When you hear about a commercial called "Toyota Hilux: The Benchmark Rebuilt," you expect it to be all about clever new engines and tough suspension. But no, this ad is all about talking animals that want to be killed and transported in the back of a pickup, as if it's a great honor.
PETA is going to have something nice to say about this kind of advertising. Unfortunately, there's not a lot they can do, since the ad was released in New Zealand.
The Toyota Hilux is no stranger to controversial commercials. We remember how years ago there was one where a wild boar riding a motorcycle was getting itself airbrushed on the fuel tank. It's so crazy you won't believe us unless you watch the second video below.
Anyway, the new Hilux commercial starts off really awkwardly, with a rhyming stag that wants to be "mounted proudly on your mightily steel bonnet." After that comes the fish catch of the century who says it wants to be taken to the local taxidermy in the luggage compartment of the truck while "the sweet engine purrs, refusing to fail."
Roadkill? Why not, you've killed everything else already! A cute looking creature that seems to be a cross between a monkey and a mouse "embraces his destiny" by being deliberately run over. Ducks, fish and mountain goats - really, nothing is safe from the hunters.
In our opinion, this commercial is a stupid idea that's been well executed. Ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi must have spent several months filming this monstrosity, creating all those talking animals and figuring out how to make them rhyme. All that to make a video that will strike most people as disturbing or off-putting.
We have a few specs to wash down this atrocity. The 2016 Toyota Hilux comes with a couple of new engines. There's a 2.4-liter that delivers 161 HP and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) while its bigger 2.8-liter peer is suitable for 180 HP and 332 lb-ft (450 Nm). Those two are shared with the Fortuner SUV, but there are also alternatives. For the 2.7-liter gasoline unit, Toyota allocated 166 HP while the muscular flagship borrows a 4.0-liter V6 from the Tacoma to give you 281 HP.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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