The Toyota Previa Is the Weirdest Minivan Ever 

Lamborghini huracan: 780k views. Toyota MiniVan: 3.2m views😂🔥

Doug finally got around to reviewing his own car.

This had HUGE sentimental value to my family growing up in the 90s. My family had migrated from Vietnam in the 80s to start their lives anew after the Vietnam war and live the American Dream. The Previa was a HUGE icon for my family's humble beginnings. On my mom's side of the family, she had three sisters who lived on the SAME street with their families and they each owned their own Toyota Previas: a white one, a tan one, and a dark red one. It was my first taste of Americana, being first generation born in America with migrant parents. It is a GOAL of mine to purchase one in the future.

My family bought a white one new in 93. I called it the egg, and I believe the official color name was eggshell. It wasn't supercharged but it was rear wheel drive, and had a moon roof over the front seats and a pretty big sunroof in the back. I learned to drive in it and drove it to high school and college. We sold it at 312,000 miles but I do miss it. Big nostalgia

Finally a proper supercar and not those crappy Ferraris.

"yo, pop the hood!" *flips driver seat*

My grandparents ,my aunts family and my family all had one of these. Grew up in Alabama. Our three families took many road trips to TX. Just imagine three space orbs traveling down I-10

I remember when I worked as an oil change tech at a drive-thru shop we had a Previa come in. The driver refused to get out of his seat (he seemed surprised that the filler cap was under it) when it came time to add new oil, so I had to stand there filling it up while he stayed in his seat all reclined and half folded. It was almost as awkward as his van.

As “weird” as the car might be, i think modern age vans should really look into bringing back the swivel seats. Those look amazing!

I love it when Doug reviews 90s-2000s economy cars

This is not a weird car. I remember this as a child. WE LOVE IT. Its futuristic, the seating can be optioned to sit like a plane, it has backseat AC adjustable. This was an awesome van.

I love the design of the Previa. In my opinion it was one of the most beautiful Minivans ever made.

If Doug DeMuro were a car, it would be a Toyota Previa.

It’s 2:05 AM, I have to wake up at 6:30, and I’m watching a Toyota Previa review.

"Remember if you get in the van you cant turn back" -Saul Goodman

Is it just me or is it more entertaining to watch videos of cars like this then it is to watch things like lambos, farrarris or even bugattis? Edit: WOAH thanks for all the likes!!!! :)

Doug is the type of person who holds a business conference inside a 1997 Toyota Previa while his parents drive him and his business partners around.

Doug is like one of those people who break into a car and only steal the owners manual

I *loved* my Toyota Previa when I had one years ago. It always got a second look from anyone who saw it. To quote a friend who sat in the driver's seat to check it out: "This thing looks like Star Trek in here!!" Funny Previa story: Moved back to my home state, post-divorce, with the Previa loaded with 3 kids, 2 cats, 1 dog, and all the luggage we could fit without squishing the kids and/or pets. Took the Previa in for an oil change at the local quick-change place. The following 45-minute scenario occurred: Me: Here for an oil change. You're going to need me to get out - I'll wait over there. Mechanic: No, no, ma'am - you stay in the vehicle. Me: You sure? You *really* do need me to get out for this. Mechanic: No - you stay in the car. Me: ..... ok...... Mechanic: (looking under hood, rummaging around....calls 2nd guy over...both are now looking, rummaging around...) Mechanic: Ma'am, where's the manual? Me: (handing over the manual) Want me to get out now? Mechanic: NO. Stay in the car. Me: (grinning) Ok..... Mechanic: (paging through manual, mumbling, calls THIRD and FOURTH mechanic over, now 4 guys are under the hood) Mechanic: Ma'am, we've never seen one of these before. We don't even know how much oil to put in it. And where the hell is the dipstick?? Me: (smiling sweetly) I'm sitting on it. Would you like me to get out NOW?? I had to get out and show them where the dipstick & oil fill were (under the front seat).

