1995 Toyota Previa S/C review from North America

Sliding door bearing seized.

Valve cover and distributer oil seals leaked.

This is a really excellent family van. It's a pity Toyota abandoned this model in favor of the "follow the herd" Sienna.

The mid-engined/rear wheel drive configuration results in remarkably good handling for such a high profile vehicle. The steering is well balanced and there is minimal body roll. The supercharged engine offers plenty of power, even going up into the mountains. The problem with this is that the supercharger results in relatively poor gas mileage. I average around 17 miles to the gallon, granted I live in Tucson, AZ which means that ALL of my driving is city, with plenty of traffic and lots of starts and stops.

The driving position is truly excellent. The position is very high offering excellent visibility. The seat and steering wheel adjustment options means that it is easy to find a comfortable position.

The rear seats are roomy and comfortable. The rear air-conditioner is powerful, if a bit noisy. the only problems are a lack of rear lighting which was cured by purchasing some aircraft style reading lights from JCWhitney, and the fact that two of the five back seats only have lap belts.

The interior is extremely flexible, I love the third row seat design which allows them to be folded up flat against the side of the van so no appreciable cargo volume is lost by having to accommodate a folding seat, but they don't have to be removed completely. The second row seat must be removed and doesn't have rollers, but it is not that heavy and can be removed easily by two people or with a bit of difficulty by one. One minor quibble is that the floor seat anchors are not recessed which means that when I need to lay something flat on the floor I need to get out the wrench and remove them.

Overall this is an excellent van and there are some fantastic bargains to be had out there.