New Toyota HiLux gets ‘menacing’ facelift but its biggest changes are all about comfort
One of Australia’s favourite utes has been given a massive overhaul but there are concerns about how far the new changes go.
It turns out that it’s not just human celebrities getting drastic facelifts. One of the most famous utes in Australia, the Toyota HiLux, is the latest big name to go under the knife.
Gone are the more rounded, friendly shapes that have been part of the design for a number of years.
Instead the ninth generation ute is all sharp lines and squinting headlights.
You might even say this car looks mean, the designers certainly do.
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“Our intention was to make the front end face of the car really imposing … and get a more menacing expression,” chief designer Nic Hogios says.
Do we really need our cars to look like they’d hunt us down in the savanna? I ask why ‘menacing’ was the design goal.
“Because it gives off the impression that it can do anything, and it reflects its unbreakable persona,” Hogios says.
But while the HiLux might look meaner, gruntier and more masculine, under the hood nothing much has changed. The 2.8 litre, 4-cylinder turbo engine is carrying across to all models, with no improvements to the 150kW of power and 500Nm of torque in the six-speed automatic transmission.
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The 2.7-litre petrol and the 2.4-litre turbo diesel engines have both been axed.
This might be disappointing for HiLux fans hoping to see a performance boost.
But, as the saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
Perhaps Toyota feels they’ve got the best platform possible, given their emissions targets? Or, conversely, maybe they feel over-investing in dual-cab utes is unwise given the market is getting increasingly crowded.
Either way, it’s a nip and a tuck for the popular ute without any startling changes.
Toyota is still releasing a full gamut of HiLux variants, starting at the 2x4 Workmate, going all the way up to the Rugged X.
There are some significant differences between each model — the most noticeable perhaps being that the more-affordable Workmate and SR variants come with fewer niceties like seat warmers, and stiffer suspension to combat body roll.
These cars are tuned for work — unsurprisingly they’re harder on the road unladen. But as you climb up the range, things get interesting
While the 2025 HiLux may look mean, the biggest changes are all about comfort. Like an angry couch.
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The seats are more luxurious, the ride tuning from the SR5 up is softer, and the range-wide overhaul of the steering system (from hydraulic to electric power) makes this big ute feel remarkably light on the road.
Buttery even.
The chassis is also carrying across to the ninth generation HiLux, with some engine mount adjustments to combat noise and vibration. This means the cabin still has the same dimensions as the previous models.
But the interior, at least, has had a much-needed refresh.
The instrument display is now digital, and the centre touch screen is also bigger, better, and comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The higher up the range you go, the more bells and whistles you get, like wireless chargers, cooled gloveboxes, and heated seats and steering.
But don’t worry if you prefer physical buttons. The car’s most-used functions, like climate control, are still accessed through knobs and switches. The layout has changed somewhat, making it more logical and easier to navigate while driving.
There’s no question that the front row is better for driver and front passenger comfort, but the second row still feels very upright and cramped.
Expect reasonable complaints for longer road trips and family holidays.
Of course, all 4x4 HiLux models are still impressively capable once you get off the tarmac. On more than one occasion, while carving through technical off-roading sections on the South Coast of New South Wales, I was shocked at the condition of the road compared to how it felt in the driver’s seat. This is partly thanks to the move from hydraulic to rack parallel power steering.
You just don’t feel those nasty shocks through the steering column.
Even novice drivers have a good chance of making it through challenging conditions, so long as they take it slow and steady.
But how many of these brand-new top-spec dual cab HiLux utes will actually experience the kinds of rugged off-roading they’re capable of? I’d wager fewer than are used as family cars after work hours.
It’s a less-sexy second life that manufacturers seem to be intent on ignoring.
Toyota’s pitch for the HiLux is clear: it’s an Aussie blokey man car that’s designed for Aussie blokey men. It’s the same message that Kia hammered with their divisive Tasman ute which launched earlier this year. So far sales haven’t been stellar.
It’s possible car companies are missing a trick here.
Even if Toyota had put fangs and a shotgun on the front of the HiLux, the biggest improvements would still be about comfort. Surely this will appeal mostly to people who are using these cars for gentler recreational and family use?
Why they don’t overtly, rather than covertly, market to this group is a mystery to me.
Either way, this is an upgrade that will keep the HiLux — an already popular car — competitive for a while longer.
That’s about it.
It’s an unadventurous revamp for a ute that supposedly likes to take risks.
Toyota HiLux 4X4
PRICE From about $55,000 drive-away
ENGINE 2.8-litre 4-cyl turbo diesel, 150kW and 500Nm
WARRANTY 5-year, unlimited km
THIRST 7.3L/100km
TOWING 3500kg
SPARE Full-size
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