The Hybrid Toyota Hilux Is Still A Tough Cookie

The Toyota Hilux is a vehicle that needs very little introduction. Whether it’s traipsing across a muddy field with an enthusiastic border collie in its pickup bed or somehow surviving a dunking in the Severn Estuary, it’s known across the world for its staggering robustness and refusal to break down.

That’s why it feels a bit strange to write that you can now get the Hilux as a hybrid, but that’s exactly what’s just been unveiled in an effort to drag the unbreakable old hector into 2025.

Before you get too panicky about what adding a load of fragile batteries and motors to the Hilux will do to its ability to survive whatever you throw at it, it’s a hybrid in the loosest sense of the word. You certainly can’t plug it in, and the 2.8-litre turbodiesel engine still does most of the legwork.

The electrification is supplied by a compact 48V battery housed beneath the rear seats, which can provide the powertrain with an extra 16bhp and 48lb ft of torque at start-up. It’s charged up by an electric motor-generator which itself is run off the engine, and helps save some fuel and fill in some torque gaps during driving. It has no bearing on the Hilux’s peaks of 201bhp and 396lb ft.

Toyota’s worked hard to ensure the Hilux’s hybridisation hasn’t impacted its pickup truck credentials – its 1000kg payload and 3500kg towing capacity are unchanged, and it’ll still wade through up to 700mm of water. To make this possible, the belt tensioner that allows the motor-generator to do its thing has a tough fabric layer and a high-strength aramid core. Sounds important.

Also introduced with the hybrid powertrain, which in the UK is initially only available on the top double-cab Hilux Invincible X, is the same Multi-Terrain Select terrain response tech that features on the new Land Cruiser.

Speaking of the Land Cruiser, this powertrain will likely become an option for it in Europe later this year. If you want a taste of it in the Hilux, though, it’ll cost a minimum of £40,437, excluding VAT.