Toyota Hilux Review

Call up dealers nearby or maybe even far off.
A friend got 13 from Madurai. Someone got 14 from Gujrat at some point in the past 4 months. Another got 13 in faridabad.

Keep calling and pitching dealers and find the right deal for yourself and go for it. I too upgraded from a Thar with AVO suspension.
My Hilux now has Tough Dog suspension and it's riding even better.
That Toyota peace of mind and zero issues is something to be experienced.
Go for it!!

Before its release next month, Toyota's IMV0 concept reveals its name.

Preliminary facts and figures, shows a footprint comparable to the regular Hilux, if a little less wide:


Media in Thailand estimated that it would cost around THB 500,000 (~RM 66k) which is cheaper than the most basic Hilux offered in the Kingdom, priced at THB 564,000 (~RM 73k).









Link

A long term wish of owning a pick up came true finally with "The Red" coming home.

Wanted to replace my Endeavour and looked at Kodiaq, Fortuner and Jeep Meridian.

Kodiaq of course is the best of the lot for our needs but sales support was not good from Gurudev and Kun. I have already owned a Yeti and had a hard time with service and with sales experience itself being not great I had drop the idea.

Had a test drive of the Fortuner and the Hilux on the same day, back to back and found that Fortuner has a feel of driving a car, Hilux felt well built and heavy which was similar to LC200 which I had driven some time back. I'm not talking about the suspension but the overall build, appearance and ruggedness.

Meridian was very bland and uninspiring, it was comfortable in the 80-100km/hr and above that the engine felt like it was straining extremely. I don't know if the test drive vehicle was like that because the AC was also very bad. It was an easy decision to drop it.

So Hilux was the one left and though I was glad that I finally can buy a pickup, I had to convince my family due to the ride quality. But it was a big resounding NO from them.

After many days of discussions we decided to retain the Endeavour and buy Hilux as the 2nd option. So basically it is like Hilux is my personal vehicle

Took delivery last week.


Initial impressions (comparisons are with my Endeavour 3.2AT):

• Very easy to drive in the city except for the turning radius.
  
• Engine is quieter.
  
• The rear doors need to be closed with a bit more force.
  
• AC is good in this climate, don't know how it will be in summer.
  
• Fuel efficiency is good. City: 9-10kmpl normal mode, Highway:12-13kmpl normal mode.
  
• Seats are firm and comfortable. A bit more under thigh support for the driver seat would have been better. Right arm rest for the driver is not comfortable for me, it is a bit retracted.
  
• One glove box is cooled.
  
• Touchscreen is upright which is not convenient while driving, a bit slanted position would have been better.
  
• Worst windshield wipers I have ever seen, a must change.
  
• Huge difference in ride quality between the front & the rear. As my family says, it's like sitting in a car in the front and sitting in a truck in the rear. The front is also bumpy but the rear is worse. The family joke is that NHAI should check the quality of newly laid roads by taking a drive in a Hilux, one can feel even tiny imperfections.
  
• Looking for a reasonable priced tonneau cover is a chore, Toyota's own is very expensive.
  
• Absence of TPMS is a bummer.

Took a short drive to Cuddapah, around 700kms up & down.

I find that in the highway, above 80kmph, the ride quality becomes smooth. Overtaking is a breeze.

Small potholes & patches have to be taken at around 40kmph while in Endeavour I used to go at 60kmph.

In the narrow roads we have to be conscious about the length.

In the city it is amazing that there is no lag when we start from the signal, in Endeavour there is a lag and by the time we accelerate an autowallah would have come from the side to the front.

Just got off the phone with the local Toyota dealer herein Bangalore and the SA said they can offer a straight discount of 6L off the on-road price for the High version. Is it sensible to haggle with the same dealer or as some bhpians have suggested, to check with multiple dealers across geographies to check who has the best deal? Also, realistically what's the ideal discount to look out for?

Talk to more dealers around. Flying down and driving back for a few lakhs isn't a bad deal at all. Even if it means heading up north for it. Call maximum dealers.

Chennai dealer offered me straight 10 lakhs. Then you can save another 50k in the insurance if you get a competitive qoute. Also you may take out the extended warranty (what the heck, it's Hilux, don't insult it with EW) or the accessories package. Another 30-40k. Around 34-35 should be not so difficult price to settle I believe.

Toyota Hilux Ad banned because it encouraged people to drive off-road.

