Last year, Toyota Motor Philippines made very subtle improvements to the sixth-generation Hiace. The upgrades were so minimal, you really had to take a good look at the van to notice them.

This gave us the impression that there wouldn’t be any new updates for the meantime. But a simple Google search reveals that the Japanese automaker has indeed made small but impactful upgrades for Hiaces headed to the land down under.

You’d have to be really eagle-eyed to notice it, but there are minimal changes done to the van’s exterior. Super long wheelbase (SLWB) van variants’ side mirrors are now finished in black. Additionally, those specced with barn doors now have two rear wipers.

There are more changes inside, but they aren’t that noticeable. Most cargo van variants—except the base long wheelbase (LWB) van)—now come with electronic parking brake.

There’s also a new seven-inch full-digital instrument cluster—a first for the Hiace—that displays vital vehicle information. There are nine driver-selectable displays to choose from, so you’ll find one that suits your taste.

There are also new functionalities that aren’t that obvious. Among them is the seamless operation of both the front and rear parking sensors, and the backup camera to help you maneuver the van in tight city streets and parking slots easily.

Toyota has also ditched the hydraulic power steering rack for electronic ones. This works hand in hand with Lane Trace Assist, one of the new features in the Toyota Safety Sense suite of advanced driver-assist systems added in the refreshed model.

Another is Safe Exit Assist, which alerts the driver or passengers of oncoming pedestrians, cyclists, or vehicles passing by, to avoid accidents when disembarking from the van. Adaptive cruise controls are available.

Manual-transmission models get a high-speed adaptive system, while automatic variants have full-speed adaptive cruise control functionalities. Finally, the Emergency Driver Support System monitors the driver’s attention while using cruise control.

Once a driver gets unattentive, the van will make audio and visual warnings, and will automatically turn up the hazard lights, slow itself down, and safely pull over to the curb.

Surprisingly, the first variants to get these updates are the cargo versions, with the Commuter and GL Commuter variants left untouched in this refresh cycle. But these additions aren’t cheap as the updated models are now A$2,994 (P112,000) more expensive than the ones they replace.

These features are expected to be introduced in upcoming Hiace refreshes for various markets. The question is, will Toyota Motor Philippines put the same features on local versions?

And if it does, will the new features only come with the Super Grandia and Super Grandia Elite variants? Most importantly, how will these possible upgrades affect the pricing of local units?

Let’s all wait and see what happens to our Hiaces in the future.