Category: Pick-ups 
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Indestructible mechanicals, huge space, tough image, a leading power figure with the 169bhp three-litre.
Too big for some, not that clever inside, low max towing weight, cheap plastics.
For some a pick-up is a Hilux and, for them, the new model won't disappoint. But Nissan and Mitsubishi have a better trucks and a smarter approach to selling them.
This is an immense vehicle at 5.2m long, which is Mercedes S-class territory - but the Merc has rear parking sensors and this hasn't. It doesn't help that the rear window stops too soon to easily gauge the rear distance. Or that the turning circle is typically vast at 12.4m.
On the road however, the Hilux falls in between the top-rated L200 and the Navara. Which means it's got imprecise steering, a top-heavy attitude in corners and a choppy ride. But that's an SUV assessment. Compared to other pick-ups, the ride is better - certainly better than Hiluxes of old - and the corner lean nothing like as bad as you'd expect.
The manual gear-change is rubbery and can be awkward, and in its tarmac default mode of rear-wheel-drive, it can lose grip if you boot it too early out of a corner.
Stick it in four-wheel drive (low or high ratios), however, and it could go more or less anywhere. Mid-spec HL3 and high-spec Invincible versions have an automatically-disconnecting differential which allows for switching between high-ratio two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive at speeds of up to 50mph, and shifts from high-ratio four-wheel drive to low-ratio four-wheel drive at up to 5mph to keep you moving.
If the old 102bhp 2.5-litre engine couldn't pull a sailor off your sister, the new 118bhp version could probably prevent the transgression. But that's still well down on rivals from Ford (141bhp), Mitsubishi (134bhp) and Isuzu (134bhp from March 2007).
That's why it's relegated to HL2 and HL3 spec only, leaving the three-litre to power both HL3 and Invincible. With 169bhp, it shares the top power spot with the Nissan Navara and finally gives the Hilux the muscle it looks like it should have.
In reality however it doesn't feel as fast as the Navara or the official chipped versions of the L200. There's muscle rather than raw speed there, although it felt a bit tight and would benefit from a few thousand miles of driving.
With all that strength, Toyota is playing it ultra-conservative to limit the max towing weight to just 2,250kg. They must be worried about the transmission. Rivals from Ford, Isuzu and Mazda can all manage three tonnes.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Toyota Hilux
wrote on 04 03 2007