I'd vote for the Avanza simply because the engine is located in front. After driving an L300 for three years, I vowed never to get a car with the engine underneath the seat. It gets so dang hot! No offense to APV owners.

Also, I'm with sir userfriendly with the taxi thing. I drove an FX for a while (not as a taxi, of course) and I found it a plus that even blind beggars knew not to bother me. Of course, my girlfriend wouldn't get caught in it but that's another story. Anyway, the taxi units of the Avanza will surely be colored white (predominantly, anyway) so I'd just get the other colors, like the blue one.

Cheers!