The Toyota Proace is embracing the great outdoors with two models that would make for pretty cool basecamps. Toyota featured a few camper models at the 2021 Caravaning expo in Barcelona, Spain, which wrapped up this past Sunday.
These Proace campers are modern vans, but are also really just a riff on the formula enthusiasts have sought out for decades. They pair a diesel drivetrain with a manual transmission. Of course, I’m referring to enthusiasts abroad because the Proace (in any guise) is not sold on the American market.
Drivers can opt for a 1.5-litre inline four-cylinder, or a 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder, both diesels. Buyers can then choose between a six-speed manual transmission, or an eight-speed automatic. There’s no four-wheel drive, though; these are 2WD only. That limits how far the vans can go off-road, but it shouldn’t limit their appeal.
The vans start as either a Proace Verso or Proace City and are modified by Spanish outfitter, Tinkervan. They’re turned into what Toyota calls the Proace Verso Camper and the Proace City Mini Camper.
Tinkervan replaces the stock roof with a rooftop tent that’s built into the body of the standard Proace Verso and adds an awning, too. Tinkervan also adds rotating seats, a 40-litre fridge, and even a modular kitchen with a sink, and a single stovetop burner.
The sink comes with a 12V water pump and a water-exchange system. There’s a propane tank, too, with its own compartment.
The Proace City doesn’t get the whole kitchen sink but will still sleep up to four people, two in the rooftop tent and two in the cabin on a modular bed. Proace City owners will have to reach the tent through the outside using a ladder.
The Proace City is a much smaller camper than the Proace Verso, but the City could still make for a decently comfortable basecamp. It even gets a 30-litre fridge and a basic water system.
Folks in Spain can buy these from Toyota, despite the conversions coming from a third-party. The Proace City Mini Camper starts at €27,547, or about A$42,685, while the Proace Verso Camper starts at €39,699, or about A$56,824.
The article has been retimed since its original publication.