What Will Toyota’s 2025 Hilux be Like? We Whip Our Crystal Ball Out
With the Hilux facing a difficult few months ahead as Toyota South Africa deals with the devastation of flood damage at its Prospection, Durban plant and production and likely sales certain top suffer greatly until those issues are sorted, perhaps it’s pertinent to look ahead at the next generation Hilux, likely due in 2024 or 5.
Hybrid & Electric, New V6s and a New Platform Too
Speculation continues to ramp up on that front, with several stories doing the rounds regarding new engines, hybrid and even electric Hiluxes in future. And now they say it will even have an all-new ‘international’ TGNA platform, too. But let’s start with engines. It seems likely that the new Land Cruiser 300’s 3.3-litre turbodiesel V6 will find its way into the Hilux.
Toyota has little option. Ford is already churning turbodiesel V6s out of its Struandale PE engine plant to fit to the next Ranger. And likely Amarok when they arrive later this year, and early ’23, respectively. Do you really think Toyota will let them have that niche all to themselves? Well neither do we. That lump churns out 230 kW and 690 Nm in ‘Cruiser trim. But expect it to be closer to that Ranger diesel V6’s expected 185 kilowatts and 600-odd Newton metres in Hilux.
That also compares favourably to the existing 200 kW 580 Nm VW Amarok 3-litre V6 turbodiesel. And the already extinct 190 kW 550 Nm Mercedes-Benz X-Class. The new VW will get Ford engines. In the meantime, the expected stopgap 155 kW 550 Nm GR Hilux in the current Hilux is delayed as Toyota scrambles to make up lost time as it repairs its factory. The new V6 arrived too late in the current Hilux life cycles for it to be engineered into this model.
A Biturbo V6 Petrol GR Raptor Beater?
Toyota is known to want to leverage Hilux’s Dakar Rally-winning pedigree in a flagship Gazoo Racing model set to compete toe-to-toe with the next Ranger Raptor, which has already been confirmed as a turbo petrol V6 a. So, don’t be surprised if a version of the Cruiser 300’s turbo petrol V6 also finds its way into the road Hilux. They already use it in the Dakar T1+ race Hilux. Join those dots too…
Beyond that, Toyota has already alluded to further locally spun Toyota Hybrid to follow Corolla Cross. And it’s no secret that a hybrid Hilux is on the cards. Which means that it’s not a question of if, it is more when that will happen. And then there’s the electric bakkie that Toyota showed a couple of months back when it trotted out its big EV plans. Also expect petrol, turbodiesel and other engine advances on workhorse and lower spec models when the new Hilux eventually breaks cover.
Before we go, a little news on the 2025 Hilux chassis. It now appears that the rest of the world’s Toyota bakkies will go back to sharing a new version of Toyota’s universal TGNA platform with American pickup truck models. Hilux once shared a platform with the US-spec Toyota Tacoma, until 2004. Now it seems that will again be the case, when Toyota’s two next global midsize LCVs, Hilux and Tacoma share a new a body-on-frame version of that modular Toyota New Global Architecture.
ALL NEW GLOBAL BAKKIE PLATFORM
That TNGA-F chassis will be hybrid and EV ready, so with Toyota already committing to a hybrid bi-turbo V6 petrol for the Tundra, the Hilux’s TGNA transition seems another obvious move and adds further credence to existing speculation. That platform will likely once again be built in Durban for European consumption. And we all know that to compete there, EVs and hybrids are already basically a prerequisite.
Oh, and how will next Hilux look? Well that EV prototype is the most recent forward-looking Toyota bakkie design we’ve seen. So once again joining the dots, we reckon the 2025 Hilux look a lot like that red render on top of the page. What do you think…? – Michele Lupini
Render: Michele Lupini