In 2001, Toyota introduced the Estima Hybrid Van for sale in Japan.

Image courtesy Toyota

It features a continuously variable transmission (CVT) combined with a 2.4 liter four cylinder engine, and 4WD.

It represents a further advance in hybrid design in that it uses two electric motors. One is in the front, as in a typical hybrid design. But there is a second in the rear, driving the rear wheels. This type of design is ideal for a four wheel drive arrangement. There is no driveshaft transferring power from the engine to the rear wheels, as in a conventional four wheel drive vehicle. This reduces vehicle weight and complexity.

Toyota Chief Engineer Shigeru Matsuhashi said: "We took our desire to create a vehicle like none before it and reflected it against the key automotive elements of 'environment', 'safety' and 'fun to drive'. We also realized that our new hybrid system was well-suited for a medium-size or large vehicle. The final product is a gleaming example of a leap in automotive evolution—the Estima Hybrid".

The Estima Hybrid takes advantage of the electrical power available in a hybrid. Standard home electrical devices, up to 1,500 watts, can be plugged in.

Other advanced features include a navigation and Electronic Toll Collection (ETC)-compatible multi-information display.

A "smart" air conditioner is used, which monitors humidity, to reduce the use of the air conditioner when possible, for greater fuel economy.

For 2006, Toyota updated the Estima Hybrid for the Japanese market. It's rated at the equivalent of 47 MPG in the Japanese test. The new model was built according to Toyota's Eco-Vas (Eco-Vehicle Assessment System). This reduces CO2 emissions at every phase of the vehicle's life cycle, including production and disposal. Careful use of materials means reduced volatile organic compounds (VOC), and toxic substances like mercury, lead and cadmium.

The van has an EV Drive Mode, which lets the driver run in purely electric mode, subject to the amount of charge in the batteries.

How well does a four cylinder hybrid move a van? According to Toyota's tests, the Estima Hybrid goes from 0 to 100km/h in 10.8 seconds (that's 0 to 62 MPH). That's pretty remarkable for a vehicle of this size that is so efficient.

The van is available with all wheel drive, with an electric motor driving the rear wheels. This eliminates heavy and complicated mechanical linkage used in most all wheel drive vehicles. VDIM (Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management),  is used, which Toyota says "stabilizes the vehicle before it reaches a critical state by coordinating control and achieving an optimum balance among drive power, steering and braking, thus allowing higher preventive safety and dynamic capability".

 All in all, another step forward in automotive design.