Toyota Hilux

Overview

If there is one commercial car that could compete with a passenger vehicle in terms of the popularity on the Malaysian roads, it has to be the Toyota Hilux. The pickup has had its share of credibility ever since the ‘Hilux’ badge came into existence around half a century ago. The eighth generation of the pickup was officially introduced back in 2015 in select places of Thailand, Bangkok, and Australia.

The car later received a good facelift last year (2017) and was put on debut at the 2017 Thailand International Motor Expo. This new model went on to become quite a potent answer from the company to its competitors like the Ford Ranger and the new Mitsubishi Triton.

The Toyota Hilux won many hearts with its durability and robustness along with the perfect practicality on all terrains. In fact, it won’t be very wrong to say that prior to the Hilux and Ranger, pickups were considered to be no better than just farm carriage cars carrying a bulk of the agricultural loads.

Interior & Features

Get inside the 2018 Toyota Hilux and you will be greeted by an all-black colour layout. The addition of rich leather seat upholstery and perforations add touches of comfort to every occupant inside. The dashboard and door panel are finished in piano black.

The centre console of the car has a 4.2-inch TFT screen with two dials on either side. The analogue clocks have a white-over-black colour tone to make it look sportier. The pickup has what the company calls Smart Entry & Start System. This technology enables the driver to enter the car and turn on the ignition without even having to use the key. All the seats are comfortable and the rear row even gets an armrest with cup holders.

The dashboard, from the driver’s perspective, is very detailed. There is a lot of switch gears up there, planted just under the display screen. Quite a few knobs on the dash are set adjacent to each other, making the design appear to be clean.

The Hilux is insulated quite well, all around the cabin and also on the hood. This insulation makes sure that noise from engine and wind is reduced to the minimal. The cooled glovebox is the perfect place to store drinks during summers. This feature, of course, is often reduced to the high-end passenger cars only.

Exterior

The Toyota Hilux is an attractive car and every inch of the aesthetics suggests the same. The front portion is flanked by a sharp, chrome, embellished grille and looks more like an extension of the sleek LED projector headlamps. The hexagonal shape of the grille gives rise to a unique lower bumper, which adds a new dimension to the styling.

The Hilux rides on large and chubby 18-inch wheels which offer a good road grip in almost any terrain type. The dual-tone alloy wheels are machine-finished and carry a touch of sophistication and sheen. However, the 2.4-litre variants get 17-inch wheels. The body looks sturdy and strong from the outside.

The rear end is very much in line with the designing in the front. The cargo bed is not painfully long to keep the length in check. However, this does not mean that the cargo hold space is small.  Plus, the rear step is a very good thing to be had so that mounting and unmounting with load isn’t difficult. The tail combination lights complement the rugged nature perfectly. There are fog lamps in the rear too, just in case you need them while driving on bad roads at dusk.

The wing mirrors are electronically adjustable and retractable along with a futuristic design. The spare wheel is secured from theft with the help of a lock and requires a special key to be released.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The Toyota Hilux is offered in two engine trims. The engine can be tagged as efficient as they are fed with High-Pressure Common Rail technology which improves the power and also the fuel efficiency significantly. The smaller 2.4-litre engine can make a maximum power of 150 PS at 3,400 rpm and a peak torque of 400 Nm which comes between 1,600 and 2,000 rpm.

On the other hand, the bigger 2.8-litre engine is extremely powerful, making a huge 177 PS power, coming at the same 3,400 rpm, and a peak torque of 450 Nm coming between 1,600 and 2,400 rpm. Both the engines have an electronic fuel injection delivery system. The power is sent down to the wheels either by a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic gearbox.

The pickup has three drive modes on offer, which tweak the handling and feel to a great extent. The Eco mode optimises the AC cooling system and the throttle response to get the fuel efficiency to go higher. Moreover, the car comes in an AWD mechanism only. However, the drivers have the option of switching between 2WD and 4WD with just the twist of a small dial knob.

Braking & Safety

Worried whether the Hilux is sturdy and safe or not? Here is the clue. The pickup van received a prestigious 5-star rating at the ASEAN NCAP crash test for the AOP (Adult Occupants Protection). Inside the cabin, the company proudly offers seven safety airbags in the automatic transmission trims. However, the manual trims get three airbags, which aren’t very disappointing either.

And since the Toyota pickup can be a hardcore offroader, the addition of hill-start assist control makes sure that it does not roll back when you are trying to initiate from a standstill on an incline. Plus, the addition of ABS, along with electronic brake-force distribution, is a mandate in almost all the cars nowadays.

Tight braking situations often result in a collision with the car behind. However, with the ESS (emergency stop signal), this thing is looked-after as the cars behind are signalled with a continuous flashing of light.