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By
EWAN KENNEDY
27 November 2006
The heat in the ute market in Australia is increasing, seemingly
by the day. Initially fed by the fuel of hot Commodore and Falcon
models, the action has extended to the working models in the range.
Toyota, which has held the best-seller title among the working
ute for years, hasn’t been slow to respond. Its latest action is
to revise the intercooled ‘working-ute’ variant of the
3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine. It now produces up to 286 Newton
metres, achieving this at low revs of just 1200 to 1600 rpm. Put
another way, a sensible operator will have the engine near its
peak torque virtually all the time.
Those keen on preserving the quality of our air, and that’s
more and more of us these days, will be pleased to note that the
new engine has been cleaned up to the stage that it now exceeds
Euro 4 emission requirements.
Those watching their dollars will be pleased to know that the
clutch of the HiLux has been beefed up to cope with the extra
grunt.
As well as improving the turbo-diesel, Toyota Australia has
specified larger wheels, 15-inch versus 14-inch, on the HiLux SR
model.
This makes a lot of sense because the latest range of Toyota
utes, launched in 2003, has increased significantly in size over
the superseded model. It is now aimed very much at the American
market and Australian owners have certainly taken to the bold new
style in a big way.
The sporting HiLux SR5 has received a pair of foglights and is
offered in a new range of colours. Call into your local dealer for
information on these. Note that the front bumpers of the SR5s are
colour-coded to the rest of the vehicle.
ABS brakes are now standard on HiLux SR5 variant because more
and more utes are being used as cars rather than full-on
light-commercial vehicles. Indeed, many are saying that utes are
the new sports coupes in Australia.
The current Toyota HiLux is considerably more spacious than
ever before. The back seat of the dual-cab models is now close to
car like in size and is well shaped and comfortable. In its latest
format, rear-seat travellers now have the convenience of a central
armrest, just the thing to help separate the warring youngsters
back there!
Even more than before the Toyota HiLux can be used as a family
car at weekends by those who are restrained by a tight budget to
owning a single vehicle.
HiLux's designers may have paid a lot more attention to styling
and image than ever before, but have no fear, the vehicle is as
tough and rugged as it has ever been and will continue to suit the
needs of Australians using it in this harsh land of ours.
Toyota HiLux continues to be sold in a staggering array of
models, including some with 4x2 drivetrains and others with 4x4.
There are single-cab, extended-cab and dual-cab bodies as well as
some in cab-chassis format to which you can attach a custom body
suited to your specific needs.
The Toyota HiLux diesel range, with prices (excluding on-road
costs), is:
SR Single Cab 4x2 cab chassis: $29,590 (manual)
SR Double Cab 4x2 pickup: $35,590 (manual)
SR Single Cab 4x4 cab chassis: $34,890 (manual), $36,430
(automatic)
SR Extra Cab 4x4 cab chassis: $39,790 (manual)
SR5 Extra Cab 4x4 pickup: $48,220 (manual)
SR Double Cab 4x4 cab chassis: $40,790 (manual)
SR Double Cab 4x4 pickup: $41,790 (manual), $43,330 (automatic)
SR5 Double Cab 4x4 pickup: $50,220 (manual), $52,150 (automatic)
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Marque Publishing Company
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