The Toyota Hilux is perhaps the only vehicle in the world to have a war between two countries named after its maker. Google “Toyota War” and you’ll see innumerable pieces on how the Toyota Hilux helped the relatively small Chad forces win the Chad-Libya war in the eighties. Not just that, the Hilux is the default choice of almost all organisations that have a first responder wing operating in desolate areas. The vehicle has proved to be the most reliable, rugged, and robust of them all and is considered to be virtually indestructible. If there were service centers dedicated to only the Hilux, I reckon them to be empty for most part of the year…
Still, the good chaps at Toyota India thought it to be a good idea to spare a test unit for us auto journalists, so that we can find out how the Hilux would fare in Indian use-cases, which don’t usually involve mounting ATGWs (Anti-Tank Guided Weapons) on the vehicle. I tested it for over a week in the NCR, and here’s what I found…
Design Size and Presence
This is a big vehicle, ladies and gentlemen. How big? Well, at over 5.3 meters in length, it’s longer than the KIA Carnival, and even the Merc S-Class, but shorter than the Maybach, which is over 5.4 meters long. As such, it has tremendous road presence and most other vehicles do move out of your way.
Design wise, it’s absolutely simple, without any pretense; however, I would’ve preferred roof rails to make it appear even taller. Right now, without the roof rails, it carries the aura of a gentle giant, and not of a vicious monster. It’s actually surprising how such a small design element can change the demeanour of a vehicle completely.
If you’re going all out and buying a truck, you’d want it to look as butch as possible without of course coming under the RTO’s radar.
Interiors & Features
If you’ve driven the Fortuner, you’d find the Hilux interiors to be familiar. It’s more or less the same no-nonsense, beautifully functional, and utterly robust cabin from the Fortuner, sans the ventilated seats.
However, while elsewhere in the world, the Hilux is available with Toyota Safety Sense (Toyota’s ADAS), we still don’t get even a 360-degree camera. Listen up, Toyota; we don’t really need ADAS and sunroof in India, but we do need a surround camera, and that’s coming from someone who’s been driving since the late eighties…
Other than that, you have everything that you really need and nothing that you don’t need. For example, you need effective air-conditioning in India, and the Hilux, just like the Fortuner, probably has the strongest air-conditioning system amongst all the vehicles sold in India. That’s why you don’t really miss the omission of cooled seats.
Speaking of seats, the front seats are immensely comfortable, and though the rear seats are comfortable too, their seat back angle is quite upright and non-adjustable. Therefore, while the front occupants won’t be tired after long stints, the rear passengers will ask to switch places.
The Hilux doesn’t get a roof-mounted blower like the Fortuner, but, since the super-effective AC has to cool a comparatively smaller cabin here, the conventional rear vents suffice in the Hilux.
I must also mention that all four windows on the Hilux come with the Auto Up/Down feature. For those not in the know, this feature allows you to open/close the windows (one at a time, of course) with one push/pull of the power window switch. You don’t have to keep it pushed/pulled to open/close the window completely.
The music system though is a tad underwhelming because of the obvious space constraints in the comparatively smaller cabin. However, you won’t complain unless you’re someone who wants the neighbours to hear your choice of music.
OFFROAD
Now this is the section where you’ll learn a few things about the Hilux and offroading from The Daily Guardian that no other publication, media house, or reviewer has been able to talk about yet. I’ll divide this section into two categories: 2WD (Two-Wheel Drive) and 4WD (Four-Wheel Drive).
2WD (TWO-WHEEL DRIVE)
The Toyota Hilux shares its engine, gearbox, and transfercase with the Fortuner 4WD. As such, in 2WD (2H on the t-case shift knob), the drive goes to the real wheels, and, thanks to the immense torque and incredible articulation, most Hilux owners might not ever find the need to use 4WD! If you are one such Hilux owner, please go off the road at least once a month, engage 4WD and drive for at least five mins (use 4H, 4L, and then 4L with the rear differential locked) to ensure proper functioning of the 4WD hardware and electronics. Please note that all 4WD modes on this vehicle should NEVER be used on hard surfaces like regular tarmac/asphalt/concrete roads. It’s a hardcore part-time 4WD with a transfercase, without a center differential of any kind. Also, contrary to what a few YouTubers with millions of subscribers might tell you, the H in 4H doesn’t stand for highways. Therefore, do not use 4WD on the highways; use it only on soft/loose surfaces like mud, sand, snow, slush, etc.