Hilarious; brings back memories. My parents had one of these. We use to call it the “Dino egg” Thing was bullet proof, we drove it the snow in the north east, then moved to Florida, then moved to California. It held up like a champ; until 176k miles it had an oil leak my dad kept ignoring lol and one day it leaked enough to where as soon as he got home and parked it caused a fire and the whole thing burned 🔥 to flames in the driveway.

Having owned a previa for over 20 years now I can say you found about half of the odd features. First you don't add or check the oil under the seat unless you are changing the oil. There is a oil tank under the hood. The car monitors the oil level in the engine and if needed pumps some in. It looks like a washer bottle but has big OIL labels. Next serious engine access is done by taking out the passenger seat, pealing back the carpet and removing most of the hump. In 300,000 miles I have done this once to replace the 25 year old valve cover gasket that was beginning to leak. Odd thing is that you know it is time to do that bit of maintenance by smell. Being a lay down flat 4 banger toyota put a small channel under the valve cover so that when the rubber got old enough to leak the oil would drip into the channel and be directed back onto the catalytic converter where it is burned off. preventing drips under the car. Never seen anything like that outside racing regulations. The engine also has drive shafts running out both the front and back of the engine. Back to the transmission but the front shaft runs to the front of the car where a pulley assembly runs the alternator, AC compressor, power steering pump, and supercharger (in those fancy models). This puts all of those accessories where you can get at them. I have the bench middle seat which can also be turned around. We took several cross country trips that way. Kids faced each other and could watch movies and play games together. It also left enough room for 2 medium sized coolers between the bench and the front seats. The bench was also easier to remove than the captains chairs. This left just over 8 feet of dead flat cargo space. Nice for sleeping, moving pianos (several times), and 4X8 seats of plywood and sheet rock. (Too many to count) Moving the seats also leave nice hooks on the floor that work well as tie down points, which I have used to move the occasional motorcycle. (and said piano) You mentioned towing. Which it does surprisingly well. Better than my 4 runner and another toyota pickup. I think it has to do with the smaller wheels and long wheel base being more stable. Mine being a 1991 model it doesn't have "no stinking airbags". This give this car the most cavernously huge glove box in history. the spring loaded hatch opens upwards leaving a bucket big enough to fit to put a full face helmet in, with room to spare. Being the product of the 90's Star Trek the next generation styling we have always referred to our previa as the "Space Potato", but the swoopy dash has a function. It moves the center controls back far enough that you can reach them without shifting or stretching. You have heard good thing about reliability? Quite the understatement. While living in the southwest desert heat has done a number on some of the plastic pieces. This van is truly unkillable. Look around a bit and you find examples approaching 1,000,000 miles. While we have moved on to a newer, more modern nick nacky, and much more maintenance heavy Odyssey, we keep the Previa around as our utility and teenager vehicle.

Doug the type of guy to fly accross the country to drive a minivan

this was my family and i's family car growing up as kids so it's extremely nostalgic for me. It could and would survive pretty much anything you threw it at it. Still going strong after 30 years of regular use. Great car.

This is one of the best road trip cars ever

Doug the type of guy to hold the door open for himself and then say thank you

The owner returned after three hours to find Doug had spent the entire time spinning around in the captains chairs to sexy saxophone music and banjo bluegrass.

My family had one of these throughout most of my childhood. Considering how old and beaten up it was,I’d say it was the toughest vehicle we ever owned. One of most funny problems we had with it was that the sliding door would fall off completely if you slammed it too hard.

These are the best mini vans ever. I sold my last one ('93) with 410,000km on it, and it was still running years later after doing trips to the Yukon, I'll also add that I cried when I sold it. It took me through so many phases of my life and went on so many great adventures, including going down and back up a mountain forest road that a lot of 4x4's wouldn't do. (I'll admit it was a bit sketchy) I'm about to buy another, and I will never ever sell it. I will drive it til it drops. There's another youtube video out there where a guy (that owns a hummer and other fancy sports cars) calls it the best mini van ever built.

that turning chair is perfect to become a Previa Door Gunner

"She's not giving me road-head, shes just checking the oil..."

Another bit of 'weirdness' was the auxiliary drive shaft to also connect the various moving parts in the front of the van. On the whole, fun rig, if a bit underpowered, and actually I dug the kinda futuristic 'Jetsons' vibe, plus you could also fit a full-size BMW motorcycle in back in a pinch!

