Toyota Hilux Review (2016-present)

What is the Toyota Hilux?

The Hilux pick-up is pushing for iconic status in the car world, a truck with a long-term reputation that is the envy of other manufacturers. Now in its eighth generation, it’s built up an image as an ultra-tough workhorse that will go anywhere and keep going even after you’ve blown up a building beneath it (as demonstrated on BBC Top Gear).

The pick-up truck market has changed considerably in recent years, moving from the preserve of tradesmen using them as a tool to a genuine lifestyle vehicle with car-like comfort and features, thanks in large part to their attraction for company car drivers: you’d pay a lot less on tax for a pick-up than a car. That change has meant lots of comparatively luxurious trucks on the market, and the Hilux has plenty of challengers, from the Mitsubishi L200, Nissan Navara and Ford Ranger to value-for-money options like the Isuzu D-Max and Ssangyong Musso, as well as more premium options like the Volkswagen Amarok and Mercedes-Benz X-Class.

The Hilux sits firmly in the middle of the market. It hasn’t abandoned its utilitarian roots and still has all the features you’d expect of a working vehicle, but it’s also available in several body styles and trim levels, with lots of cutting-edge technology that you’d look for in a regular car. While many users will keep it firmly on the tarmac, it’s engineered to have far more than a token ability off-road, and will tackle some serious terrain. Two-wheel drive Hiluxes are available but most will be four-wheel drive with a low-range mode if you do want to go off-road.

How practical is it?

This version of the Hilux was first introduced in early 2016. The bulk of them sold are in four-door Double Cab form, with space for three in the back. But you can also get them in Single Cab, with two seats and extra space on the load bed, or Extra Cab, which is a halfway house that has tiny rear doors and a couple of tiny rear seats for occasional use. Single Cab and Extra Cab models are only available in entry-level Active trim. All models will take up the same amount of space on your drive.

The Double Cab model is the most car-like inside, and feels solidly assembled even if the plastics used feel rather hard and wipe-clean rather than soft and premium. It feels some way behind the Volkswagen Amarok or the Ssangyong Musso, and a rather unremarkable infotainment system doesn’t help. Still, it’s easy enough to find a decent seating position within the lofty, commanding spectrum that such a high vehicle offers, and it’s comfortable enough to sit behind the steering wheel. There’s plenty of room for rear-seat passengers, with lots of headroom and reasonable legroom for two adults. There are lots of places to keep things as well, with two gloveboxes, storage between the front seats and some big cupholders. Oh, and the load bed in the back. All that gives you plenty of practicality.

What's it like to drive?

On the road, the Hilux drives reasonably well for a pick-up truck, but that’s an important qualifier. If you’re coming into the world of trucks from an SUV you’ll find it rather unsophisticated in comparison, but that’s because, mechanically, it is exactly that. The ride can be firm and bouncy at the back, especially at low speeds, because the simple rear suspension is designed to cope with up to a tonne of stuff in the load bed. This is true of most trucks, and while there are some that are far worse at giving a reasonable ride, such as the Ssangyong Musso, there are also some that are smoother, like Ford’s Ranger.

Through the corners, the Hilux’s agricultural roots are obvious, as it’s quite a long way from car-like in its ability to resist body roll. Ssangyong’s surprisingly agile Musso is the benchmark here, and the Hilux falls some way short; this is not a vehicle that you want to push through the bends, with vague-feeling steering that doesn’t really inspire confidence. Take it easy though, and you can still make reasonable progress.

The Hilux is excellent when off-roading. The revised model from 2020 onwards could wade through water up to 700mm deep and has pretty serious approach and departure angles, as well as high ground clearance. This is very much a working truck if you need it to be, with features like a differential lock, a one-tonne payload capacity in a spacious load bed, and a towing capability of up to 3.5 tonnes (braked), depending on spec.

