New Hilux

Good Lord. It's a highlander with a box ! I, for one, am very thankful this is not what they came to the US market with...

 

I was just about to say the same thing.

 

What part looks the same?

 

I did not really like the car front until I worked with and see it in person. It has grown on me though.

And I have never seen a Highlander with a machine gun mounted on it.

I have seen a Hilux with just about anything you can imagine on it.

Shit truck. Check
Water truck, check
farm truck, check
armored, check
big guns, check
small guns, check
hundreds of pounds of explosives, check
plenty of bullet holes, check
6 cows in the bed, check
20 sheep in the bed, check
20 foot pile of stuff.. on the bed, check
lots of dudes with AK, check.

The Hilux is the shit. So is the diesel ranger here in Afghanistan. The rangers in Iraq weren't as good but the new one wasn't out yet I don't think.

 

My favorite Hilux image was in Saudi Arabia after Desert Storm. They'd gotten a camel in there facing backward, hobbled it, then used bungee cords to hold it down. I swear the damn thing looked like a camel tow truck. He ended up next to me at one of the very rare stop lights (Riyadh was the Wild West traffic wise), and that camel spun and stuck it's head wholly into the passenger window. I smelled it before I turned and saw it, and about crapped myself for being startled by it. I then laughed all the way back to the airbase.

Damn camels.

 

Top Gear still has that Hilux on display in their studio. That truck surely was a testament to Toyota over engineering their vehicles. Remember the Supra, you could get close to a thousand horsepower on the turbo versions without having to do much except turn up the boost. Read about some of those things with all that horsepower on stock transmissions, brakes, and internals. Damn I miss the old toyota.

And who could forget this Toyota

 

injectors brakes, intercooler, fuel pump and a different turbo. You don't just hit 1,000 horsepower on the stock turbo by "turning up the boost" (changing wastegate duty). But yeah, it was a pretty strong engine.

 

You know what I mean,,try that on any other engine and literaly have to build up a new engine.

PS this big tuning place for Supras out of Austin had one at 1000 HP running on stock brakes

 

I love my 12, I loved the look before i bought it. But I hate plastic so I'm glad you can get plate bumpers since that makes them look rugged and has function. I'll be getting one in the future for sure.

 

Comparing the hilux to the tacoma is tricky in my opinion. They are similar trucks with the hilux seeming a bit heavier duty. However the markets in which they are offered could not be more different. Just as an example I recently read on a thread about the 3rd gen taco about how some people were complaining that the 4wd switch is the same style as the fan control switch. Do you think that sort of thing would matter to an Iraqi security officer, or an Australian rancher? This is not a comparison between the hilux and tacoma, this is just an example illustrating the decerning attitude and high standards many Americans have toward vehicles (and maybe our ability to never be satisfied!)

It's no surprise the tacoma gives up some capabilty in return for comfort and safety, that's what Americans demand for the most part. We on the forum may be different, but we are a small portion of tacoma buyers. Tacoma frames are not fully boxed, I hypothesize, so the C channel potions act as crumple zones for safety. The somewhat lighter duty suspension gives up some payload capacity for comfort, which is great here in America, because 99% of the places most of us go are smoothly paved. And honestly if you need to routinely haul more than 1200lbs, you most likely wouldn't buy a tacoma. You'd buy a full size.

The hilux on the other hand is offered in markets where there is no full size option, at least not as many as we have in America. We have lots of trucks to choose from because trucks have been part of our culture since the early 20th century. It seems to me that the hilux is called on to be a do-it-all truck as KORG stated. In the developing countries where the hilux is sold, it's not just a truck, it's the truck.

I personally love my 2nd gen taco. I'll gladly trade a few hundred pounds of payload capacity for a more comfortable ride and what is, in my opinion, a well appointed interior. Afterall I spend more time in my truck cruising around town and running errands than hauling 2000lbs worth of sheep or anything else down a pothole filled primitive dirt road. I do occasionally haul stuff for work (residential construction) but usually it's the space that limits my load, not weight capacity. In fact the only two things I'd like to change on the tacoma would be a stick shifted t-case (can still swap in an FJ box), and the capability to fit a sheet of plywood between the wheel wells in the bed (just would make carrying sheets easier).

Two different trucks for two different demands. I can't help but wonder if the hilux did come state side, Toyota might still sell more tacomas.

As for the diesel, as I think someone stated before, after it is adapted to American emission standards, and the fact that diesel is currently 90 cents more per gallon, the cost per mile may end up being more than a gas engine. I know it offers substantial torque, but is it really required? Maybe for 2000lbs in the bed, but my 2.7 handled 1100lbs no problem.

I dunno, the only thing I know for sure is that I love my taco, and I'm not sure I would trade it for anything, even a hilux...

 

Drove one in Africa. It's a TRUCK. The Tacoma is a car shaped like a truck and with a bed - and that's what I wanted! But damn, the HiLux is another beast entirely. Great great vehicle. Probably a bit overkill for most of the US.

 

Looks like the new Hilux will have a Tacoma-style frame: fully-boxed section up to about where the transfer case ends, then double-walled C-channel. IMO this is how Hino haul trucks are designed. Click on photo for full-size:

Taco holds the South Pole land speed record, and it was done solo:

 

Depends on where you live, here diesel and 87 are about 5¢ apart. 91 is about 20¢ more than diesel right now.

That said, fuel prices are all over the map...hard to predict cost of ownership, 5-10-15 years down the road.

 

Diesel is usually the same or cheaper than regular 87 here

 

^Canadians get ripped off equally on gas and diesel, while Americans get ripped off less on gas.

 

Not far from fact

 

Looks like a car or suv front end.As much as i think the 3rd gen Tacoma's front end is ugly i'd probably choose this one over the Hilux if i had to.

 

LOL

 

I see what you saw there

 

I'd like a Hilux with an extra axle.