This new Hilux comes with a price increase from €3,000 over the outgoing model, which has been Ireland's best-selling 4x4 crew cab pick-up for a number of years. Toyota believes that the new price to start at €36,500 is justified as it claims that the current price has been virtually unchanged since 2005.

This new Hilux comes with a new single 2.4 litre D4D turbo-diesel engine option for the Irish market, with extra power and torque. Engine power jumps to 150bhp and torque rises more significantly to 400Nm over the outgoing 2.5 litre engine.

The new engine is claimed to have a 9% improvement in fuel economy compared with the former model. This has been enhanced by the choice of a new 6 speed manual or automatic gearbox.

This new engine is marginally cleaner than before but there is little difference in its CO2 rating, despite the fact that it uses the AdBlue fuel additive. The system does allow the Hilux to achieve a Euro 5 standards. In the longer term, Toyota will aim for cleaner engines without the need for AdBlue, Toyota engineer, Hiroki Nakajima told the Irish Farmers Journal at the European lunch of the Hilux in Namibia, southern Africa where the 4x4 pick-up was truly put to the test.

Towing ability

Toyota believes that this new Hilux will retain the reliability and durability features of the previous seven generations of pick-up, while adding an extra comfort and drivability feel to Europe's most popular 4x4 pick-up. The towing ability has increased from 2.5 tonnes to 3.2 tonnes and rises to 3.5 tonnes for the single cab models.

Comfort levels have improved with an improved rear axle using longer and more flexible leaf springs. This along with the use of a stronger ladder frame chassis, both allow for 20% more wheel travel to deal with difficult ground conditions. Toyota claims that the chassis up to three times stronger than that of the previous model. The chassis has been redesigned to allow for servicing without the need to remove the engine under cover.

The rear pick-up cargo area is slightly shorter but it's wider than in the past. The cargo sidewalls are higher now but still marginally lower than either the Ford Ranger or Volkswagen Amarok. At 1645mm wide the new Hilux cargo area has the widest pick-up in the segement.

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