Originally a Hino Truck Division product in 1968, Toyota’s Hilux has become a dominant global player in the compact pick-up market. Launched in Thailand and Australia in 2015, the latest eighth of the line reached Europe this year.
HiLux, as we know it, is not on sale in North America, Korea or India but is practically everywhere else and has built a reputation as a tough, dependable 4x4 light truck. It is Toyota’s second best selling vehicle (18 million total to date) after the Corolla (40 million).
VW Amarok and renewed Isuzu D-Max in 2011/2012 made an impact offering much improved comfort and refinement. Ford’s Ranger was first to respond and a new L200 from Mitsubishi came in 2015. Last year year saw a new Nissan Navara followed by Toyota HiLux VIII. Ranger has been the No.1 best seller here throughout 2015.
HiLux, as we know it, is not on sale in North America, Korea or India but is practically everywhere else and has built a reputation as a tough, dependable 4x4 light truck. It is Toyota’s second best selling vehicle (18 million total to date) after the Corolla (40 million).
VW Amarok and renewed Isuzu D-Max in 2011/2012 made an impact offering much improved comfort and refinement. Ford’s Ranger was first to respond and a new L200 from Mitsubishi came in 2015. Last year year saw a new Nissan Navara followed by Toyota HiLux VIII. Ranger has been the No.1 best seller here throughout 2015.
SsangYong’s Korando Sports (now Musso) was first to market with a multi-link back axle and independent rear suspension. Headline item this year was Nissan doing the same – first major player to take the step albeit for Double Cab models only. More workaday variants retain a solid beam axle with semi-elliptic (leaf) springs.
With both Renault and Mercedes versions of the (for Europe) Barcelona-built Navara imminent this is bound to influence the market. Ride and roadholding improvements to match the car-like interiors demanded by private buyers with an “SUV mindset” can only go so far without a deeper re-think of chassis engineering.
But proper pick-ups must retain working vehicle capability. Classic body-on-frame (separate chassis) construction and solid back axles provide the payload and towing capacity required. Selectable four-wheel drive with both high and low ratio gearing via a transfer box complete the “heavy duty” picture. Navara yields nothing to the competition though: payload well over 1t and maximum braked towing weight 3.5t.
Toyota decided to stick with the traditional formula but conduct a ground-up renewal. A stronger and wider underbody aids stability, suspension is reworked, a six-speed gearbox replaces the five-speed and a 2.4-litre 150ps diesel engine is also new. It replaces the 2.5/3.0 units here but delivers more torque “in low to medium speed ranges”.
Elsewhere a broad range of engines exist (2.0 to 4.0 V6) but, as with Nissan and Isuzu here, Toyota stays with one. Mitsubishi offers two versions of its 2.4 Diesel, Ford’s Ranger a 2.2 or 3.2 (five-cylinder) whereas VW’s Amarok is a 3.0 V6.
New HiLux line-up: Active (Single, Extra & Double Cab); Icon (DC); Invincible (DC) and Invincible X (DC). A 6-speed autobox is available (apart from Active) at £1,500 (VAT paid). The six-speed manual remains the obvious choice and thankfully a proper mechanical handbrake has been retained – both invaluable in adverse conditions.
As before (and all the competition apart from Mitsubishi’s extra-cost ‘Super-Select’) high ratio 4x4 drive is for use on snow/ice and off-road. This and low ratio 4x4 is selectable via an electric switch rather than the previous lever. Normal driving is rear wheel drive. (One variant of the Amarok offers full-time 4x4 but it’s H/R only.)
Apart from a mechanical rear diff-lock the vehicle’s braking and stability electronics adapt for on/off-road providing Active Traction, Downhill Assist and Trailer Sway Control. ‘Toyota Safety Sense’ is a tech-pack detecting vehicles and pedestrians, alerts the driver and applies the brakes if no response. It also warns if the vehicle drifts across lane markings (unless indicator’s on) and flags up road signs such as speed limits. Standard on Invincible/Invincible X; £525 extra on Active and Icon.
