Toyota HiLux review: Off-roader brings luxury and versatility to a new level

The Toyota HiLux is not just for your typical off-road users, but rather it brings the model into the modern era with some atypical luxury touches including a much-improved interior

Since its original launch back in 1968, Toyota has sold over 18m of these things.

TOYOTA HILUX
Rating	★★★★☆
Price	from €37,555 - €50,750
Engine	a new 2.8 turbodiesel which is much better than its’ smaller predecessor
The Spec	shockingly good
Verdict	a plusher creature, but still goes anywhere

THE adjective “versatile” is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as having two meanings. The first describes something as having “many different uses.”

The second illustrates something which has “a range of different skills.”

To describe the Toyota HiLux, therefore, as being versatile would be to sum up this car rather well.

But, in saying that, to simply describe this automotive colossus as being ‘versatile’ would be to greatly undersell something which is, quite literally, all things to all men (and women, of course).

That means it is the go-to vehicle for millions of farmers globally, millions of builders, millions of off-roaders, millions of poseurs and, startlingly, millions of armed insurrectionists in the very many politically unstable parts of the world.

Indeed, the conflict between Libya and Chad in the 1980s became known locally as ‘the Toyota war’ because of the use of vehicles that became known as ‘technicals.’

Such a vehicle is, in professional military parlance, called a non-standard tactical vehicle (NSTV) — most of which were various iterations of the HiLux.

The Chadian army also learned that if they drove their HiLux technicals over minefields at over 100km/h, the cars would not actually cause any of the mines to detonate, which was very handy.

So, you see the HiLux is indeed a very versatile thing and is not just for towing trailers full of heifers from A to B, or for dragging concrete mixers from site to site.

And for that matter, it is not only useful for gym owners to mirror their body-building chops in vehicular form, but it is an absolute must for outdoor types (and/or rescuers sent out to find them) to discover and explore parts of their world which otherwise would be inaccessible.

Since its original launch back in 1968, Toyota has sold over 18m of these things.

And, given that some companies were threatening to dilute support for the great Toyota — not least Ford with their latest Ranger, or Nissan with their Navarro, or even Mercedes with their soon-to-stop-production X-Class — Toyota has been wise to keep the HiLux on top of these potential usurpers.

The evidence of this is to be seen in this week’s tester, the new HiLux Invincible, which seems like an unnecessarily overblown handle dreamt up by marketing types with too much time on their hands, especially given the well-established and bombproof (if you’ll pardon that analogy) character of the car.

That said, this is a machine that truly brings the HiLux into the modern era, stuffed as it is with atypical luxury touches and a very modern take on the teak-tough exterior looks which softens the appearance of the car without suggesting that it might not be as able as it always was.

Now there are things about the car which could ruffle the feathers of the unknowing. One of which is the fact that the Toyota still utilises the Ben-Hur leaf spring rear suspension and this is not something that will make sophisticates sit up and take notice.

The ride of the HiLux is still quite bouncy, even on smoother surfaces, but the Toyota engineers have tweaked the system to the point that it is much better than before.

Traditionally the company had tuned the rear suspension with the thought that the payload is always at maximum.

This meant that when the car was unladen, the ride quality bore an uncanny resemblance to a bouncy castle, but when fully loaded it sat down nicely and provided a much more confidence-inspiring driving feel. But the emphasis was always on toughness and ensuring that its off-road abilities were not compromised.

Lifestyle-oriented customers might not appreciate this lack of sophistication, but with the new modifications, Toyota has struck a decent balance between the needs of such buyers and their more traditional agricultural, construction, off-roading clientele.

To this end the engineers have now decided to tune the suspension before fully loading it and this meant different shock absorbers, changing bushes, and refining those hoary old leaf springs. They have thus reduced the harshness and the roly-poly nature of the driving experience on normal roads.

But these alterations have not in any way lessened the car’s abilities when it comes to the rough stuff and the HiLux is still as capable when you need it to take on the north face of the Eiger or a trans-Amazonian trek.

Indeed its abilities are such that it is comfortable on terrain that most owners would genuinely be afraid to tackle.

A new limited-slip diff. (which is standard on all but the very basic versions) also means that the car is now much more stable in low grip situations and also when in rear-drive mode. A genuine 700mm of wading capacity also allows it to comfortably take on serious floods or fordable rivers.

Also new is the engine under the hood. Now we have a 2.8 diesel instead of the old (and quite underpowered, it has to be said) 2.4 litre.

Power is up by 54 bhp to 201 bhp and there’s also an increase of 100 Nm of torque (up to 500Nm), which greatly adds to the car’s appeal when you consider all the pulling and dragging it is going to be asked to do.

That the extra grunt also takes nearly three seconds off the 0-100km/h capability is largely irrelevant in a vehicle of this nature, but then again, any bit of added grunt is always welcome.

Also surprising is that the six-speed auto utilised here is such a pleasing thing which — as some might expect — might have compromised the driver’s ability to take on seriously rough terrain, but certainly doesn’t.

Perhaps the biggest culture shock to be seen on the new HiLux is the interior.

Aside from a much-improved décor, which is a million miles from the austere iterations of past models and actually seems quite incongruous for a machine that is capable of taking on the Pripet Marshes.

I mean, ambient lighting, leather upholstery, heated seats, auto air con, 8in screen for the infotainment system (which includes sat-nav and a nine-speaker JBL sound system) and stuff most cowpokes/constructors/armed militiamen would find strange and confusing in what is essentially a knuckle-dragging workhorse.

That said, this beast still feels like it is built to last and even if it is now one of the plushest on the market, it might appear to be a long way from the workaday slogger it once was.

Effectively, however, that is a mere nod from Toyota to an increasingly urbane customer base than any reflection on the actual abilities of the car.

Versatility, therefore, is still the keyword when it comes to the HiLux and in many ways, it is now what it always was — a vastly capable machine that will take you to points north, south, east, and west you never thought possible, if you so wish.