7,000 KM review of the Toyota Hilux

7,000 km in 5 months with the Toyota Hilux calls for a ownership report.

BHPian PrideRed recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Its 5 months since I bought the Hilux and car has clocked about 7000 KMs. I had a 9 Yr old Thar DI which did a about 40K KMs and I was looking for replacement. The new Thar is such a big and nice upgrade and since launch always loved the Thar. New Everest white Thar looks great too. I had test driven Thar multiple times since launch and the diesel engine with AT box drive, felt like this car is from space age compared to my vintage Thar DI. That said new Thar has zero utility, is more of lifestyle vehicle than utility. My use case for Thar DI was utility and zero long drives. The longest I had driven Thar was about 150KM in one go. So despite being much superior, I knew the new Thar is not the one for me and not going to serve my purpose. I was still considering attaching a trolley but that's cumbersome and not easy to drive either. I was delaying the purchase and Thar DI, despite breakdowns was serving the purpose. Lack of creature comforts though, was making life miserable especially during peak summer.

Size aside I always believed pickup trucks were best suited for farm use and personally big fan of pickup trucks. Ford F150 Raptor is one of my dream car. While I liked DMAX, the prices had shot up and was costing close to 30L for 4x4 pvt registration. Their after sales network is poor and investing 30L on brand that doesnot have a solid future plan, did not inspire confidence. The next two options were extreme, with Hilux at 40L and Bolero camper at 12L. The latter had one major flaw, 4x4 variant doesnot come with creature comforts and the Gold variant doesnot get 4x4, now thats a bummer. While I was ok with lower spec engine, 4x4, AC, Power steering and basic creature comforts/safety were non negotiable. Sizewise camper was perfect with close to 1T rated payload. On the other hand 40L for a work truck did not make much sense. That said Hilux was probably the best I could get.

Come mid 2023 I had visited Toyota factory and senior executive mentioned about discounts on Hilux offered by dealers. While I wasn't sure of discount and wasn't keen on spending 40L, by September came across the Standard variant which has most creature comforts safety and at a price which I felt is reasonable for a farm/utility truck. Standard variant came with just two color options and white looked better than Grey. I was still thinking if to pay additional 10L and get the High AT but having Fortuner means, both cars end up having same engine gearbox combo. And after test drive it was apparent that I cannot use Hilux for cross country drives with family and Fortuner will have to do this. With all these calculations, ended up buying the Hilux Standard variant. Major fly in ointment for Hilux was speed was capped at 80KM/Hr despite having a 200BHP 2.8L engine. I was ok with compromise keeping my use case in mind and other cars in garage.

My initial impressions about Hilux can be found here.

Good stuff

- Terrific engine with nice gearbox.

- Utility with good payload.

- Lot of creature comforts for a truck.

- Full suite of safety kit.

- Looks amazing with good road presence and character.

- Solid 4x4 gear, can take you the distance.

Bad stuff

- Expensive before discounts.

- Speed limit despite white board.

- Poor rear seats and poor ride quality.

- Size can get cumbersome for most.

- Being a CKD, guess some parts may not be as easily available.

Observations after 7K:

- The utility offered is unmatched. Makes me feel why I dint go for a pickup earlier. You get to sit in comfort of closed AC cabin while carrying luggage.

- with 800KG-1T payload, the truck marches forward like there is nothing in the back, especially when you select 4H or 4L. The engine is a gem and one of the underrated engines. 

- A-TRAC is super helpful during monsoon, did not have to use diff lock in most cases. Gets activated quickly even with slightest slip and you can sometimes see A-TRAC blinking even on tarmac when you are hard on A-Pedal. 

- Massive size and low seller = attention magnet. For a common man this is unknown model especially in tiny town.

- Decent fuel efficiency. Being a manual, I get around 12-13KMPL on highway and about 10-12KMPL on rural roads/off road.

- Power mode brings out the beast alive. Compared to Fortuner there is massive difference between Eco and Power mode in Hilux. The push back feeling when you floor the accelerator is surreal.

- May be BS6, but i found low end torque average. Especially in Eco mode, needs a gear change unlike say my Jimny or Thar DI. That said this is resolved now will update some other day.

- While Toyota gave lot of features/safety kit for what is a commercial variant, with price reduction they removed few bits like cruise control, IMT and hill descent control. Not a deal breaker but would have been nice to have.

- The front seats are comfortable, and standard variant gets fabric seats which is of good quality. For armrest I would have preferred hard plastic/rexine as fabric insets gets soiled easily.

- Rear seats are bad. First of all is bumpy as expected and is very upright. Legroom isn't great either. Unless you are young energetic person, rear seats aren't good. 

- Stiffer suspension means the truck actually handles decent. But come rough road/bumps, I cannot blaze through like I do in Fortuner. I have to use brakes in Hilux and cannot fly like the Fortuner. That said on smooth road I like the stiffness offered by Hilux.

- The standard variant gets quad beam halogen headlights plus LED fog lamps. Decent setup and found it good during rains as well. Does get Auto headlamps which a welcome move.

- Except for the hatch handles, there is no chrome anywhere, all black looks great with white color. The front black grille looks nice and give Hilux a butch presence.

- The gear shifts are superb! You can shift from 3rd to 4th even with your pinky finger, its that light and shifts with a click which is very nice. The clutch is bit on heavier side but nothing to complain about.

- The steering is on heavier side but on the move is actually pretty nice. The new VFC steering is not as heavy as earlier hydraulics and offers good feedback.

- Massive size and heavier steering means parking can get painful. The car doesnot fit most of parking slots and cumbersome in city. Front parking sensors are helpful .

- Ride gets better with load. Add 200KG stuff in back, there is significant improvement in ride. Yet cannot be compared to a passenger vehicle.

- Switching to 4H is seamless like in the Fortuner. Much easier than the likes of Thar/Jimny. 4 wheel drive engages pretty quickly and you can move between 2H and 4H on the move. 

- Interior is basic yet feels durable and well put. Lacks finesse and I believe the theme goes well with purpose of the truck. 

- Larger DPF tank helps. Compared to Fortuner, one in Hilux might actually last 10K KMs for a full tank. Will need a refill at around 7K mark. The Hilux gets nice display indicating current level of AdBlue, which the Fortuner misses.

Continue reading about PrideRed’s ownership experience of the Toyota Hilux and for BHPian comments, insights and more information.