Drove the Toyota Hilux: Lots to like but will I buy it over a Fortuner

Cars like Creta or Harrier seemed like small hatchbacks after seeing the Hilux in person.

BHPian vattyboy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My friend took delivery of his Toyota Hilux ( Pearl White Crystal Shine colour) a few days ago, I drove the Hilux a couple of times, so I want to share my observations of this massive truck

First of all, I want to thank Team BHP, because of this wonderful forum I was able to get a 7 lakhs discount on a Hilux for my friend.

Initially, he booked it at 44 lakhs on the road price but after reading a wonderful thread here, I got to know that another bhpian bought a Hilux at a 7 lakhs bargain so I immediately called my friend and informed him about the same. Initially, my friend did not believe this information, also his dealer denied it ( If the dealer has a guy stuck then why would he let him go? ).

Then I called the same dealer in front of my friend and acted as a new customer and the dealer confirmed that there was a discount. Now after a couple of days of negotiation and discussion between my friend and dealer, they both agreed on a 37 lakhs road price.

After this incident, I gained a lot of respect in the eyes of my friend and his family.

Likes:

• The first thing I want to say is Hilux is H-U-G-E, after seeing this SUV in front of my eyes, all the other cars just felt too small, cars like Creta or Harrier seemed like small hatchbacks after seeing the Hilux in person.
• After stepping inside the cabin and taking the seat in the Hilux, I was on top of the world! All other SUVs, even Scorpio N and Fortuner drivers were sitting below me.
• I pushed the Engine Start Button and the massive 2.8 L turbo Diesel Engine came to life. The engine feels very silent and refined, I am impressed by Toyota for what they did in their engine to reduce its NVH levels. The same 2.8 L engine comes in the Fortuner Facelift from 2016 but back at that time it wasn’t refined as it is now.
• I slotted the gearbox into the D position and started driving. It comes with a very old-school torque converter automatic gearbox which is one of the most reliable gearboxes present in the world.
• The gearbox compliments the engine, It is tuned very well and it always keeps the vehicle in its powerband i.e. 1500 rpm from where this truck delivers its massive 500 nm of torque.
• The acceleration is very impressive, this massive truck can push you back into the seats. Just a slight dab on the throttle and I was doing 80- 90 kmph. Within a few seconds of acceleration, you will leave all the traffic behind you in the dust.
• Surprisingly when I started driving it, I didn’t feel the massive size of this truck and it was so easy and light to drive.
• The steering wheel is very very light, driving this truck in the city will require the least amount of effort from the driver.
• Headlights have good and precise throws. Just in the position where you want.
• Due to its massive size all the traffic coming from the other side of the road maintained a good distance away from me and for overtaking the vehicle in the front only 2 blinks of the dipper were sufficient for them to give me side

Dislikes:

• I am not convinced by the cabin’s interior quality. On the door, it is all hard plastic. Leather is available only on the top of the dashboard. I know that this is a pickup truck but at close to 40 lacs on the road price, I expected things to be on the luxurious side. For reference, my compass interior feels like 2 segments above the Hilux.
• All the buttons like power window switches, AC buttons, steering controls etc. are like buttons and switches which come in the 15-20 lacs Hyundai Or Kia cars.
• Surprisingly from inside the cabin’s width felt narrow equal to Compass. Don’t know what Toyota did, from the outside, it feels very wide.
• At the rear due to rear leaf suspension, Hilux tends to bounce on every undulation present on the roads from the rear. But yeah the main motive is to carry loads and not do good speeds. I mentioned this for the people who want to buy Hilux just for its massive looks and they will not carry any loads in it.
• The suspension doesn’t support the speeds which can be done from the impressive 201 bhp and 500 nm of torque. Suspension is good till 80 kmph but if an undulation comes at slight corners then it can be risky if you are doing any speed higher than 80 kmph. It can do 100- 120 kmph on good roads like the Delhi – Dausa expressway or Samriddhi Mahamarg but again you will feel quite nervous because of the bouncing tendency at the rear.

Will I consider buying the Hilux?

No, instead I will add another few lakhs and go for the Fortuner. Fortuner is a good status symbol and has a massive size too.

How does it fare against my Compass, CLA and Seltos:

Cabin quality is comparable to Seltos, while the compass feels 2 segments higher and CLA feels 3 segments higher.

Ranting on the performance Seltos is nowhere in the league.

Hilux has better initial acceleration than Compass and CLA for sure due to its well-tuned gearbox which keeps the engine in its torque band i.e 500 nm torque from 1500 rpm but at higher speeds above 80 kmph, compass and CLA will outperform it for sure.

Talking about handling all 3 Seltos, Compass and CLA have better handling and driving dynamics than Hilux.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

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