My friends parents had one of these, the week after they got it we drove to Myrtle Beach, I thought it was so cool since it looked so different. Even at 12, I loved cars, whether fast or slow, they all catch my interest! Thank you for this Doug! 👍

Doug is the type of person to read car manuals to make his children fall asleep

Doug, the type of guy who makes me watch a 23 minute video about a Minivan

Here in Australia, this is used to haul around a family of large islanders.

Parents had a Toyota Tarago (which was based off the Previa, if not completely identical). Bought in 1990, retired in 2017 with over 900,000kms on it. Thing was indestructible - circumnavigated and criss-crossed Australia at least 10 times. Sometimes with a full trailer load or a boat. It went on proper “4WD” only trails, climbed sand dunes and crossed mud flats and deserts. It was still working when it retired. Dashboard design makes sleeping in the front with your feet up (as a passenger) very comfortable.

Doug the type of guy to teach his Uber/Lyft drivers their vehicle's quirks and features.

Doug is the type of guy to cut himself off mid-sentence to insert the screen "Can I film a video with your cool car?"

I never thought about owning a van and now I kinda want this.

Ive always appreciated the design of this van, at least from 21 on. I was cutting grass one summer, was walking backwards up the curb of a yard blowing the clippings off the street. Before I knew it I was flying through the air. Thinking one of the guys I was working with was horsing around trying to tackle me, my initial thought was to break out of it. Before I knew what was really going on I landed on my feet, the blower in my hand swung back around and slammed off the bumper of a van. Here the driver had been reading the paper on the steering wheel, sending me flying. So, thank God it was this van and not something else. Or I probably wouldn't be writing this 21 years later.

My family had a Gold Previa just like this one. One of the things I miss the most is listening to the rain on the roof when we were parked somewhere. I loved that old van and I curse the deer that destroyed it.

As a kid, that would've been awesome to roadtrip in. Even the front passanger seat has a literal desk for a laptop or food from a drive-thru. So luxurious. Exactly what a minivan ought to be.

This was my first ever Doug DeMuro video. 4 months ago in quarantine. I’ve been hooked ever since. Love your videos!

I think with those twisty captain's chairs, you can easily play Dungeons and Dragons while you're on a road journey

A supercharged, mid-engined minivan. Definitely a 10/10 for cool factor

The thing I love about Doug is the not only does he review crazy super cars. but he also reviews wierd old cars like this and somehow makes it super interesting.

Hi Doug I have fond memories of the Toyota Previa when I was growing up in New Zealand in the 90s we called them the Toyota Estima and in Australia, they were called Toyota Tarago's The Difference was the Estima was built and sold in Japan only and then imported into New Zealand and Australia and the Tarago was the same van but built for Australia and New Zealand markets with everything translated in English and a lot fewer features. The Tarago's and Estima's took minivans to a whole new level of weird with the last models featuring the 2GR-FE making 274 hp and with the sports ECU and upgraded fuel pump from the v6 Camry could get up to 300 hp. I currently own a Toyota Estima Hybrid 2009 with a 2AZ-FXE engine coming straight from the Toyota Camry hybrid and boy this thing moves. A lot of people misjudge the van as a slow soccer mum van and get a shock when they realise I'm leaving them behind doing more than 100mph plus and no I don't mean 100km this van can do over 160kms quite comfortably and safely. It definitely has all the weird stuff the original Previa has and you can tell where its roots are. Wish you could do a review on it if you are ever in Australia or New Zealand ill be happy to show you one

My parent had one of these when I was a kid. It was a actually fairly nice and held up really well. It didn't do hills well though - I remember my dad backing up a driveway in the mountains as he was getting more traction in reverse.

"Doug, the type of guy to read his kids an owner's manual for a bedtime story."

Doug is the type of guy to drive a supercharged minivan

My family had a 1st generation Previa (the boxy one from the 80’s) I cant believe they kept the mid engine into the 90’s. My mom always thought that was so weird and was worried about it overheating right underneath her. Also, in that generation, the battery was in the passenger compartment of the rear area, just behind the drivers seat. Accessed through the carpet.

