It’s been a buoyant few years for Toyota nameplates of the past, between anticipated revivals and actual revivals. We already have a new Supra, the Land Cruiser nameplate is back in America, and rumors of a reborn Celica are flying so frequently, they’re racking up Star Alliance miles. While there’s no word on a new Paseo yet, possibly because the general public hasn’t even thought of the Paseo in decades, talk of a new Previa — known as the Estima in Japan — is heating up, and if this gossip results in anything, it should absolutely make it across the Pacific.
Japanese motoring outlet Best Car claims that Toyota is looking to revive the Previa as soon as 2026, and if that timeline’s to be believed, Toyota would have to be working on a new Previa right now. What’s more, one of the weirdest minivans sold in America is rumored to be making an electrified comeback, with a green twist on a classic concept. As per Best Car:
The platform is the e-TNGA, a BEV-only platform that first appeared on the bz4X. Like the bz4X, the motor output is 203ps/27.1kgm, and it can be set up as a one-motor FWD or two-motor 4WD (X mode). The driving range on a single charge is about 600km.
Another electric minivan would be a great addition to the world, but don’t bet on this powertrain just yet. This week, Forbes reported that a reborn Previa might not run entirely on electrons, stating that “One contact inside Toyota—who wishes to remain anonymous, suggests that engineers will opt instead for the GA-K platform that underpins the Crown, Camry and RAV-4, so it will cater to both BEV and PHEV options.” A plug-in hybrid for those who don’t want a battery electric vehicle makes sense, and the power of choice would be a beautiful thing. In addition, both Forbes and Best Car claim that a reborn Previa would sport unique styling, which makes sense considering the Previa was always a bit out-there compared to, say, North American minivans.
For starters, it looked like absolutely nothing else out there. A one-box silhouette and seriously rounded styling made it look like a 1,700-kilogram gel capsule, or as it’s commonly referred to, like an egg. What’s more, if you popped the hood, you wouldn’t find the engine, because that was located within the wheelbase, making the Previa truly mid-engined. Of course, the mid-engined layout meant that there wasn’t really room for a V6, so Toyota resorted to forced induction for anyone who wanted more thrust than a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine could provide. Add in the option of all-wheel-drive, and with the right boxes ticked, you could end up with a supercharged all-wheel-drive mid-engined minivan.
This is a truly bonkers combination that appealed to nerds like us, but didn’t steal as much market share from established American competitors as Toyota had hoped. For the 1998 model year, the Previa was replaced in North America with the far more conventional Sienna, a minivan that didn’t just achieve what Toyota aimed for, but eventually became one of the most desirable new vehicles in America with waitlists and markups. Crazy.
However, while the U.S.-market Previa was a bit niche in its day, outside of America, the Previa was a hit. In fact, much of the world got two whole generations that America never saw, although they both abandoned the first Previa’s unusual mid-engined layout in favor of running on the platforms of the Camry and Corolla respectively. I particularly dig the look of the third-generation model, partly because it’s sleek and partly because it looks more modern than it actually is. For instance, the 2006 model featured a general headlight silhouette similar to that seen on the 2014 Corolla. The third-generation model also marked the appearance of a hybrid powertrain on the Previa, which would set the stage for other electrified Toyota minivans like the current Sienna.
America wasn’t ready for the Previa when it debuted for the 1991 model year, but the kids of those who were weirded out by Toyota’s egg-shaped van absolutely love it. This ovoid people mover has become a certified cult classic, with a passionate owner base, and media appearances like being animated into “The Rugrats” and being central to the theme of jazz-influenced avant-garde metal duo Clown Core’s 2020 album “Van”. Okay, so the Previa’s also a car for the terminally online, but we’re firmly in the age of the Reddit parent, so being terminally online just means being part of the culture.
Beyond that, the only true electric minivan sold in America is the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, and while it cashes in on 1960s nostalgia, not everyone can relate to that swinging decade. For new parents in America today who could really use a minivan, those around the median age would’ve experienced at least some of the 1990s when they were children, and since ’90s nostalgia is an industry in itself, Toyota could totally cash in on it with a reborn Previa.
Put the drivetrain from a Prius Prime in it to make it a PHEV, put bZ4X motors and a large battery pack in it to make it a BEV, just slap the corporate 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder hybrid setup in it, the power doesn’t matter so long as it looks like an egg. Not only would it appeal to those looking to bring a bit of their childhood into their children’s childhoods, if the Sienna is any indication, Toyota wouldn’t have any trouble selling a new Previa. This town truly is big enough for the two of them.
[Hat-tip to Forbestheweirdo!]
