehicle is when driving past parked cars, its exterior dimensions are less than those of a Commodore sedan. Tarago is 4795mm long and 1800mm wide while Commodore is 4876mm long and 1842mm wide; so parking is not an issue.

Yet the Tarago wheelbase is even greater than that of the long-wheelbase Caprice – noticed when doing left-hand turns on to narrow lanes when the nose swings out wide.

Although a powerful V6 engine is mooted in six to nine months, the new Tarago makes do with a revised version of the 2.4-litre four-cylinder. It has variable valve timing and a higher compression ratio to give 10kW more power – now at 125kW while torque at 224Nm is only tested when a load is on and there's a hill to climb.

The only transmission is a four-speed automatic. The selector comes from the lower dashboard and now allows for sequential shift. Otherwise it's an intelligent box that holds a lower gear for climbing or descending.

The instrument panel is a talking point – central and well forward under the sloping, big windscreen. The only minor grizzle is that the gear readout for the sequential shift is positioned way left. Tarago settles at 2500rpm at 110km/h and noise is well suppressed for a four-cylinder.

Plenty of glove boxes, cup holders and other stowage areas have been built in.

Tarago starts with GLi on 16in steel rims. It is well equipped, including dual-zone climate control, tilt and telescopic adjustable steering, power windows (including those in the sliding doors), cruise control, fog lights and ABS brakes. It's $48,990.

The recommended option is the $1500 safety pack which has extra airbags (side, curtain and driver's knee) to make a total of seven, plus vehicle stability control.

The GLX gets that safety pack equipment as standard and adds roof rails, front and rear parking sensors, six-stack CD, 17in alloy wheels and rear-seat climate control airconditioner. GLX is $51,990.