2023 Toyota HiLux Rogue new car review
Australia’s favourite car brand is hoping its new rugged dual-cab ute can fight off the barnstorming new Ford Ranger. SEE FULL DETAILS HERE.
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Australia’s fascination with ever bigger, tougher and more capable utes means manufacturers can’t afford to let rivals claim the high ground.
The debut of an impressive new Ford Ranger threatens to topple Toyota’s HiLux as Australia’s favourite diesel pick-up.
So Toyota has sent the HiLux to the gym.
Looking like a powerlifter in a skin-tight T-shirt, the new HiLux Rogue has a muscular, broad-shouldered appearance that suddenly makes the regular SR5 seem a little weedy.
Priced from $70,200 plus on-road costs (about $78,500 drive-away), the Rogue costs about $9000 more than an equivalent SR5 with leather trim and an automatic transmission.
It represents a significant change to the HiLux. The more muscular body comes with a 140mm increase in track width that gives the machine a broader stance.
An extra 20mm of ground clearance adds to the imposing look, joined by charcoal-painted 18-inch alloys that look appropriately tough.
New disc brakes replace drums on the wider rear axle, while a rear sway bar helps to make the machine more stable in the bends.
Retuned suspension rounds out the mechanical changes for the Rogue. It also has niceties such as a nine-speaker JBL stereo and a tray trimmed in washable carpet-like material, covered by a powered roller blind.
Toyota Australia vice president Sean Hanley says it’s important for the Rogue to offer more than cosmetic changes.
“With its wider track and increased ride height, the improved HiLux Rogue not only looks the part, but plays it too,” he says.
“Its improved driveability on and off road combined with its tough new look and keen pricing make the new HiLux Rogue a particularly enticing proposition for Toyota customers.”
But the Rogue leaves more than a few stones unturned.
It has the same 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine as regular HiLux models, a 150kW and 500Nm unit that works well enough in isolation but can’t match the effortless punch of six-cylinder rivals.
It gets the job done but sounds and feels stressed compared to the best in class.
The same goes for a six-speed automatic transmission and on-demand four-wheel-drive system that fall short of sophisticated full-time all-wheel-drive alternatives with extra gear ratios that do a better job keeping engines on the boil.
Out on the road, the Rogue’s wider track and reworked suspension return a confidence-inspiring drive.
It feels planted at highway speed, helped by meaty steering and a reworked rear end that resists excessive roll.
But the back suspension is a little too stiff when unladen, feeling bouncy over bumps compared with more settled alternatives.
Given that folks are unlikely to tip a tonne of topsoil into its carpeted tray, we reckon the Rogue could have been tuned with everyday driving as a higher priority than worksite credentials.
Other gripes include an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that feels adequate rather than impressive when rivals have larger displays with wireless charging and smartphone mirroring.
The same goes for small electronic readout in the driver’s cluster that isn’t a patch on increasingly common wide-screen digital dashboards.
The HiLux’s safety credentials are also less impressive than fresher alternatives. It lacks the Ranger’s front centre airbag, and reverse auto braking.
VERDICT 3/5
The tough-looking Rogue’s masculine appearance increases its appeal but other elements are showing their age.
TOYOTA HILUX ROGUE DETAILS
PRICE About $78,500 drive-away
ENGINE 2.8-litre 4-cyl turbo diesel, 150kW and 500Nm
WARRANTY/SERVICING 5-yr/u’ltd km, $520 per year
SAFETY Seven airbags, auto emergency braking, active cruise control, lane departure alert, road-sign assistance
THIRST 7.9L/100km
SPARE Full size
TOWING 3500kg
IS MORE ON THE WAY?
Toyota’s investment in the new wide body is likely to be extended to other models. The brand is playing its cards close to its chest but we wouldn’t be surprised to see a more rugged version of the car offered alongside the Rogue.
Toyota has also flirted with a sportier HiLux offered under its high-performance Gazoo Racing, or “GR” banner.
Gazoo Racing president Shigeki Tomoyama said in 2019 that he hoped to introduce a proper GR HiLux inspired by the brand’s Dakar Rally winner.
The desert racing machine is powered by a 298kW and 660Nm twin-turbo petrol V6 that would be the perfect foil for Ford’s Ranger Raptor.
Toyota fans are also begging the brand to put the latest LandCruiser’s 227kW/700Nm turbo diesel V6 and 10-speed auto in a HiLux capable of seeing off the punchy Ranger Wildtrak and Volkswagen Amarok, but we wouldn’t expect to see a six-cylinder HiLux until a new generation arrives in about 2024.
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