proof that MPVs are genius

What is striking about the Toyota Proace City Verso (2024)?

Who would have thought that we would be driving a new MPV in 2024? Multi Purpose Vehicles were a huge success in the 90s, but with the introduction of the Nissan Qashqai the MPV was replaced by the crossover. Last year, more than half of all new cars in the Netherlands were such a sturdy model with a high seat.

But the Proace City Verso bravely holds its ground. It is available with five or seven seats and is powered by a three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with 110 hp or a 136 hp electric motor. Thanks to a recent facelift, it has its own face and looks less like its cousins ​​from Citroën, Opel and Peugeot. The collaboration with Stellantis began in 2016 and three years later the first Proace City followed. So it was also time for a makeover.

What’s good about the Toyota Proace City Verso facelift?

The Proace City Verso shows how practical a car can be. We swing up the huge tailgate, open the sliding doors and fold down the back seat. This creates a huge loading space of 3300 liters. It doesn’t matter whether you choose petrol or electricity, the boot is always that big. With this much space you can upgrade any hobby. Why limit yourself to collecting stamps when you can also collect postmen?

Then there are the typical MPV-like conveniences: the rear window swings open separately from the tailgate, which is handy in tight parking garages. The front passenger seat also folds flat, which creates even more cargo space. The second row of seats has airplane tables, so the fridge door is never short of coloring pages. And then there is the comfort and convenience of the high roof. Try stacking multiple moving houses on top of each other in the back of an SUV …

Although the Toyota Verso is derived from a van (the Proace City), it drives like a full-fledged passenger car. The roadholding is good, the cabin is quiet and the steering is light. So you don’t have to make any concessions in terms of driving comfort to have such a handy car at your disposal. Our electric test car drives very easily, because you don’t even have to change gears. There are paddles behind the steering wheel, but you use them to control the degree of regeneration. All petrol versions have a manual six-speed gearbox.

Also handy: under the 10-inch touchscreen is a physical button with a little car on it that takes you straight to the list of driver assistance systems. There you can easily silence the annoying speed warning.

What could be improved in the passenger version of the Proace City?

Thanks to a new electric motor, the range has increased by about 50 kilometers. That is a welcome addition, but it would have been even nicer if Toyota had also used the new 55 kWh Stellantis battery (net: 51 kWh).

Now you have to make do with 50 kWh (net: 45 kWh) and a WLTP range of 320 kilometers. That is meager when you look at the size of the batteries of similarly priced electric SUVs. For the same money you can drive a Nissan Ariya of Skoda Enyaq with more than 60 kWh and 400 kilometers.

Then there is the Stellantis issue. Toyota has provided input to give the Proace City Verso its own design and driving behaviour, but it is no secret who the ‘biological’ parents are. It doesn’t really matter which factory builds the car, because Toyota’s strict quality department oversees production and you simply get a 10-year warranty. But when we buy a Toyota, we want a car with as much Toyota content as possible.

What do you need to know about the price of the Toyota Proace City Verso?

The nicest restaurant in town is usually in a narrow alley on the second floor. If you want to buy a Proace City Verso, you will also have to look for it. It is part of the Toyota commercial vehicles. They will welcome you with open arms anyway.

A petrol Toyota Verso starts at €38,595 and the electric version is not much more expensive (from €41,995). And just like a company car, you can choose between the regular and the long version. We prefer to call it the ‘extended’ version, because then it sounds like you have a chauffeur and are driving a Mercedes S-class.

The Proace City Verso Electric is still eligible for EV subsidy, despite the link with Toyota commercial vehicles. When putting the car together, you have to be selective to keep the fiscal value below 45,000 euros. That means no seat heating and no airplane tables. Otherwise you can whistle for your 2950 euros in government support.

What do I think of the Toyota Proace City Verso Electric?

Take this MPV for a test drive with your family and you’ll be spoiled for space forever. Few SUVs have this much interior space. The Proace City Verso doesn’t have the same tough look, but I still think the dolphin snout is a big improvement.

Where the shoe pinches for me is the combination of price and range. The versions vary in price from 42 to 54 thousand (!) and you always get that relatively small battery pack of 50 kWh. For that much money, there should actually be more battery cells in it. Otherwise, Dutch families will just keep buying electric SUVs.