From a slow start as a purely commercial vehicle, the Toyota Hilux has, over decades, expanded its appeal to cover personal transport and leisure use on top of becoming the default workhorse in our market. We look at this popular model’s recent history and tell you everything you need to know about buying, owning and selling your Toyota Hilux.
5 key facts you should know about the Toyota Hilux.
Don’t let the leather upholstery and touchscreen audio system fool you into thinking that the Toyota Hilux has become a soft-roader. Even though the Hilux has become a bit of a status symbol over time, thanks to the proliferation of high-trim family- and leisure-oriented variants, it’s still a workhorse at its core. This reality brings advantages and disadvantages, but one thing’s certain: the Hilux is still a very accomplished commercial vehicle.
1. Today’s Hilux can be had with a choice of three petrol engines, or with types of diesel in three output levels. The two four-cylinder petrol engines are aimed at the entry-level workhorse market, but the diesels cover the whole spectrum from bare-bones utility to luxurious family transport.
2. All variants have the same wheelbase length (and similar overall length), but there is a choice between narrow and wide body styles, along with three cabin designs.
3. Four-wheel drive models are very accomplished off-road but are probably surplus to most buyers’ requirements. That’s why almost all trim levels can be had with either rear- or four-wheel drive.
4. While the current generation (launched in 2015) has all-new diesel engines, the three petrol powertrains are largely carry-over units from the older model.
5. The current Hilux is more of a thorough redesign of its predecessor than it is an all-new vehicle but there is very little in the way of parts interchangeability between the last two generations.
A Close Look
It’s amazing that Toyota managed to keep the previous-generation Hilux competitive for as long as they did because its opponents started catching up to this class leader about halfway through the old model’s 11-year lifecycle. But, when the current generation arrived in 2015, it represented a real all-around improvement on the outgoing model. While its market segment is getting ever more competitive, today’s Hilux still manages to capitalize on its historic popularity, capability, and reputation for innate toughness to lure buyers into showrooms.
Pros & cons
Pros
· Being a Hilux, durability and longevity is practically a given. This means added appeal to those buyers who’ll use their Hiluxes to do real work, and who demand a long service life and cost-effective maintenance.
· Seeing as the Hilux was designed to cope with hard work and bad roads, normal use as a family vehicle won’t even come close to stretching its abilities to handle anything you can throw at it.
· One of the current model’s major improvements over its predecessor is in overall comfort and refinement. Many of its opponents still better it in this regard, but the Hilux is nonetheless a lot easier to live with than its predecessors.
· There’s also a fair amount of modern technology on offer, with touchscreen audio systems, standard navigation and LED lighting available in some derivatives.
· Even in entry-level trim, the Hilux is equipped with ABS, 3 airbags (two frontal and one for the driver’s knees), and power steering. Higher-trim variants add more safety features and nicer toys, to go with their higher list prices.
· 4x4 derivatives are pretty much unstoppable off-road, which explains their popularity with the bundu-bashing crowd.
· In the same vein, aftermarket accessories are widely available and generally of high quality, which will help those who wish to customize their Hilux beyond the original design parameters.
Cons
· Overall refinement isn’t bad for a vehicle of this type, with noise levels being particularly well-contained. Ride quality isn’t a strong suit for any Hilux, however, in spite of the improvements applied to the current generation model.
· OEM Toyota service- and spare parts are surprisingly expensive, as are dealership labour rates. However, once the warranty has expired, owners can choose from a plethora of workshops that’ll be able to keep their vehicles maintained at a very reasonable cost.
· Even after its 2015 redesign, double-cab variants don’t have a huge amount of rear-seat space.
· Considering their standard equipment levels, new Hiluxes are priced near the top of their category, so value for money isn’t that great at face value. However, strong value retention alleviates some of the pain of those steep-ish pricetags.
· Because of strong demand across South Africa’s borders (and other reasons such as parts compatibility with other Toyota commercial vehicles), Hiluxes are unfortunately very popular theft- and hijacking targets.
Similar cars to the Toyota Hilux
Available with a similar range of body styles and closely matched under the bonnet, Ford’s Ranger is the Hilux’s closest competitor. As with the Hilux, the Ranger range opens up with competitively-priced, low-trim single-cab workers, and runs upwards from there. High-spec Rangers offer more driver aids and an all-around upgrade in available technology, however, and costs about the same as their Hilux opponents.
Formerly known as the Isuzu KB series, Isuzu changed the name to D-Max and has recently introduced a brand new model range. It lags behind the Hilux on refinement and power but has proven its durability and robustness over the years. V-Cross D-Max variants do offer many of the Hilux’s creature comforts, however, and at a bit of a discount. It’s also a great workhorse, which challenges low-end Hiluxes in their ability to rack up intergalactic mileages.
As the current line-up of Amarok models is nearing the end of its lifecycle, the Hilux range faces stiff competition as some information about the upcoming model has been revealed and it is going to provide a strong challenge
Sadly overlooked by many bakkie buyers, the Navara offers a nice blend of the best features you’ll find in any of its opponents – and with high-value pricing, to boot. It’s also more comfortable, thanks to its coil-sprung rear suspension, but the Navara range doesn’t cater for the workhorse market at all.
Priced around the same point as the high-trim (leisure-oriented) Hilux variants, the Triton doesn’t compete in the workhorse market, either. Instead, the Triton takes aim at the more-expensive Hilux and Ranger models with plenty of modern gizmos fitted as standard. 4x4 Tritons benefit from the best 4WD system out there and feature a host of electronic driver aids as well.
Barring mild model updates since 2015, today’s Hilux is still essentially the same vehicle as early examples of the current generation, with no mechanical changes or dramatic spec level increases along the way. However, the 2018 range update has brought an added focus on safety features in low-trim variants, while high-trim Hilux variants now benefit from LED main beams and upgraded infotainment systems.
Thanks to its stellar reliability record, there’s no reason to fear buying an older Hilux, even if the standard warranty for 3 years or 100 000 km has expired. The only real reason to insist on a new Hilux (apart from the new-car smell) is if you want a full-term warranty and service plan for 9 services (90 000 km).
But, once the warranty has expired, there’s only one reason to keep servicing the car at the dealership: the service history. A dealership service record may stand you in good stead when it’s time to sell your Hilux because such a full-service record could add a few thousand Rands to your trade-in value. You will however have to pay dealership labour rates, which are generally much higher than those of non-OEM (private) service centres.
Fortunately, it’s not hugely expensive to service a Hilux, and, because they’re so easy to work on, it’s easy to find a workshop that’ll perform basic servicing and even more-major repairs for a lot less than you’d pay at a dealership.
There’s one major upside to buying an older Hilux, though, and that’s the initial purchase price. These vehicles don’t depreciate very quickly, but their values do nonetheless drop once they’re a few years old or the odometer shows some distance.
