2025 Hilux, Navara & Triton. And a Kia called Tasman
Besides the new Ranger and its Amarok cousin, the bakkie world has been rather benign since lockdown eased. But there’s a veritable pickup truck revolution brewing and it has some big hitters coming into play. The long-awaited next Toyota Hilux is headed our way, but not before a brand new Mitsubishi Triton hits the road. But wait, that’s not all – look out for the next Nissan Navara and an all-new Kia bakkie called Tasman, too.
The biggest news has to be the 2025 Hilux
South Africa’s biggest selling vehicle of all – never mind bakkie – the Toyota Hilux continues to lead the way in SA new car sales in spite of it being ten years older than among its hottest rivals. Which means the next one is the biggest of all new car news coming in the next year or so. We also know that new Hilux will share its chassis and many other components with the already revealed US market Toyota Tacoma, but what will change this side of the pond?
Well, expect the new Hilux to don a different face to the Tacoma. Some say, as per our exclusive Auto sketch, that it will take its cues from the Land Cruiser 300. A step upmarket. The cabin should echo the high-tech Tacoma with optional huge displays, the essential buttons and latest CarPlay and Auto. The longer wheelbase bakkie will add advanced towing, Multi-Terrain Select, Crawl Control and the choice of 4×4 and permanent AWD.
We’d bet that the new local Hilux will continue with possibly fresher, more powerful optionally electrified 2,4 and 2.8-litre turbodiesels. The flagship Tacoma packs a 240 kW 630 Nm I- Force Max turbo 2.4-litre four-pot hybrid with a 35 kW e-motor and 1.9-kilowatt-hour battery pack. So why not here too? Launch is pencilled in for 2025, after a new GR Sport III, the 48V hybrid and possibly even a surprise final facelift for the existing bakkie.
Triton will win race to showroom floor
Already revealed overseas, the all-new sixth generation Mitsubishi Triton will arrive in South Africa first. Riding on a lighter, stronger and 40% more rigid new chassis and shoved along by a more powerful range of bi-turbodiesel engines, the new 4N16 2.4-litre four-pot comes three states of tune up to a feisty 150 kW 470 Nm version. They turn either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.
4×4 versions retain the SuperSelect-II system, which continues to offer four 2H, 4H, 4L and 4HLc modes; and 4LLc that automatically locks the diff. Limited slip differential continues as standard on all models. New Triton however gains Super Active Yaw Control, torque vectoring and Eco, Normal, Snow, Gravel, Mud, Sand and Rock driving modes. Revised double wishbones and leaf spring rear suspension gets re-tuned electric power steering.
15 mm longer, 50 mm wider on a significantly 130 mm longer wheelbase with 22 mm more ground clearance, front and rear tracks are 50 mm wider and the bak is 35 mm broader. Payload is also up, but the big news is that Triton will finally be able to join the big dogs. It will tow a 3,500 kg braked trailer. The biggest news however is that this new Triton will share its guts with the next Nissan Navara.
2025 Navara swaps spit with Triton
That all-new next-generation Nissan Navara is now well into its development home straight and should make it into local showrooms by early next year. All-new from the ground up, The first new Nissan Navara in a decade will be built on the next Mitsubishi Triton platform as part of the new Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance. Which means the bakkies will share the same chassis frame and suspension and plausibly, common engines and drivetrains.
So, for Navara, read Triton, above. The new 2025 Navara and Triton are however expected get their own family faces, wheels, and trim. But expect most of the sheetmetal, the glass house and the rear end to basically remain common. So the Navara will share Triton’s signature shoulder line and character lines above blistered wheel arch extenders. And the window line flick on those longer rear doors.
Mitsubishi took the lead on this bakkie project due to the Triton allegedly being a sounder business case, having outsold Navara in key markets. That is also why the Navara will follow the Triton to market by a year or two. Either way, this new joint venture will certainly ring the changes for both the Nissan Navara and the Mitsubishi Triton.
Something completely different. Kia Tasman
While there are indeed a few other new bakkies including a few facelifts, one or two Chinese, and Chinese-based hopefuls due in the next year or so, none of them seem quite as significant as Auto’s fourth big bakkie news pick. Kia’s all-new one-ton bakkie and double cab range may be here sooner than you think to take on the likes of Hilux and Ranger, et al. And knowing this Korean carmaker, the 2025 Tasman is nothing to be scoffed at.
Besides prototypes clearly showing Kia logos in early testing, Kia has played its cards close to its chest on the rest about its new pickup truck contender. It also remains unclear if a Hyundai twin will make it to market. Apparently based on the home market Kia Mojave, the spy photos reveal a long wheelbase, a very long load bay and extreme rear overhang. Much of that is however just disguise. We’d bet on something closer to our sketch.
Technical spec will remain secret until launch, but Kia does have a few powertrains that would fit right in, all the way to a 205 kW 590 Nm 3-litre straight six turbodiesel, and a 206 kW 2.5-litre turbo petrol. Expect eight-speed automatic gearboxes, with a 6-speed manual in workhorses and more basic models. And hybrid and EV versions to follow.
All in all, the future of the bakkie certainly looks brisk. Yes, as noted, there are a few other newcomers en route too. But for now, if you’re looking to a new bakkie purchase in the next 18 months or so, we’d recommend that you keep this somewhat significant secret quartet in mind too. – Michele Lupini
Image renderings: Michele Lupini