| Toyota Estima (Japan) | Toyota Tarago (Australia) | Jinhui Previa (China) | Beijing Zhonglian Previa (China) | Hongxing HX6482 (China) }} | Japan:
Kariya, Aichi (
Fujimatsu plant) was introduced on 27 January 1990, and had only one sliding side door for the rear passengers. It featured a
mid-engined platform, where the
inline-four cylinder gasoline-powered engine was installed almost flat beneath the front seats, canted at a 75-degree angle from vertical to the right, viewed from the rear of the vehicle. This allowed the designers to maximize interior space for a given exterior size. The vehicle was sold in Japan as the Toyota Estima, taken from the word "estimable." In the United States and United Kingdom, it was marketed as the Previa, which is derived from the Italian
previdenza, meaning providence or foresight. Some rear-drive models use independent suspension at all four wheels, with
Macpherson struts at the front and
double-wishbones in the rear; A lower-cost eight-passenger model, introduced in February 1993, uses the AWD rear suspension. Base models were equipped with a five-speed manual transmission, a four-speed automatic transmission was available as an option; higher trim levels came with the automatic as standard. For the 1994 model year, the 2.4 L
2TZ-FZE supercharged engine was made available. The supercharger was mounted in the front of the vehicle, driven by a belt off the SADS accessory driveshaft, and engine output increased to at 5000 rpm and at 3600 rpm. With either engine, all of the engine-driven accessories, such as the
alternator, power steering pump, air conditioning compressor and radiator fan, are accessible from the front hood and are driven by an accessory driveshaft extending forward from the front of the engine, the small
four-cylinder engine needs to work a bit harder owing to the power to weight ratio of the vehicle, compared to contemporary 6-cylinder engines. In instrumented testing, a rear-drive Previa with the naturally aspirated engine recorded overall. The supercharged
2TZ-FZE engine is different from the normally aspirated engine, owing to a slight decrease in compression ratio and stronger engine internals. The supercharger is sourced from Aisin and engaged on-demand by an electromagnetic clutch, based on input from the
engine control unit. The supercharged engine has improved power and gives slightly better fuel consumption, estimated at on the combined city/highway cycle.
Styling & interior All configurations have a driver and front passenger seat forward, and a three-seat bench seat at the rear that splits and folds flat against the sides of the cabin. The eight-seat configuration contains a 2/1 split swiveling bench seat in the middle row, while the seven-seat configurations contain either two independently swiveling captain's chairs (referred to as "Quad Seating"), in the middle row or a two-seat bench offset towards the driver's side. The third row is better upholstered in the seven-seat version. The center console is pushed backwards towards the front seat passengers, with contemporary press coverage calling it "pregnant". • The Previa gives a practically panoramic view, excluding the pillars behind the front doors. This has the side effect of effectively turning the van into a
greenhouse, causing it to accumulate heat in a short period of time. Solar control glass later became an option to help alleviate the problem. An option for dual moonroofs was provided. This included a power horizontal-sliding glass moonroof above the middle row of passengers, measuring , and a pop-up glass moonroof above the front seats. The overall height of Previas equipped with moonroofs is increased by so the interior headroom is not reduced. When the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested a 1996 model Previa in the moderate overlap front crash test, it revealed many safety issues: the cabin structure was unstable, the steering wheel moved upward all the way to the windshield causing violent head movement, the lap belt tore which allowed the dummy to end up in a partially reclining position, and there were high forces on both of the lower legs, as well as high forces on the head and neck. It was given a "Poor" rating as a result.
Global variations In some countries (mainly Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom), unsold Estimas and Lucidas were
re-badged as 1995/1996 Previas.
