The new version of the Toyota Hilux was launched a month ago and we featured a video showing just how capable it is in off-road conditions at the Gerotek test facility.
A month later I received the exact same vehicle for a full test and the opportunity to put it through its paces in all conditions. This test encompassed normal town driving, an open-road trip to Herman Charles Bosman country, some very bad dirt roads, some equally bad roads around the farm and finally the trip home with 500kg on the back. This last leg included a stretch of challenging dirt roads and then the open road cruise home.
The improvements and changes to the engine are immediately apparent, from the muted sound at idle to the much quieter overall running. With top models now having balancer shafts added, this rates as one of the smoothest and quietest diesel engines that I have encountered. Changes and upgrades to the rear suspension also contribute to far smoother travel in all conditions. Having said this, I must comment that the rear was slightly light and skittish on the dirt roads when travelling unladen. The 500kg load on the rear quickly solved this problem.
Overall, the top Legend spec level now adds items like active cruise control and autonomous emergency braking to the already high levels that make modern double cab bakkies equal to a luxury car inside the cab.
On the outside, the test vehicle added the RS package as well. This adds the sports bar plus the very interesting automated roller shutter over the load area. This is a great feature for securing loads, weatherproofing and dust-proofing, but it does compromise the load capacity. As always, you must make your choices based on your needs. Take note that the RS package adds a considerable R85 000 to the purchase price.
An interesting feature on the Hilux is the target fuel consumption figure shown on the central screen. The figure is 10l/ 100km. After a full week and all the conditions as mentioned above, our final figure was 9.3l/100km which I deem as highly satisfactory for this class of vehicle.
The power upgrade to 150kW and 500Nm feels as if its an even bigger change from the previous version and now feels far more powerful in all conditions. The 6 speed automatic transmission is always smooth and unflustered.
The current price for the Legend with RS package is R 851 000 and this includes the 9 service/ 90 000km service plan
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26 ноя 2020
