Photo: Toyota
Despite some recall issues, Toyota is known for its reliable vehicles that are simply built to withstand a lot of punishment and still keep on going. But among all the models, you might recognize that the Hilux is the automaker’s benchmark when it comes to durability.
The Toyota Hilux entered production as a compact pickup truck in 1968 being equipped with a 1.5-liter engine making only 77 hp in Japan. Now, in its seventh generation, the Hilux is pretty common in Europe, South Africa and Asia. It’s so well built that Toyota decided only to give it mild facelifts from 2005 until now because whoever want’s to buy one will buy it for its workhorse abilities and not for design.
But where did the idea that the Hilux is indestructible came from anyway? There are a lot of pickups out there and nobody said any of them is like a tank. Well, the Hilux managed to remark itself in the media along time by getting a lot of achievements and going places where few dare to step.
First of all, the Toyota Hilux was the first car ever to roam around the Magnetic North Pole, as you remember from a Top Gear Special episode in 2007. It wasn’t really a stock Hilux as you can buy at your local dealer, but upgrades resumed to fitting it with a winch, higher suspension, beefy wheels and wide body.
The thing with going visit extreme areas of the Globe also happened again in 2010, when another Hilux, a much more modified version with six wheels and running on jet fuel, managed to complete a 5,900 mile journey to the South Pole without a single fault.
Speaking of 2010, the Hilux was also the support vehicle for the Project Runningblade, the British attempt to put a world record on lawn mower speed, in which they succeeded clocking up at 87.883 mph.
Another great thing to mention is that rally driver Giniel De Villiers won third and second place in the hardcore Dakar rally with this type of vehicle both in 2012 and 2013.
The Toyota Hilux also helps lots of organizations to do their messy jobs, like UK-based Tiggywinkles charity organization which is using one to rescue sick, injured and orphaned animals.
Then again, the Hilux can take a lot of physical punishment, like saving a stuck 18 wheeler, jump over sand and snow dunes, be a perfect pickup for the Australian outback and also survive the Top Gear ordeals, including water, fire, a falling caravan and a collapsing tower building, all out of which the car managed to start its engine and turn the wheels.
Guess that after a nuclear World War Three, the scorched Earth’s surface will be populated only by cockroaches and Toyota Hiluxes.
But where did the idea that the Hilux is indestructible came from anyway? There are a lot of pickups out there and nobody said any of them is like a tank. Well, the Hilux managed to remark itself in the media along time by getting a lot of achievements and going places where few dare to step.
First of all, the Toyota Hilux was the first car ever to roam around the Magnetic North Pole, as you remember from a Top Gear Special episode in 2007. It wasn’t really a stock Hilux as you can buy at your local dealer, but upgrades resumed to fitting it with a winch, higher suspension, beefy wheels and wide body.
Speaking of 2010, the Hilux was also the support vehicle for the Project Runningblade, the British attempt to put a world record on lawn mower speed, in which they succeeded clocking up at 87.883 mph.
Another great thing to mention is that rally driver Giniel De Villiers won third and second place in the hardcore Dakar rally with this type of vehicle both in 2012 and 2013.
The Toyota Hilux also helps lots of organizations to do their messy jobs, like UK-based Tiggywinkles charity organization which is using one to rescue sick, injured and orphaned animals.
Guess that after a nuclear World War Three, the scorched Earth’s surface will be populated only by cockroaches and Toyota Hiluxes.
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