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Classic Ride: Toyota HiLux

How Toyota's work horse truck became a family favourite.

You might think that a car manufacturer would shy away from claiming that one of its vehicles was invulnerable. It definitely didn't work out for Elon Musk at the now infamous launch of the Cybertruck and its not-so-shatterproof "Tesla Armour Glass".

But that's exactly what Toyota did with the Toyota HiLux - they promised the world that it was "unbreakable". But how did it get here? The Toyota HiLux was first produced in Japan in 1968 as the RN10. Actually, built by Hino, it had a short wheelbase and a 1.5 litre inline-four engine.

The “lux” in the HiLux name was meant to indicate “luxury”. But, in reality, the HiLux was really only luxurious in the sense that it was a bit nicer than the Toyota Stout that preceded it. The HiLux also had the advantage of reliably getting you to your destination, the value which should not be underestimated.

Toyota immediately began tinkering with the design. A long wheelbase version was produced in 1969. A 1.6L version came out in 1971. A 2.0L automatic came along in 1972. Then a radical redesign in 1975 made the ute much larger and another, in 1978, introduced both four-wheel drive and dual cabs—the latter allowing owners to use a ute as a family vehicle for the first time.

All the while, its popularity grew.

First-generation HiLuxes had been imported to Australia for use in the construction and mining sectors as early as the late 1960s. The 4x4s of the third generation cemented the HiLux as the firm favourite of farmers, tradies, miners, weekend adventurers and hardworking men and women across the country.

By the fourth generation, the HiLux came with air conditioning, power windows and power locking systems, finally putting a little “lux” into HiLux.

Then, in 1988, the fifth generation gave us significantly more power, including 3.0L diesel and 3.0L V6 petrol options, as well as the latest tech—power steering and rear anti-lock braking.

As the HiLux became increasingly popular as a versatile family vehicle, Toyota continued to tinker with the design to make them more road friendly. The leaf-sprung front axles were replaced with independent suspension with torsion bars, the design was refined, safety features were improved.

The by now beloved HiLux was being marketed as “unbreakable” or, in some markets, “indestructible”. In 2003, the BBC’s smash hit car show Top Gear decided to put this claim to the test. In what must be the greatest example of free advertising any vehicle has ever received, Jeremy Clarkson and the team found increasingly ridiculous ways to try to destroy an already battered 1988 Toyota HiLux they’d bought from a farmer. It had 305,000 km on the clock. Clarkson drove it down stairs, slammed it into a tree, drowned it in an estuary, dropped it from a height, drove it through a shed, and dropped a caravan on it. After all this, the steering, the engine, the gearbox, the brakes: everything was absolutely fine. So, they slammed a wrecking ball into it. Then set fire to it. Clarkson couldn’t kill it. Finally, they put it on top of a 23-storey building being blown up for demolition. It rose from the dust—battered and bruised. Only the bodywork was holding the chassis together, but the engine still started and it was still driveable (although it’s safe to say it wouldn’t have passed a roadworthy test).

Thanks to Top Gear, the already popular HiLux had become a global icon.

In the more than 20 years since, Toyota has released the seventh and eight generations of the HiLux. The seventh got curvier and had a bigger engine (with a 4.0L option), but by popular acclamation lacked some of the power and handling that had helped build the model’s reputation. The eighth was a return to form—and truly luxurious, with all the gadgets from pre-collision systems and lane assist to infotainment and climate control. The more “lux”, the more the appeal of this once humble ute widened. The Rugged X and Rogue models—Australian-designed and engineered, if not built—were launched in 2018 as vehicles for “urban adventurers”. By now, the HiLux was king in Australia. It would remain the country’s top-selling car until 2023, when the Ford Ranger would replace it.

But what of the future? Can the HiLux regain its crown? With changes in Government legislation around polluting vehicles, the HiLux and all vehicles like it will have to switch to electric motors or face extinction.

Fortunately, Toyota has seen the writing on the wall. It has released the V-Active 48V, a hybrid HiLux with a 48-volt battery and a 2.8L turbodiesel engine.

Maybe the HiLux is immortal as well as unbreakable after all? Only time will tell.

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