I think Toyota understood that most auto journalists, and the masses, do not understand 4WD well, and that’s why it gave both the Fortuner 4WD and Hilux (which comes only as a 4WD) a feature known as Auto LSD. I had talked about it in my review of the Fortuner 4WD a couple of years ago, and I am happy to report that you’ll find this feature in the Hilux as well.
Sadly, it doesn’t have a dedicated switch with Auto LSD written on it, which explains why none of the auto journalists in India have been able to “discover” this feature yet. Fret not, as The Daily Guardian is indeed your guardian here as well for all things automotive, including 4WD, and you’ll know shortly, once and for all, what Auto LSD is; how to engage/disengage it, and where to use it.
In short, Auto LSD (Auto Limited Slip Differential) is Toyota’s BLD (Brake Lock Differential) for 2WD. I have to categorically mention “for 2WD” here, because, unlike in other vehicles such as the Thar and Jimny, where BLD works only in 4WD, Toyota’s Auto LSD works in 2WD. Toyota’s BLD for 4WD is known as A-TRAC, which of course works when you engage 4WD.
What does Auto LSD do? It brakes the freely spinning wheel so that power goes to the other wheel (because power follows the path of least resistance) which has traction, and you’re out of the sticky spot in a jiffy. Mostly.
How do you engage/disengage it? First, you have to close your eyes, and say a prayer. No, I am kidding. You are in a Toyota; you don’t need to say a prayer in here. You just need to press the traction control button once to engage it (and once again to disengage), and you’ll see “Auto LSD” lighting up in the instrument cluster along with the traction control icon, which also lightas up and stays on with Auto LSD. Please note that although a “glowing” traction control icon usually suggests that traction control has been turned off, it’s not completely off here. To switch it completely off, you need to keep the traction control button pressed for three seconds. It will then show “TRC OFF” (Auto LSD will be off too) and I don’t recommend you do that ever on the road because by keeping that button pressed for three seconds, you’re essentially turning off VSC (Vehicle Stability Control). VSC is the feature that keeps your vehicle on its intended path during an emergency evasive maneuver, where you have to brake and steer at the same time. Turning VSC off could be disastrous for you and others on the road; please don’t do it.
Coming back to Auto LSD; where would you use it? I’ll make it simple for you by classifying the scenarios under three categories:
1) Hard Surface: any situation which you think would be too overwhelming for regular traction control. For example, you’re approaching a curve and spot a big patch of oil ahead, and you obviously don’t want to shift to 4WD as you’re on a hard surface. Engage Auto LSD.
2) Loose surface: any situation where you know that you definitely don’t need 4WD, but you foresee that you might spin a wheel a bit too much rendering the regular traction control useless. For example, narrow “uneven” offroad paths where one of the rear wheels might loose traction. Engage Auto LSD.
3) Donuts: Engage Auto LSD.
To make it clearer, the difference between regular 2WD (traction control on) and 2WD with Auto LSD is that upon detecting a freely spinning wheel, traction control would cut engine power in the former, whereas in the latter, you can even redline the engine.
4WD (FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE)
I’ll keep this one short. Keep the Hilux in 4H (4 High) and it will sail through almost every obstacle that you can find. In really treacherous situations, switch to 4L (4 Low) where the low ratio gears in the transfercase would multiply torque and help you crawl through wheel-deep mud and slush. A-TRAC works in both 4WD modes. It won’t work when you lock the rear differential or when you use DAC (Downhill Assist Control). Don’t use the latter; it’s of no use. Just keep your wheels straight while going downhill and brake as necessary.
