Category: Pick-ups 
Price Range: No data available
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.
Running a pick-up truck with a double cab and seats is still a useful tax dodge for those entitled to claim back VAT - hence the popularity of vehicles like this for people who need a working vehicle during the week but enough seats to take the kids out at the weekends.
Coupled to that, the Hilux's D-4D common-rail diesel engines are impressively economical for day-to-day running. Toyota quotes 34mpg for both the 2.5-litre and 3.0-litre, with the automatic dropping that to 30.1mpg. We found that with just four ratios, the auto worked the engine much harder at motorway speeds, a fault that will likely drop the consumption into the 20s.
It has also been designed for low maintenance; Toyota claims that it's the cheapest vehicle in its class to service. However, intervals are now one of the shortest in the class at 10,000 miles/one year.
The resale value should be high.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Toyota Hilux
wrote on 04 03 2007