It's Easy to Envision the Ninth-Gen Toyota Hilux With the N400 Tacoma for Reference

Obviously, some are more sensitive than others, which is probably why a video and the commercial's poster were blacklisted in the United Kingdom because they portrayed the Toyota Hilux pickup truck off-roading. However, it's a crazy thing that we are willing to let slide if only the Japanese automaker would give us a timeline for the arrival of the next generation.

Indeed, the eighth iteration of the iconic Hilux – which has been on sale since 2015 – has been slowly growing longer and longer in the tooth. Obviously, some people are more impatient than others and might take things into their hands – especially if they are equipped with CGI brushes. Such is the case here with the imaginative realm of digital car content creators.

Thus, we are not surprised that Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has taken up the task of revealing the next Hilux iteration way ahead of Toyota. This unofficial depiction of the ninth-generation Hilux is unlike other design projects, though. Thus, instead of going down the more straightforward route of modernizing the current model's styling, it revolutionizes the Hilux by adopting the appearance of the North American N400 Tacoma.

For decades, their journeys have been separated. In early 1995, Toyota America introduced the Tacoma nameplate as the direct successor of the Toyota Pickup (essentially the Hilux, retitled for the North American market), with numerous modifications to make it more comfortable rather than a simple workhorse. Over the years, the Tacoma has grown into a staple of the mid-size pickup class in the region, so there's logic behind switching the Hilux to look like a Tacoma twin.

Interestingly, the pixel master didn't just take the N400 Tacoma and call it Hilux – although the front fascia is obviously directly inspired by the American cousin. Still, the profile keeps the Hilux styling, and at the rear, there are massive, wide instead of vertical LEDs as taillights. Logic dictates that Toyota won't rework the Hilux as a Tacoma sibling, but it's still entirely possible to do that because, most likely, the next Hilux pickup truck could abandon the Toyota IMV platform and join the modern roster of TNGA-F-based body-on-frame models alongside the Land Cruiser, Tacoma, Tundra, or Sequoia.

As for powertrains, it's anyone's guess what will happen, but most likely, Toyota will abandon the 4.0-liter V6 mill and might also drop some of the diesels to make it cleaner. Instead, even depowered, the T24A-FTS 2.4-liter inline-four turbo could be another clever way to link the Hilux back to Tacoma's great fortunes.