Toyota's global-market Hilux pickup platform and its turbo-diesel engine is already highly coveted unobtainium in the US, and it's about to get more attractive than ever. A forthcoming upgrade will make it even better for trades workers, off-roaders, overlanders and other diehard truck fans, boosting available payload so the incomparably rugged little truck can carry more weight, whether we're talking stacks of landscaping rock or expansive camper setups.
Midsize trucks are one of the modern world's best street-legal tools for off-roading thanks to their particularly effective combination of compact size and rugged 4WD construction. But there's one spec that holds them back from really excelling in all 4x4 roles: payload. American midsize trucks like the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger can be woefully under-specced for carrying heavy work loads or campers and overlanding gear.
One of the reasons Americans covet the out-of-market Toyota Hilux, despite having access to the similarly positioned Tacoma, is because it's a more utilitarian platform that packs more payload out of the gate. The standard Australian-market Hilux, for example, offers up to 2,756 lb (1,250 kg) of payload, whereas the Tacoma tops out more than 1,000 lb (454 kg) below that at 1,710 lb (776 kg).
That gap is only widening. Toyota Australia announced this week that it's developed a new factory-engineered Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM, GVWR in the US) upgrade option that increases the total weight rating of Hilux trucks to boost payload by hundreds of kilograms. More specifically, Toyota's Australian arm says the kit increases payload by between 820 and 1,047 lb (372 and 435 kg), depending upon the specific Hilux to which it's applied.
With the GVM upgrade, max available Hilux 4x4 payload gets bumped up to a robust 3,362 lb (1,525 kg), nearly double what's available on a Tacoma. The new GVM upgrade offering is clearly a direct counter to the Ford Ranger Super Duty that recently launched in Australia and beyond.
We like the ring of "Hilux HD," but Toyota didn't float any model name updates in its announcement.
Either way, that's a ton (or a tonne and a half, really) of payload with which to work, whether you're muling heavy construction materials and tools to remote job sites or sliding on a large pickup camper and accessories. It's quite a contrast to a US midsize truck market that's spawned an ever-growing aftermarket of ultralight camping toppers that weigh a few hundred pounds so as not to eat the entirety of the truck's payload.
The new GVM upgrade package is available exclusively for 4x4 Hilux variants and includes higher-capacity front and rear axles and longer rear mono-tube shocks that boost ride height by up to 10 mm (0.4 in). Buyers will be able to add the new factory-fitted kit to five different work-focused Hilux 4x4 double-cab models: the Workmate double cab-chassis, Workmate pickup, SR Extra cab-chassis, SR double cab-chassis and SR5 pickup. Each model will come equipped with Toyota's 201-hp 2.8-liter turbo-diesel engine that's good for up to 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque, a six-speed automatic transmission and dual-range part-time 4WD.
Toyota will launch the GVM package on the aforementioned Hilux trims in August for AU$4,000 (approx. US$2,855). Current base prices of the Hilux 4x4 with the aforementioned turbo-diesel powertrain start at AU$58,428 (US$41,725) in Melbourne. That's for the Workmate double-cab pickup truck. The Workmate double cab-chassis starts at AU$60,272 (US$43,025). Both truck prices are before the $4K GVM upgrade or any other options. Because the GVM kit is fitted at the factory, the truck maintains Toyota's full five-year warranty.
The first Ford Ranger Super Duty camper trucks have started showing up in and outside Australia, and we can't wait to see what truck camper builders do with the Hilux HD. We'll be watching.
Source: Toyota Aus