Since a high proportion are still sold as working vehicles the aim has been to retain the core Hilux attributes of durability, off-road credibility, payload/towing capacity while offering enough refinement to attract those after an SUV alternative. It does drive and ride much better than before but remains a brick-solid pick-up proposition.
Facts & Figures: Price range £19,177-£28,185 (excl VAT) or £22,955-£33,765; 106 mph; 0-62mph 12.3secs*; 36.2mpg (official combined)*; 28.2 (Trip Computer average); CO2 204g/km*; Road Tax £230 (1st yr); Insurance Grp 8-10; MaxBTW 3.2-3.5t; (*D/C auto on test. Man g/box: 12.8secs; 40.4mpg; 185g/km.)
By Huw Thomas
First published in Welsh Farmer, the newspaper of the Farmers' Union of Wales.
With both Renault and Mercedes versions of the (for Europe) Barcelona-built Navara imminent this is bound to influence the market. Ride and roadholding improvements to match the car-like interiors demanded by private buyers with an “SUV mindset” can only go so far without a deeper re-think of chassis engineering.
But proper pick-ups must retain working vehicle capability. Classic body-on-frame (separate chassis) construction and solid back axles provide the payload and towing capacity required. Selectable four-wheel drive with both high and low ratio gearing via a transfer box complete the “heavy duty” picture. Navara yields nothing to the competition though: payload well over 1t and maximum braked towing weight 3.5t.
Toyota decided to stick with the traditional formula but conduct a ground-up renewal. A stronger and wider underbody aids stability, suspension is reworked, a six-speed gearbox replaces the five-speed and a 2.4-litre 150ps diesel engine is also new. It replaces the 2.5/3.0 units here but delivers more torque “in low to medium speed ranges”.
Elsewhere a broad range of engines exist (2.0 to 4.0 V6) but, as with Nissan and Isuzu here, Toyota stays with one. Mitsubishi offers two versions of its 2.4 Diesel, Ford’s Ranger a 2.2 or 3.2 (five-cylinder) whereas VW’s Amarok is a 3.0 V6.
New HiLux line-up: Active (Single, Extra & Double Cab); Icon (DC); Invincible (DC) and Invincible X (DC). A 6-speed autobox is available (apart from Active) at £1,500 (VAT paid). The six-speed manual remains the obvious choice and thankfully a proper mechanical handbrake has been retained – both invaluable in adverse conditions.
As before (and all the competition apart from Mitsubishi’s extra-cost ‘Super-Select’) high ratio 4x4 drive is for use on snow/ice and off-road. This and low ratio 4x4 is selectable via an electric switch rather than the previous lever. Normal driving is rear wheel drive. (One variant of the Amarok offers full-time 4x4 but it’s H/R only.)
Apart from a mechanical rear diff-lock the vehicle’s braking and stability electronics adapt for on/off-road providing Active Traction, Downhill Assist and Trailer Sway Control. ‘Toyota Safety Sense’ is a tech-pack detecting vehicles and pedestrians, alerts the driver and applies the brakes if no response. It also warns if the vehicle drifts across lane markings (unless indicator’s on) and flags up road signs such as speed limits. Standard on Invincible/Invincible X; £525 extra on Active and Icon.
Since a high proportion are still sold as working vehicles the aim has been to retain the core Hilux attributes of durability, off-road credibility, payload/towing capacity while offering enough refinement to attract those after an SUV alternative. It does drive and ride much better than before but remains a brick-solid pick-up proposition.
Facts & Figures: Price range £19,177-£28,185 (excl VAT) or £22,955-£33,765; 106 mph; 0-62mph 12.3secs*; 36.2mpg (official combined)*; 28.2 (Trip Computer average); CO2 204g/km*; Road Tax £230 (1st yr); Insurance Grp 8-10; MaxBTW 3.2-3.5t; (*D/C auto on test. Man g/box: 12.8secs; 40.4mpg; 185g/km.)
By Huw Thomas
First published in Welsh Farmer, the newspaper of the Farmers' Union of Wales.
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