(Photo credits: Toyota)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Toyota Should Absolutely Revive The Celica
-
Japanese Sporty Coupes Are About To Be So Freaking Back
-
The 2025 Toyota Sienna Gets A Vacuum And A Fridge, Is Officially Now A Studio Apartment
-
The Volkswagen ID.Buzz I Wanted Was Doomed From The Start
-
The Production Volkswagen ID Buzz Isn’t Quite The Retro EV Microbus The World Was Hoping For But It’s Still Great
Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!
Canoo believe that Toyota looked at the marketplace and decided there is a need for Egg-shaped vehicles?
The problem with Canoo was their product was vaporware and they didn’t produce more than 20 vehicles. It’s not that there isn’t a demand for a more realistic version of that idea.
True, true. More’s the pity, b/c so far they are the only ones to put the tv screen where it belongs: on the left. So that referring to it would be no different than checking your left mirror. It’s idiotic that everybody else forces the driver the have to add one more place to assess information (that is not the road ahead). Egg-shaped festishes aside, Canoo’s failure will be a loss for good design.
Fit that rascal with the drivetrain of the RAV4 Prime, give it a tad more battery and you’d sell it as fast as you could build it. Especially if it could be had in AWD like the RAV4.
Nah make it a mid engine prius prime. If it’s too heavy rav4 can be the basis.
Still see plenty of these driving around in Australia where they are named Tarago (The town of Tarago was originally known as Sherwin’s Flats, the town took the name “Tarago”, possibly an Aboriginal word meaning “country)These were Aussie rock bands staple tour ride in the 1990’s and I think they are still the best looking mini bus from peak Toyota.
When I was a teen, a friend had a Previa. It was a surprisingly comfortable road trip vehicle and got great mileage. The 2.4 had to rev a lot make power, but it was pretty smooth for its time.
As a parent, I had a Gen 2 Sienna, and now a Gen 3. I would never go with an SUV over a van, unless a behemoth for towing (I prefer my truck for that). Vans are just more suited with the low floors and sliding doors.
One of my adult kids would like a Mazda 5 with a stick shift, but a new Previa might fit the bill…
Stick shift Mazda 5 is an amazingly fun vehicle. Not fast, but my goodness the things it can do with that space and the small size. I loved mine. It was also the ultimate autoX course setting vehicle. Fill the back with cones and it is low enough that you can place them while inside the vehicle. Then run the course to set the time of embarrassment, spend the rest of the day pointing and laughing at the folks who got beat by a minivan. .
The third-generation stayed in production for 13 years. THIRTEEN YEARS!
I genuinely thought it would last forever.
What amazes me is how many 2nd-gen Siennas are still chugging. We have one, there are two more on our block and another around the corner. On the roads they’re everywhere.
Had a few of these come in my shop back in the day. Mid engine van with the engine laid over on its side..Only Toyota could have gotten away with that.. Fluid bottles under the mini hood in front! Take up the drivers seat to change the oil! Don’t get anything dirty! Techs didn’t like working on these vans..But like any other Toyota of that era with regular maintenance would go 200+ k miles. The Easter Egg !
As a companion to the Hellcat Town and Country, how about a Previa with a flat 12 from a Porsche 917 or Ferrari 312?
I hope this comes back! Minivans are always the answer.
My brother had a first-year Previa, t-bonded in the first week of ownership. Repaired and used it for years. I obtained it from his estate after he died and I loved it. I could turn the rear seats to go limo-style and the teens loved it. Fold up the rear seats for a huge cargo space. We finally wore it out at 250k miles and sold it. Great van. If it have been the AWD version, I would have kept it. A new PHEV one would be great!
How about an RHD version? The other side of my main road is served by rural mail carriers who currently drive the Toyota Estima Luce which is the narrow body flavor of the JDM Previa.
Just give us the JDM Minivans
As the owner of a Sienna hybrid and an AW11, there’s one mid-engine Toyota I’d like to see revived first, and it ain’t the Previa…
Yeah, I don’t get the hype for this one. Sure, it’s got forced induction and is mid-engined, but not in an interesting way, more like a garbage truck way. It’s not for handling purposes; it’s for packaging purposes.
Cool, so it’ll be $60,000 for the base model and $75,000 for a fully loaded one, perfectly out of the price range of the people who could use it.
add some dealer mark-up, maybe some useless dealer installed options and $75k will be a bargain.
I would think there might be a market for a cargo variant of a BEV minivan, for similar reasons that there is demand for larger EV vans. Might help share the costs, too.
“you could end up with a supercharged all-wheel-drive mid-engined minivan.”
And top top it off..the Previa was also available with a manual.
But not with the supercharger. The manual was removed from the lineup the same year the supercharger became available.