ONROAD PERFORMANCE & RIDE QUALITY
The Toyota Hilux AT has all the power you would ever need on our roads, even in ECO mode. It produces 204 PS at 3,000–3,400 rpm (204 PS at 3,400 rpm in the 6-speed manual Hilux) and 500 Nm at 1,600–2,800 rpm (420 Nm at 1,400–3,400 rpm in the manual).
My best 0-100 km/h run was accomplished in 9.3 seconds on the speedo which corresponds to 10.5 seconds on GPS. This was in regular 2WD with traction control. Runs with Auto LSD and VSC off were slower. That’s another reason for you to not touch the traction control button on the road.
It obviously excels on the highways as well. The 6-speed torque converter never disappoints, summoning all that torque almost instantly when you need it, making overtaking a cinch. The Hilux cruises well too. In an empty vehicle, with just a light driver (60 kg) like me behind the wheel, it cruises at a speedo-indicated 100–110 km/h at just 1,650 rpm, and 120 km/h (speedo-indicated again) comes up at just 1,750 rpm. There’s hardly any engine noise in the cabin at these speeds, which means you can do some really long trips without tiring your ears out in this vehicle. The ride quality is also acceptable for a pickup truck which has leaf springs at the rear. It’s of course a bit bouncy even on the smoothest of roads, especially for the rear passengers, but that’s a given for a body on frame vehicle, that too with leaf springs at the rear, and an empty cargo area. If you’re driving with the deck fully loaded with heavy items, the ride quality becomes pliant.
Handling, Braking, and Maneuverability
It would be downright stupid to expect a truck to handle like a car. It doesn’t and it won’t. Treat it with the respect it deserves and it will keep you safe and happy. Sudden lane changes between 80–100 km/h aren’t scary, and neither is braking in a straight line from 100–0 km/h. It does the former with grace, and the latter with absolute authority and poise. Just don’t go attacking corners at speed; you won’t if you have a proper working brain, unless you’re one of those who pronounce physics as physique (someone who spent less time in science classes and more in the neighborhood gym).
However, there’s one thing both kind of specimens—brainy and brawny—would appreciate: the hydraulically assisted steering. It’s hard enough to give a complete arms workout to the former and a good pump to the latter, while executing three-point turns. I love it. Please enjoy it while you still can before lifeless electric systems take over completely…
Jokes apart, driving the Hilux everyday will raise your dopamine level so much that you really won’t mind its heavy steering even if you have been raised on cars with the aforementioned lifeless steering wheels. The arms workout will be a bonus.
Also, though I maintain that this vehicle needs a 360-degree camera, the all-around visibility
is not bad at all. But, dear Toyota, please don’t take it for granted. Please give the Fortuner and Hilux a good surround camera to keep the minor forms of flora and fauna around us safe…
FUEL EFFICIENCY
The Hilux has an 80-liter fuel tank which will help you cover around 800 km BEFORE the low fuel light comes on. It’d have a range of around 80–100 km still left, but I won’t recommend you testing it. I might, someday…
VERDICT
Contrary to what the brochure readers masquerading as reviewers will tell you, this can be your only four-wheeler. It was my daily driver for over a week, and never did I think of ditching it for another car (or bike) during this period. In fact, this was one of those times where I just didn’t want to return a test vehicle. Yes, it’s addictive, and that addiction isn’t temporary. One of my female friends, who owns one (for over a year now), corroborates. Please note that she’s neither built like a tank, nor does she have a moustache (not yet, at least). I’m trying to Infer that she isn’t a masochist like me (I drove my open-top Willys CJ-3B in ALL seasons for decades, before NGT played spoilsport). It’s her only vehicle, which she primarily uses to haul her competition bike (Kawasaki KX250) and its paraphernalia to off-road events and races, but doesn’t mind driving it in the city as well.
See, Hilux actually means “High in Luxury” and though you might argue that Toyota didn’t think it through while naming it, I’d disagree. A hardcore 4WD road-legal vehicle that’s not bad on the road; is astonishing off the road; can accommodate five people, and their belongings, and circumnavigate the globe without breaking down EVER is a LUXURY indeed.