Toyota announced today that it has begun nationwide sales in Japan of the completely redesigned Estima minivan.

Toyota first launched the Estima in 1990. In 2001, it introduced a hybrid version of the Estima (only in Japan), and has sold about 27,000 of them, making it the second-highest selling hybrid in Toyota's lineup as of November of 2005.

The redesigned Estima offers a choice of a 3.5 litre V6 coupled with a new six-speed automatic transmission and a 2.4 litre inline-four coupled with a continuously variable transmission.

Toyota did not introduce a new hybrid version of teh van at this point, although it intends to put a redesigned hybrid version out for the Japanese market later this year. Toyota did, however, reveal a prototype of a new hybrid Estima at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2005.

The hybrid concept used a 2.4 litre engine with an updated version of Hybrid Synergy Drive using two independent electric motors (front and rear axles). The system delivers 1.5kW of power that can be used to external accessories, and exhaust heat recovery to warm up the engine or contribute to cabin heating.

Source: Green Car Congress