It actually looks so comfy back there.

My parents have owned two of these, and still use the second one, which got voted “Coolest Ride” in my sister’s high school senior year book.

Doug the type to get great food service at a restaurant and not tip because the waiter/waitress didn't explain the quirks and features of each dish.

I drive a 2005 toyota estima (basically a successor of this one) and I I wish you would review it as well. I loved it. it feels like you are piloting a space ship.

The weirdest thing about this minivan was the price. I can remember my dad and me looking for a new minivan when I was a kid, and every midrange minivan was around $20k or so. The Previa was like almost double that.

Damn. The previa is living in 2048 with the rotating seats

Hot damn so many gold nuggets missed: The engine is a dry sump set up. The oil reservoir is found under the hood. Speaking of the hood, under there one would find all the accessories mounted on a giant bracket that was operated by a driveshaft bolted to the front crankshaft pulley. A PTO basically. Toyota called it SADS: "Supplemental Accessory Drive Sys". It was one of the few common failure items, and an expensive fix. The S/C was only available on 93-97 US Previas. The supercharger also used an AC compressor like electric clutch. So it could be turned on and off depending on load demands. The S/C was also available in RWD. AWD was also available on N/A vans. The engine is virtually mounted flat. Middle captain's chairs were an option. Bench seats were standard. Dual moon roofs were an option. With the front being powered, and the rear being the typical pop up/removable glass. An expensive and rare option. The first gen was facelofted and still sold in Japan into the early 2000's. The Previa badge continues to live on as a Minivan in Japan to present day. It is arguably the greatest minivan ever made. That is all.

My mom had this car and sold it 15 years later at 250,000 miles. Us kids loved the turnaround back seats. That was an awesome car.

One of the last cool & unique minivans. Love the Starship Enterprise dash and the spinning seats. You can turn them back and camp out by the beach or play around on the floor. The side lifting 3rd row is cool too and the latest car to have that was the Honda Element in the 2000's. In the 1st generation Sienna that followed, Toyota messed up the 3rd seats and they were just there blocking cargo room unless you took the whole things out. Then in the 2nd gen Sienna they flipped into the floor which was easier and more practical. Cool factor and uniqueness was gone for good though in a lot of cars after the 90's.

doug the type of guy to scare himself trying to scare someone else

Only Doug can make a 90s minivan video entertaining.

8:22 I love when Doug adds little segments like this.

My family had the base model of the previa when I was growing up. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Doug!

When Doug says "... but I'm not done yet" I get the same tiny little dopamine hit I used to get back during the 90s when the announcer would say "but wait, there's more!"

A minivan review is trending on RU-vid!! Lol

Keep reviewing these 80s and 90s cars! Love them.. brings back memories

I think a Toyota Previa is probably a awesome minivan and the second rows seats can rotate and face forwards and backwards and there is a lever under the seat to open the fuel cap and I think the minivan just haves some good gimmicks!

Those rotating seats never saw this much action UNTILL now

The previa is the automotive equivalent to a fanny pack.

Family cars like these really did define my childhood in the early 2000s. My dad had a 1st gen Toyota Previa (it's called Estima where I live) during those years and I was still a child then. He owned it throughout my primary years up until I reached middle school and I had a lot of memories being in that big van, jumping around as kids do and was quite amazed at how big and spacious it was! I especially loved the tea and bread shelf it had on the passenger seat. But he eventually swapped it with a Corolla Altis. I really do miss that van and I barely see Toyota Previas (Estimas) in the street now, well the first generation ones anyway.

there was absolutely nothing wrong with or “weird” about the Previa. My family owned a 1994 model purchased new and we loved it. The only feature we considered remotely odd was the way the third row seating had to be strapped to either side when not in use. Otherwise it was a great vehicle which replaced our 1984 Toyota Tercel wagon - quite a step up in size and comfort.

The swivel seat is actually kinda cool. My dad swore by the previa because it had a timing chain instead if a belt. Apparently it could last forever. I think it's still alive somewhere after all this time.

