The Toyota Hilux is a pick-up that needs little to no introduction and has been around for over five decades. It’s sold in about 180 countries and is the best seller in 16 countries. Toyota says they’ve managed to sell about 20 million of these so far, and India clearly seems to have the potential to contribute to those numbers. The name “Hilux” is a combination of the words “High” and “Luxury” and tries to convey the blend of high performance and luxury that Toyota aims to deliver.
It’s also regarded as one of the toughest offroaders and has Toyota’s spectacular reliability. The Hilux is also based on the IMV (Innovative Multi-purpose Vehicle) and shares platforms with the Innova Crysta and the Fortuner. The Hilux also shares the same 2.8-litre motor and produces the same power and torque. Pick-up trucks are still quite a niche in our country despite having the perfect conditions to harbour them. That being said, the key obstacle for a vehicle of this size is its dimensions. It’s too large for most cities where parking space is usually limited.
Additionally, people associate pick-up trucks more with utility than luxury, and the Hilux means to break that barrier. Its only real competition is the Isuzu D-Max which has been due for an update, and Isuzu even launched a new model globally over a year ago. Until it makes its way to India, it’s safe to say the Hilux is currently the highestperforming pick-up. The Hilux’s only kink is its higher asking price, costing roughly 14 lakhs more than its direct rival. The real question is, does the Hilux actually justify this significantly higher asking price? Unfortunately, we are in the jungles of Uttarakhand, and this probably isn’t the best place to answer that question. However, it’s a great proving ground to test the toughness and capabilities of the Hilux.
VERDICT
The Toyota Hilux has undoubtedly earned its name through hardship and robust reliability. It’s undoubtedly more than capable of venturing our streets and even most of our trails. The Hilux name is synonymous globally with toughness and reliability, and it is only a matter of time before it makes a name for itself in India too. However, it remains a niche and, at a high asking price, remains a bit out of reach for most individuals looking for a budget-friendly lifestyle vehicle.
Nevertheless, if you’ve got the money for it, then this is an excellent package in many ways and can do things most vehicles cannot come close to even attempting. As for its competitors, I’d need to test them side by side before coming to any conclusions, but at first glance, I am pretty impressed by the Hilux and hope to see more of these on our streets.
PERFORMANCE & HANDLING
The performance may seem familiar to anyone that may have already driven one of its siblings and feels quite punchy thanks to the rush of torque on demand. Our drive was mostly constrained to dense jungles and empty riverbeds where speeding isn’t advisable. Additionally, we were told that there were high chances of us running into the wildlife, which may include elephants. The last thing anyone of us wanted to do was be the first folk in India to crash the Hilux, let alone into an elephant. I’d still be concerned for the elephant because the Hilux weighs over 2 tons and packs over 200 bhp of power and 400 Nm of torque. That said, a 4-ton elephant won’t be impressed by these numbers and would probably charge, so it was best to keep those horses in check and enjoy the view.
So with that in mind, we always stayed within the third gear and barely drove the Hilux over any tarmac. However, these numbers were sufficient in the wilderness to propel the Hilux over rocks, up hills and across streams. The Hilux handled surprisingly well, too and despite its massive dimensions, it had the potential to dart and weave around corners if the need arose. Most of our time was spent traversing obstacles; in that regard, the Hilux did a fantastic job of overcoming them. It made quick work of most obstacles and made the tricky trail seem like a cakewalk. We were accompanied by a group of Fortuners, and I wonder if they rarely ever engaged all four wheels.
SUSPENSION & BRAKING
The unloaded suspension on the Hilux did feel quite jumpy, and even going over expansion joints felt evident. That’s just how these vehicles are set up. They’re meant to be carrying some load, and they tend to feel the way they did. I’m confident that with more passengers or even some load in the boot, it will ride much smoother over most undulations on the road. The suspension made quick work of most obstacles offroad and showed incredible travel and composure in that terrain.
The brakes, too, performed exceptionally well and were progressive and easy to control. I’m yet to see how well they’d perform on the road at higher speeds, but I suppose we could leave that for a proper road test review. They did a damn fine job off the road, and the ABS didn’t kick back as much as I expected. A little more braking force would have been better, given how much momentum this vehicle would be carrying, but alas, I have experienced too little of them to comment.
ELECTRONICS & OFFROAD PROWESS
The Hilux isn’t the most advanced vehicle but it has the most essentials an offroader may need. The Hilux is built to be considerably more robust than its siblings. However, its larger dimensions do hamper its ability to overcome most obstacles. Its approach angle is acceptable, but its departure angles seem compromised, thanks to its longer overhangs. However, it does present better wheel articulation thanks to its leaf-sprung suspension and live rear axle. It also has an electronic slip differential at the rear, a rear diff lock and a low-range gear. It also has a pretty effective hill descent control system and electronic stability control. Combined, all of these make the Hilux quite capable offroad, but it’s no Jeep Wrangler and is best saved for medium-difficulty trails and rock crawling.
The Hilux is massive, to say the least, and is longer than a Mercedes S-Class and taller than a Jeep Grand Cherokee, for reference. It dawns a similar grille design as the Toyota Innova but adds a whole bunch of butch to its silhouette. It looks imposing and means with the potential to look even more menacing if spec’d correctly. There is nothing overly flashy about the design apart from its dimensions, and it’s a pick-up with a relatively minimal approach. The tail has “TOYOTA” written in bold and looks mature overall.
Toyota offers a whole host of accessories for the Hilux, allowing you to customise it uniquely with whatever your aesthetic or utilitarian needs may demand. My favourite was the Hilux, equipped with a canopy and a sleeper tent mounted to the roof. It looked like it was built to go globe-trotting, and I can only hope it encourages more owners to venture into the wild. My only gripe is the lack of colours, with Red being the only actual colour on offer while the rest are the same old dull shades of grey and white. The Hilux is a lifestyle vehicle that has the potential to pull off some genuinely vibrant colours, and I can only hope someone at Toyota India reads this and has one of those light bulb moments.
Engine- 2.8-l , 4-cylinder Diesel
Power- 201 hp
Torque- 500Nm
Transmission- 6-speed Auto
Price- 37.9 lakhs