Japan In Japan, two smaller versions, the
Toyota Estima Lucida and
Toyota Estima Emina, were produced from January 1992, each of which were approximately narrower and shorter than the standard model. The original design continued to be sold in Japan, but became known as the "wide-body" Estima. The reason that the smaller Emina and Lucida models were developed is the
vehicle tax system in Japan, which is based on the product of the length and width of the car; the smaller variants fall into a lower tax band. The Estima Emina and Estima Lucida were also available with a 2.2-liter diesel engine (3C-T and 3C-TE). In Japan, the Estima and Estima Emina were exclusive to the dealerships called
Toyota Store. The Estima Lucida sold at
Toyota Corolla Store dealerships. The two received small redesigns in 1994 and a facelift in 1996. ;Estima Emina File:Toyota Estima Emina 001.JPG|1992–1994 Toyota Estima Emina (Japan) File:Toyota Estima Emina 002.JPG|1992–1994 Toyota Estima Emina (Japan) File:Toyota-Estima Emina-1st 1995-front.jpg|1994–1996 Toyota Estima Emina (Japan) File:1996-1999 Toyota Estima Emina.jpg|1996–1999 Toyota Estima Emina (Japan) ;Estima Lucida File:1992 Toyota Estima-Lucida 01.jpg|1992–1994 Toyota Estima Lucida (Japan) File:1992 Toyota Estima Lucida (rear).jpg|1992–1994 Toyota Estima Lucida (Japan) File:1995 Toyota Estima-Lucida 01.jpg|1994–1996 Toyota Estima Lucida (Japan) File:1997 Toyota Estima Lucida 2.2 Front.jpg|1996–1999 Toyota Estima Lucida (Japan) File:1997 Toyota Estima Lucida 2.2 Rear.jpg|1996–1999 Toyota Estima Lucida (Japan)
United States In the
United States, the Previa was sold from March 1990 (for the 1991 model year) until 1997. It was imported from Japan to compete with
Chrysler Corporation's successful
Dodge Caravan minivan, and its twins, the
Chrysler Town and Country and
Plymouth Voyager. Chrysler CEO
Lee Iacocca and other domestic automakers accused Toyota of
dumping the Previa, selling at a price claimed to be up to 30.5% below its actual cost in the United States in order to take market share in the minivan segment from Chrysler. While the
United States Department of Commerce found the imported minivans were being sold for less than their fair value, the
United States International Trade Commission determined there was no material injury to domestic manufacturers. While the Previa proved more popular than the
Toyota Van which it replaced, it did not acquire significant market share from Chrysler—due to its higher price, controversial styling (for its time), lower fuel economy and engine performance—and also due to Chrysler launching redesigned minivans around the same time. In the United States, the first generation Previa model variations, in order of lowest to highest price/option features, are: DX, DX
All-Trac, DX S/C, LE, LE All-Trac, LE S/C, LE S/C All-Trac. DX is also known as "Deluxe". S/C indicates the supercharged engine is fitted, and All-Trac means the vehicle is all-wheel drive. • MY 1992: Starting in 1991 for model year 1992, North American Previas came with a driver's side airbag and third brake-light. • MY 1992–1997: From 1991 to 1997 (for the 1992 to 1997 model years), the optional middle-row individual captain's chairs came with a swivel feature, allowing them to be turned to face the rear of the vehicle; earlier 1990 to 1991 production (1991 model year) also had captain's chairs as an option, but they were fixed and could not swivel. • MY 1994: Starting with the 1994 model year, Toyota added an option for the
2TZ-FZE engine, which is equipped with a Roots-type
supercharger providing of boost, and an air-to-air intercooler, bringing the engine power up to a competitive with no penalty to fuel efficiency, which remained at an estimated for combined city/highway driving. • MY 1996: For the 1996 model year, the supercharged
2TZ-FZE became the standard engine. The United States version of the Previa was discontinued after the 1997 model year, replaced by the more traditionally designed,
front-wheel drive, US-designed and built,
Camry-based
Sienna.
United Kingdom The first
UK market Previas were sold in September 1990, with one trim level called GL with the eight-seat package, followed by the seven-seat uplevel GX (introduced in October 1993) and base GS (introduced in March 1995), retaining the GL as the mid-level model; limited edition models included the Solair I (July 1995, based on GX), Motiv-8 (February 1996, based on GS), Solair II (March 1996, based on GS), and Liber-8 (January 1997, based on GS). No diesel engine Previas were made for the UK market.
Netherlands The first generation Previa was marketed in the Netherlands between 1991 and 1994. In 1994, the supercharged or SC model was made standard on all Previas. The only engine available was a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine until 1995. Trim levels were base (later renamed to i denoting an injection engine), GL, GLi and GXi. The 2.2-liter diesel version was a popular
grey import.
Australia In
Australia, the van was marketed as the
Tarago, offered in GL/GLi, GLS and GLX forms with 7–8 passenger seating from launch in September 1990. In addition to the Australian market, there were various special edition models available, which varied in trim levels. These include the RV (either 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic with 4WD), commemorative
Rugby World Cup editions and Getaway. Feature-wise, all of the special edition models are marketed between the base GLi and GLX models. When the later-style update models were released in Australia, the top-of-the-line GLS model was renamed "Ultima" and the Getaway became a mainstay trim level, being renamed Getaway II. == Second generation (XR30/XR40; 2000) ==