I worked on a movie in the early 90s which "starred" a Previa. They weren't even available to the public yet but we got a bunch from Toyota for the production. We rolled them, crashed them through walls and windows, jumped them, submerged them. We were stunned by how durable they were. By the way the movie was a Ton Arnold POS called "Carpool". If you want to waste 90 minutes of your life for a 1 minute mall chase sequence in which a Previa gets some major air, now you know how.

This would have been a great minivan for the taxi industry back then. I think the Previa actually was used in the taxi industry back in the day.

“Kids if you don’t shut up back there I’m gonna check the oil”

I'm 28 and I remember this van. This is what makes this channel great.

I grew up in a family with this exact model. More Fun facts: -We did actually play card games in the back while facing each other using a cooler as a table. It worked pretty well -The supercharger is actually in front of the engine driven by a shaft and is not mounted to the engine at all -On humid days in the summer the roof air unit would drip water on backwards facing second row occupants -If you take out the second row seats, the back is the exact size of an 4x8 sheet of plywood -Related to lumber you can fit full length small diameter pvc pipes along the sides of the car from the back into the passenger foot well -Even if the car was locked, if you yanked hard on the sliding door, it could still open. -We did tow with it but we think that extra stress is what made the engine block crack which is how it died

So good!! One of the more (perhaps most) entertaining and funny reviews. Well done sir, well done 👍

Worst crash testing results of any mini van in the history of mini vans

Doug the type of guy to play card games in back of a minivan.

17:44 Yes Doug, sticking your tongue out helps you reach farther

I am actually picking up a low mileage, one owner, beautiful pearl white 93 LE on Sunday. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. I never thought i'd feel that way about a mini van LOL

0:47 and before the Previa, if you wanted a minivan, you got the Toyota Van (yes, that was the name Toyota gave their first minivan in the 80's). And the park in brake on the driver's side of the car: there could be another reason why they did that. It could be because Toyota also offered this car with a manual transmission, and they didn't want to fit four pedals on the floor, or they didn't just know how to do it. In 1998 the Sienna came as automatic only with a column shifter, so the parking brake became a pedal in the driver's side footwell. Eventually the RX300/Harrier got the same style of parking brake, then the Sequoia and Highlander, then the Camry and Avalon, and the Lexus LS and ES. The other models got a regular parking brake lever in the middle of the car until 2010 when the GX got the floor mounted parking brake pedal.

how did i spend 23 minutes watching an old minivan

Doug is a soccer mom now

This vehicle is worthy of a cult following. This, the Chevy Astro, and a VW Bus are probably my top three favorite mini vans. I’m glad that vans in general are kinda making a comeback. As a kid in the 80’s, they were my favorite kind of vehicle. Maybe because of the A-Team, I don’t know.

4:19 Me: what the hell? Toyota: Yes we are American we use all of the American shortcomings! SEE?! SEE?!

Doug the type of guy to film 7 seconds of the video in a beautiful and scenic location, and the rest in the suburbs.

Doug is the type of guy to help his ex girlfriend move her stuff into her new boyfriend’s apartment

fond memories of this van, mom being unable to make a left turn without an advance green light because it takes 15 full seconds to pull out of a red light, and getting stuck for hours multiple times each winter, with winter tires on slightly icy hills in the mild-to-kinda-bad winters of PA. filling the trunk with as many bricks as we could each winter just to get any traction with the rear wheel drive. we clearly did not have the fancy '97 model.

I always love when Editor Doug cuts off Video Doug. It's like "Ok. Mr. Rambler, time to shut up."

The type of guy who reviews a 21-year old Toyota minivan... and we watch it for some reason.

I miss the excellent visibility of cars in the 90s

One of the best Doug videos IMO Please review a 2nd/3rd gen Toyota Previa.

When I lived in Japan, I used to have one of these. I flipped over with it, literally! Over ten years ago.

Broken vent!!! It's totaled!

Mid engined, RWD, supercharged and seats 7. The 90s were great times.

I live in Quebec, and i've seen Toyota Previas still on the road more than anywhere else

when my dad takes me to school and the seat is swiveled, i always think im a celeb