My friend took delivery of his Toyota Hilux ( Pearl White Crystal Shine colour) a few days ago, I drove the Hilux a couple of times, so I want to share my observations of this massive truck.

First of all, I want to thank Team- bhp, because of this wonderful forum I was able to get a 7 lakhs discount on a Hilux for my friend .

Initially, he booked it at 44 lakhs on the road price but after reading a wonderful thread here, I got to know that another bhpian bought a Hilux at a 7 lakhs bargain so I immediately called my friend and informed him about the same. Initially, my friend did not believe this information, also his dealer denied it ( If the dealer has a guy stuck then why would he let him go? ).

Then I called the same dealer in front of my friend and acted as a new customer and the dealer confirmed that there was a discount. Now after a couple of days of negotiation and discussion between my friend and dealer, they both agreed on a 37 lakhs road price.

After this incident, I gained a lot of respect in the eyes of my friend and his family.

Likes

1. The first thing I want to say is Hilux is H-U-G-E, after seeing this SUV in front of my eyes, all the other cars just felt too small, cars like Creta or Harrier seemed like small hatchbacks after seeing the Hilux in person.

2. After stepping inside the cabin and taking the seat in the Hilux, I was on top of the World! All other SUVs, even Scorpio N and Fortuner drivers were sitting below me.

3. I pushed the Engine Start Button and the massive 2.8 L turbo Diesel Engine came to life. The engine feels very silent and refined, I am impressed by Toyota for what they did in their engine to reduce its NVH levels. The same 2.8 L engine comes in the Fortuner Facelift from 2016 but back at that time it wasn't refined as it is now.

4. I slotted the gearbox into the D position and started driving. It comes with a very old-school torque converter automatic gearbox which is one of the most reliable gearboxes present in the world.

The gearbox compliments the engine, It is tuned very well and it always keeps the vehicle in its powerband i.e. 1500 rpm from where this truck delivers its massive 500 nm of torque.

5. The acceleration is very impressive, this massive truck can push you back into the seats. Just a slight dab on the throttle and I was doing 80- 90 kmph. Within a few seconds of acceleration, you will leave all the traffic behind you in the dust.

6. Surprisingly when I started driving it, I didn't feel the massive size of this truck and it was so easy and light to drive.

7. The steering wheel is very very light, driving this truck in the city will require the least amount of effort from the driver.

8. Headlights have good and precise throws. Just in the position where you want.

9. Due to its massive size all the traffic coming from the other side of the road maintained a good distance away from me and for overtaking the vehicle in the front only 2 blinks of the dipper were sufficient for them to give me side

Dislikes

1. I am not convinced by the cabin's interior quality. On the door, it is all hard plastic. Leather is available only on the top of the dashboard. I know that this is a pickup truck but at close to 40 lacs on the road price, I expected things to be on the luxurious side. For reference, my compass interior feels like 2 segments above the Hilux.

2. All the buttons like power window switches, AC buttons, steering controls etc. are like buttons and switches which come in the 15-20 lacs Hyundai Or Kia cars.

3. Surprisingly from inside the cabin's width felt narrow equal to Compass. Don't know what Toyota did, from the outside, it feels very wide.

4. At the rear due to rear leaf suspension, Hilux tends to bounce on every undulation present on the roads from the rear. But yeah the main motive is to carry loads and not do good speeds. I mentioned this for the people who want to buy Hilux just for its massive looks and they will not carry any loads in it.

5. The suspension doesn't support the speeds which can be done from the impressive 201 bhp and 500 nm of torque. Suspension is good till 80 kmph but if an undulation comes at slight corners then it can be risky if you are doing any speed higher than 80 kmph. It can do 100- 120 kmph on good roads like the Delhi - Dausa expressway or Samriddhi Mahamarg but again you will feel quite nervous because of the bouncing tendency at the rear.

Will I consider buying the Hilux?

No, instead I will add another few lakhs and go for the Fortuner. Fortuner is a good status symbol and has a massive size too.

How does it fare against my Compass, CLA and seltos

Cabin quality is comparable to seltos, while the compass feels 2 segments higher and CLA feels 3 segments higher.

Ranting on the performance seltos is nowhere in the league.

Hilux has better initial acceleration than Compass and CLA for sure due to its well-tuned gearbox which keeps the engine in its torque band i.e 500 nm torque from 1500 rpm but at higher speeds above 80 kmph, compass and CLA will outperform it for sure.

Talking about handling all 3 seltos, compass and CLA have better handling and driving dynamics than Hilux.