At launch, the Hilux was equipped with a 2.4-litre diesel engine that produced 148bhp. It’s rather noisy and agricultural, and often needs working hard. A 2.8-litre engine was introduced midway through 2020, upping the power to 201bhp, and that’s a considerable improvement, feeling far less lethargic. If you can stretch to a later model, it’s the engine to go for, although it’s still pretty noisy and it’s only available with the expensive Invincible and Invincible X trims. Wind noise at motorway speeds is considerable too. Without wanting to labour the point too much, this is a pick-up truck, not an SUV, no matter what Toyota’s marketing will say. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

There’s a choice of six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission, although not all gearboxes were available on all trim levels. The manual is impressively slick for a truck, while the automatic will make threading through smaller streets less work, although it’s not the smoothest of units.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

The choice of trims has stayed the same since launch, with the entry-level model being the Active. This isn’t as spartan as you might imagine for what is ostensibly a commercial vehicle; it comes with air-conditioning, automatic headlights and Bluetooth, and rides on steel wheels and all-terrain tyres.

Most ‘lifestyle’ customers will want to start their search with the Icon model, though, which has 17-inch alloy wheels with all-terrain tyres, as well as a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system (8.0 inches on late-2020-onwards models) with DAB radio and a reversing camera. Post-2020 models have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for smartphone connectivity.

Next on the roster is the Invincible, which has larger 18-inch alloy wheels with road tyres, keyless entry and start and a beefed up climate control aircon system, as well as brighter LED headlights and heated front seats.

The top-spec model is the Hilux Invincible X, available only with the 2.8-litre engine. It’s loaded with kit, including satnav, a powered driver’s seat and a JBL sound system. This trim was given a small overhaul in 2019, so models after that will have lost their chrome finishings, replaced instead with dark grey elements. All models of Hilux from August 2019 onwards had extra safety kit too, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and a lane departure warning system.

Toyota Hilux running costs

A big truck with a big engine won’t be the last word in efficiency, especially if you’re comparing it to SUVs, but the Hilux isn’t bad when compared to its immediate peers. Perhaps surprisingly, fuel economy figures are better in the Double Cab models, which can give up to 30mpg from the 2.4-litre engine, and up to 30.7 with the automatic gearbox. The larger 2.8-litre engine is actually more efficient with a manual gearbox, with an official figure of up to 33.2mpg depending on spec, but unlike the 2.4, the efficiency drops if you want an auto', down to 30mpg.

Light commercial vehicles, like the Hilux, benefit from a flat rate of company car tax, which could prove far cheaper than a regular car. You’ll pay £133 at 20% or £266 at 40%. Vehicle Excise Duty is also a flat rate of £260.

Insurance costs could be higher than a car's, though, as the Hilux sits in insurance groups 41 to 45 of 50. Doing some maths on higher insurance premiums versus savings elsewhere could be worth the effort.

You’ll need to get your Hilux serviced every year or 10,000 miles. Toyota offers fixed-price servicing on the Hilux, at £250 for an intermediate service or £395 for the full service at the time of writing. For context, that’s more than you’d pay for a RAV4 SUV, but the same as for a larger Land Cruiser. Owners of older models can join the Toyota 5- Club, which lowers costs to £200 and £316, respectively. If your Hilux is out of warranty, however, you may find it cheaper to have it looked at by an independent garage.

Toyota Hilux reliability

Toyota has a longstanding and well deserved reputation for reliability, and the Hilux is the apogee of that; it’s one of the truck’s main selling points. To underline this, Toyota offers a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the Hilux, which easily outmuscles the 62,500-mile, five-year offering from Mitsubishi and the three-year warranties from other rivals like the VW Amarok. That said, SsangYong will give you a seven-year, 150,000-mile warranty on the Musso.

If you need more proof, Toyota as a brand was fifth in What Car’s 2024 Reliability Survey and eighth in the 2024 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. There’s no such thing as a surefire bet when it comes to vehicle reliability, but the Hilux is about as safe a gamble as you can get.