 |
| The old Hilux is the AK-47 of vehicles, will the latest generation be able to follow in its tracks? |
This, however, is the minority view. Last month, as happens most months in SA, close to 7 000 people bought a new bakkie, compared to only 350 who bought a van of any description other than the Toyota Quantum taxi.
Among these 7 000 sales, Toyota sold 2 794 Hilux bakkies locally and exported a further 3 508 from Durban, making the Hilux not just SA’s most popular light commercial vehicle, but our most popular vehicle overall, as has been the case for decades.
To get a fresh perspective on what I may be missing in the double-cab offering, I asked our petite bike tester, Shay Kalik, to drive the Hilux over hill and dale after a night’s heavy rain had made the test route deeply muddy.
 |
| Getting buried axle deep is the norm on the test route. |
In other bakkies on general purpose tyres, this is where I would ask a mate to be on stand-by with the snatch ropes, but from past experience with the Hilux’s ability to put its power down, I did not bother. (Besides, I had Kalik to help push in case the bakkie did not live up to its reputation.)
Luckily for Kalik, the Hilux calmly pushed through all the calf-deep pools.
Asked to list the features that most impressed her, the Toyota’s comfort topped the list, followed by interior design and off-road ability.
 |
| Even the most petite can find the ideal seating position in the new Hilux. |
“I am under five foot, so finding a comfortable position where the steering wheel is not too close and the pedals not too far is often a problem. I was surprised how the Hilux fitted me like a glove, thanks to tilt steering and electric driver’s seat,” she said.
She also paired her phone in less time than it took me to wade through the first pool, and was impressed with the sound system and large touch screen.
The hard ride in the Hilux compared to that of the Isuzu D-Max or Ford Ranger did not bother her as much as it did me, but then her kidneys are used to being pummeled for hours each day riding a Yamaha motorbike on city patrol as a biker cop.
Compared to the Ranger’s 1 912 kg and D-Max’s 1810 kg kerb weights, the Hilux tips the scale at 1 850 kg, nicely in the middle.
 |
| The VW Amarok V6 is currently the fastest double-cab in 'Safrica', but any V6 sedan is faster. |
The middle is, in fact, where the Hilux ends up with most comparisons, be it price, 4x4 ability or comfort on tar.
All double cabs are Jacks of all trades, but master of none, striving to offer a car’s handling, a van’s space, a small truck’s load bed and an ATV’s agility.
The Hilux is average on all these points, being neither the fastest, nor the most expensive nor the most agile, but as the sales figures show, such an honest attempt to please everybody in all things is exactly what the market wants.
 |
| Mahindra offers the most Newtons the least money in their workhorses, but this is not what double cab buyers want. |
The Fiat Fullback, which is faster, sold 16 bakkies in January, while the Mahindra Scorpio, which is very good value for money as a workhorse, sold only 266. The fastest bakkie in SA at the moment, the VW Amarok, sold only 231.
 |
| The Datsun 1400 is the pickup that retained its value better than any other used commercial vehicle in the world. |
One area where only the old Nissan 1400 beats the Hilux is resale value.
Fleet managers agree no big bakkie retains its value better than an old Hilux. Will the latest generation Hilux prove as robust as its predecessors, which has been described as the AK47 of vehicles? Only time will tell.
