Toyota Tarago 1990-1996: buyers guide

Graham ‘Smithy’ Smith reviews the Toyota Tarago 1990-1996, its fine points, its flaws and what to watch for when you’re buying it.

Before Toyota released the space age Tarago in 1990, peoplemovers were fairly crude devices based on commercial vans. The Tarago was the first purpose-built vehicle for those people who had a tribe to transport, one that had many of the attributes of a regular family sedan.
Today’s buyer has a number of capable peoplemovers to choose from, all decent vehicles to drive and with the safety needed to protect the family. Back when the Tarago was new the choice was limited.
MODEL WATCH
The smooth bubble-shaped Tarago arrived on the local market in 1990, replacing a model that was based on a Toyota van with all of the dodgy dynamics that were the norm in vans of that time.
The new series was purpose designed for the task of transporting people, which meant it came with few of the compromises that vehicles adapted from other models inevitably have.
Where the van-based peoplemovers were tall vehicles with a high centre of gravity, narrow track and a layout suited to carrying a payload, the Tarago had widely spaced wheels —one at each corner — and passengers sat low down and inside the track so they had a much lower centre of gravity. All that meant greater safety and stability, better dynamics, and much more comfort.
To help get the centre of gravity down Toyota laid the fuel-injected 2.4-litre double overhead camshaft four-cylinder engine flat under the floor. Access for checking the engine’s vitals was through the bonnet.
Peak power was 102 kW at 5000 revs, torque is tops at 208 Nm.
Toyota offered a choice of five-speed manual gearbox or electronically controlled four-speed auto trans, with a column shift and drive through the rear wheels. There was also the choice of a four-wheel drive model.
Inside, there was comfortable and flexible seating for eight. Access to the rear seats was through a kerbside sliding door, or a rear lift-up hatch.
At launch there was a choice of base GLi, four-wheel drive RV or luxury GLX models. GLi came with power steering, AM/FM cassette sound, tachometer, and central locking.
The GLX also had four-wheel discs, alloy wheels, a roof spoiler, front driving lamps, power windows and velour trim.
An upgrade in 1994 added cruise control, remote central locking and ABS to the list of GLX standard feature
ON THE LOT
Early Taragos will have up to 250,000 km showing on the odos so they need to be approached with caution; those from 1996 make the better buy with around 150,000 kays on the clock.
Pay $14,000 for an early GLi, $21,000 for a 1996 model. Add $500 for an RV four-wheel drive, $1500 for all the bells and whistles of the GLX.
IN THE SHOP
The Tarago’s body generally remains tight and taut in the long term, but look for bumps and scrapes that suggest neglect. Rear hatch struts can lose their lift after a while, but they’re easily re-gassed if needed.
Inside the Tarago had hard wearing trim and well made plastics so there’s little that goes wrong with them, but age will always take its toll so anticipate wear on high traffic affected items like seats.
The Tarago’s 2.4-litre engine was designed for low maintenance, important when the engine is laid flat under the floor and access is through the short bonnet.
To keep maintenance to a minimum the engine has a timing chain instead of a belt that would need changing on a regular basis.
It does, however, have long life spark plugs, which cost plenty when you do need to have them changed. Unfortunately it is such an awkward and time consuming job that many mechanics simply don’t do it.
Some owners report a mysterious overheating problem they say they can’t explain, but others claim they’ve found the problem is due to a broken baffle in the radiator that affects coolant flow.
Check the engine’s vital fluids to make sure they’re fresh and clean, a sign they’ve been regularly checked and changed as necessary.
A verifiable service record is a comfort when buying a used Tarago.
IN A CRASHMoving away from the old van layout meant much improved crash performance of peoplemovers, and the Tarago led the way with a reasonable crumple zone ahead of the cabin that was able to absorb much of the energy that is generated in a crash.
The GLX got a standard driver’s side airbag in 1993, which makes it the pick of the early models.
OWNERS SAY
Anne Dwyer and her family bought a 1992 Tarago eight years ago. It had done 90,000 km when bought and now has done 260,0000 km with no sign of trouble. Anne says she it has made transporting her family of five much easier. It is easy to get in to and out of, and there is plenty of room left for sporting gear, shopping, luggage or whatever needs to be transported.
John Eliezer brought a 1990 Tarago GLX for his wife, and rates it one of his best ever buys. It is used mostly as a driver-only vehicle, but is fantastic when the family moves about together and is very popular for school car pool runs. John’s plan was to keep it for four years and update it when the lease ran out, but it behaved and felt like new on its fourth birthday so it stayed and to date has stayed taut. Apart from normal service items it has had two starter motors and three sets of rear door struts.
Craig Power has owned a number of Taragos. With four kids of his own, and a steady stream of their friends, the Tarago was perfect family transport. The seating could be quickly reconfigured to take less passengers and more luggage as needed. His 1991 car did 100,000 km on LPG without a problem. In his view, the Tarago is fantastic transport for a large family.
Lindsay Taylor has a family of five and owns two Taragos, one of which is a 1993 Ultima purchased in 2004 and now has 196,500 km on the clock. Lindsay rates peoplemovers as the best format for transporting a family of five or more in comfort. Overall, he says the fuel consumption is quite reasonable at 12 L/100 km around town and about 10 L/100 km on a trip. Even though it is almost 12 years old it still compares favourably with more recent vehicles when it comes to driving position and passenger comfort.