The Toyota TownAce was introduced by Toyota in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in April 1978 as a short wheelbase, mid-engined luxury 7/8 seat MPV resembling the Space Cruiser. A 4WD version (body type CR30) was introduced in December 1985. These were produced until a facelift in September 1993 to body type CR31 which was produced until October 1996. It was available with either automatic

Automatic transmission

An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...

 or manual transmission

Manual transmission

A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...

 and choices of either petrol or diesel engines. Variants were badged as Toyota MasterAce (sometimes with "Surf" added) or Toyota LiteAce

Toyota Liteace

The Toyota Liteace is a line of motor vehicles produced by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota. Launched in 1970, the Liteace is a medium-sized van which was most commonly exported to Asia, Australia and Africa....

 (sometimes with "FieldTourer" added). Top-end 7-seat TownAces were badged additionally "Royal Lounge". 8-seaters are often badged "Super Extra".

The left-hand drive Toyota Van

Toyota Van

The Toyota MasterAce is a vehicle that was produced by Toyota and distributed worldwide under several names, with "MasterAce" being the name used in Japan. North American markets received the MasterAce as the Toyota Van...

 for the USA market has a lot in common with the TownAce, but did not have all the luxury options, 4WD or the diesel engine. Although; 4WD was briefly offered in the USA as the WonderWagon during the late 1980s.

When the TownAce models became available as grey market

Grey market

A grey market or gray market also known as parallel market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer...

 exports they became popular in UK, where new Spacecruisers had been sold for many years. A 10-year old TownAce was an attractive option for a reliable, cheap MPV with many luxury features - such as aircon/climate control and automatic transmission

Automatic transmission

An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...

. The 2CT diesel engine is low powered but offers 30+ mpg (less than 10 L per 100 km).

Large numbers of the vehicle were also exported to Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and some can be found in many other countries including Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

 etc.

Second hand TownAces were also exported to Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

 where they are mainly used as public transportation vans.

UK grey import TownAce owners ran into two main issues — the need to keep the engine's ageing cooling system well-maintained and the lack of manuals or other documentation for doing any DIY repairs or maintenance. Websites and forums emerged to solve these problems and Toyota GB provided good support with supply of spare parts even though new TownAces had never been sold in UK. It happened that Toyota had produced a good repair manual (RM025E) for the 2CT diesel I4 engine and Autodata had published a comprehensive TownAce manual, but only in Russian. Other information was gleaned from manuals for the related Toyota Van

Toyota Van

The Toyota MasterAce is a vehicle that was produced by Toyota and distributed worldwide under several names, with "MasterAce" being the name used in Japan. North American markets received the MasterAce as the Toyota Van...

 sold in USA and the Toyota Tarago

Toyota Tarago

The Toyota Tarago is a people mover developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation. It has been the most popular people mover for 3 decades now and continues to be the highest seller in Australia....

 sold in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.
In 1997 the TownAce re-emerged as a completely different vehicle, more like a van than an MPV.

In late 2007, a new model based on the Daihatsu Gran Max was launched in Indonesia, to replace the Toyota TownAce along with Toyota LiteAce

Toyota Liteace

The Toyota Liteace is a line of motor vehicles produced by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota. Launched in 1970, the Liteace is a medium-sized van which was most commonly exported to Asia, Australia and Africa....

in Japan. Both truck and van type are available with a 1.5L engine.

Post 1993 Specifications

• Engine Capacity – 1800 cc
• Doors – Available 4 & 5 Door
• Colour – White
• Seats – 8
• Fuel – Petrol,CNG(not available after manufactured)

1997-2007 Specifications

• Engines
  

Petrol - 1781cc (7K) 1486cc (5K)


Diesel - 1974cc (2C) 2184cc (3C)

• Doors - Mostly 5 door
• Seats - 6-8 passengers with driver
• Fuel - petrol & diesel
• mileage - approx 8 km/ltr
• Top speed - 180 km/h
• Transmission - avaialable in 4 speed automatic and 5 speed manual
• Models - DX (for cargo purposes) & GL (dual purpose)
• Options for GL only - auto shutters , central locking , cigarette lighter , radio -FM & AM Cassette ,front door speakers.