Not saying that you were saying it was – just a pet peeve of mine I sometimes see in comment sections on Previas, where people get all “AWD manual supercharged minivan!!“
But the fact the 2 models where so close temporally does suggest it wouldn’t be hard to roll your own… I wonder if anyone has ?
I have to think someone has tried. Aftermarket often finds a way…only hurdle would be if the manual can handle the power but I suspect the manual was offered in heavier duty applications in other Toyotas. Now that they’re well past the 25 year import rule finding a JDM Estima diesel is probably the easier route for a “grail searcher.”
I forget that you folks have to wait for your JDM, Here in the UK we get them much earlier, My Skyline was only 5 when imported here and 10 when I bought it.
However I haven’t seen any of these old Previas on the roads in years. I feel like Nissan Serenas outnumbered them for some reason.
As I remember it, you could have the supercharger or all wheel drive, but not both since the supercharger occupied the same space as the front differential, sort of like a Potvin supercharger, or a blower Bentley
Still, a minivan with the same layout as a 1950s Indy roadster (mid engine laid over sideways) or pre 1955 Mercedes Grand Prix car and 1950s sci-fi styling, I still want one.
They are pretty scarce in the ground, not cheap either.
I cannot express how much I want this. I want a PHEV van that doesn’t come from Chrysler. I can’t convince my wife that we could make the id Buzz work, but when I pitched this to her last night she agreed fully. If this makes it to production, I will be first in line! Well not really, but I will be somewhere in the line and unless Toyota botches it (see also bz4x), I will be getting one.
The Previa left an early impression on my as a kid, I remember one all the way back in the preschool pickup line. That was a little before the kids show Gullah Gullah Island came out which featured one as the family car; years later I rented Carpool from Blockbuster specifically because of the Previa on the cover. I remember the sunroof having a cameo, but I think they cut it in as it was maybe a DX per the pics on IMCDB, not an authentic LE with the dual moonroofs.
I think people could have looked past the weird if the Previa didn’t cost so much for what it was. By 1997 a Previa started at ~$25k which would buy you a better equipped, larger Chrysler van, with a smoother V6, that didn’t recommend premium gas. Sure a Camry cost more than a domestic sedan too, but Chrysler vans were well-reviewed.
While they wouldn’t have that issue now, I‘m not sure what this would really do for Toyota…
I think the right move is for Toyota to bring this to the world as a Subaru.
Subaru could use a little injection of quirk back into the brand. And an AWD van would do well with the adventure crowd that loves their Outbacks, but needs something with more space.
I agree a Subaru van would make sense. Even van-averse buyers would be more open to one from Subaru one if they wanted/needed more than the Ascent, and Subaru styling can overcome some van styling. The Carnival’s styling does seem to get it more of a look than prior generations of Kia vans.
But then – what’s the point of it being related to Previa? Seems like restyling a Sienna Woodland would achieve the same effect for them.
My favorite van of all time. Be great if Toyota could get a new one ready for release by Easter.
+1 for Clowncore.
Louis Cole’s other band Knower is fucking incredible too.
yeah, no. Its not that it wouldn’t be cool, but I don’t put any faith into these rumors.
I drove the Previa’s predecessor, the ‘Van’, from 97-04 when I was a dirtbag climber and it remains the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. Mine was a cargo version that I bought from a drywaller in Calgary, and after a bit of refurbishment it was basically a living room on wheels, light and maneuverable with the 22R engine from the HiLux; you could drive it pretty much anywhere.
I’ve yearned for its more refined offspring ever since but every Previa I’ve seen for sale has been just too worn out and dodgy, plus the mileage from the V6 was apparently abysmal.
Now that I’m older and can maybe afford nice things, a hybrid neo-Previa would be a dream come true.
It would be nice if Toyota basically gave us what we wanted from VW with it’s 20 year tease that was the id buzz. A van with funky style and great versatility with a modern powertrain.
Toyota seems to be hitting a lot of little enthusiast niche markets the last few years that other manufacturers have left empty. Small RWD coupe? check. 300hp AWD hot hatch? check. Mid-size BOF SUV? check.
Wouldn’t surprise me for them to fill another niche.
Funny how Toyota vans attract dirtbag climbers. I know a few rocking Siennas right now
The Honda Element seems popular too, though if it was me right now I’d go for one of those Ram trademaster vans, they look so cool and you can stand up inside.
I don’t get the Element fetish. I think its looks go a long way. My buddy just upgraded from a Sienna to a Chevy Express. I think I’d rather have something to stand up in too.
Another pain in the rump to work on. Ever change a water pump on one of these? Just saying.
Lol, Clown Core rules.
A better rolling egg would be totally EV.
I will do dirty, unspeakable things, for a PHEV AWD minvan