Toyota Kirloskar Motor has unveiled the much-anticipated Hilux lifestyle pickup truck in India and it is expected to go on sale in March in our market. The Toyota Hilux will be offered only in the double-cab variant and it shares its underpinnings with the current Toyota Innova Crysta and Fortuner. It is spawned by the IMV-2 platform and in fact there are quite a few identifiable bits that have been borrowed from the Fortuner. Having said that, the face does look new and fresh, giving the Hilux its own identity.
Also Read: Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck India Launch: Highlights
The face of the Toyota Hilux looks new and fresh, giving the Hilux its own identity.
For starters, you'll get a Innova Crysta sense in the larger hexagonal grille flanked by sweptback LED headlamps with LED DRLs, though it's not very predominant. The new bumper too looks very tall and angular and gels well with its butch face. Then the 18-inch alloy wheels, flared wheel arches, side-step, body cladding very aptly maintain that rugged sense that make a SUV so desirable and elements like LED taillights and blacked out wing mirrors and pillar add to its urban appeal.
The Toyota Hilux comes loaded with creature comforts internationally.
Now it's on the inside where the Hilux seems very relatable to the Toyota Fortuner facelift currently on sale in the Indian market. It gets an all-black cabin where the layout seems inspired by the Fortuner's interior. In terms of creature comforts it gets an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an eight-speaker JBL sound system, ventilated seats, cruise control, eight-way electrically adjustable front seats, app-based connected car tech and wireless charger among others.
It gets the same engine options.
Under the hood, the Toyota Hilux will source the same 2.8-litre, four-cylinder, diesel engine from the Fortuner that develops 201 bhp and 420 Nm of peak torque in the manual variant, while the automatic variant makes 500 Nm of peak torque. The carmaker will be offering the Hilux only in the 4x4 versions and the SUV comes equipped with all drive-assist features that we expect in an off-roader including hill-assist, brake assist, hill descent control and electronic stability program (ESP), limited-slip differential, differential lock and has water wading capacity of 700 mm.
The Toyota Hilux will be sold in India as a SKD unit and will be locally assembled at Toyota's Bidadi plant in Karnataka with a localisation level of 30 per cent. It will rival the likes of the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross lifestyle pickup truck in our market.
