New Hilux:Any good?

[poundalead]

Hey Guys,

Thinking about changing the old 'cruiser over for the new 'lux. I have only heard positive feedback from the boys that have them at work. Just wondering (before I hand over the hard earned) if there are any problems that have arisen since they have been released. I wanted the new 'cruiser ute but its at least a 6 month wait and from the performance that the new Hilux's put out now I don't believe it would be much different from what I already own, and justified for the extra dosh. Any comments would be great.

Cheers Benny

[Kleyny]

Mate has a diesel dual cab one and couldnt be happier.
with the beach work he can almost keep up with my baja. so thats saying something

neil

[TheRealAndy]

I just bought the navara, but my intentions were to initally buy the hilux. The reason i didn't was because of the front overhang, resulting in a lack of clearance. If you look carefully you will also notice they are lower in the front. My suspicions were confirmed a few months a go when one of my mates customers said that his new hilux would bottom out at the front when doing serious dune work.

IT was a hard decision to walk away from the hilux because they are the only 4wd i have ever driven, and they are a tough truck.

Also, at the end of the day, the navara was almost $10 grand less and i think you get more bang for your buck.

I also looked at the triton, which was also quite good, however I really dont like what they have done with the back of the cab. The triton has the best warranty as well.

[Far side]

Benny Hire one mate and take it for a spin better than spending the big bucks up front

[Flex]

New Hilux has best engine,gear-box, out of all the dual cabs. but probably the worst clearance. get it raised and put new wheels on it and your sweet

[big moose]

G'day benny just check your towing requirements as well the lux has the lowest rating of the dual cabs
regds gary

[poundalead]

Thanks fellas good comments there. I have driven a couple of them as the boys at work are buying them like hot cakes. I knew the ground clearance was an issue but I am gonna put 32" BFG's on if possible. 10k is a lot of money in anyone's terms, but its gonna be leased through my business and I do believe that when the baloon is due at the end I will get my money back due to Toyotas holding their money. I have a mate with a Navara which runs well, but he had a new diff. put in under warranty (due to a fault). This could have been an isolated incident though and I'm definitely not bagging Nissan. Thanks once again though any more advice would be great

Cheers Benny

[whykickacatalong]

We have been running them at work since they have come out. We only keep them for 15-19k before selling them due to economics so I think I am on about my 17th Lux of the new model and apart from a indicator switch wired back to front on one and a CV boot getting ripped off another I have not had any problems with any of them.

They drive very nicely but this is due to the compromise that Toyota has made with it's 4wd capability. Yes they are very low. They bottom out on the beach, hit rocks and stumps when off road and often you will see them with bent running boards along the side, where previous models would have cleared it all. They still are the best setup duelcab, in both power, driveability and comfort inside and with a liftkit and decent tyres I think you have a very capable 4wd. You will loose some of the "car" type driving feeling but the 4wd ability gain will compensate for that. I have seen some of them given minor lifts and bigger/wider wheels (nothing radical) and the improvement seen when I park side by side makes them look very different than the standard "Lowlux" that Toyota are putting out now.

[Ryan.S]

My father and 2 uncles all have new turbo diesel dual cabs, SR, and they are all happy. Very nice to drive and seem capable. Have had one up the beach and performed well. Have heard the petrols are thirsty but diesel is very economical for what it is.

[ShaneC]

Hey mate,

I have an SR5 TD Auto. I dont really do any hard core offroad so can't comment on those aspects but as far as a good all round car, thats handy up the beach and is a good towing vehicle I dont think you could go past it. I did however put Cooper AT's on it the moment I drove it away from the showroom, the standard tyres are shite.

Economy wise, I get 8-9 l/100km from it, it goes up to about 11L/100km when towing a 16ft tinny on the highway at 110 kmh.

Have had no dramas with it that were a Toyota fault (had a little drama with an optional extra), and overall very happy with it in the 10 months since I bought it.

Hope this helps,

Shane

[poundalead]

Cheers for that Shane, That is basically what I wanted to hear. I have ordered the SR single cab so I just have to wait til the colour I ordered becomes available. ;D

Cheers Benny

[Brett1907]

Benny, if you want to put 32" tyres on you will need to do a supension lift. I have a V6 Dual Cab with the ARB 2" kit and it actually improved the ride from standard. The only down side I have found with the larger rubber is the taller gearing it gives as the V6 is a bit lacking in torque. I am about to look into diff ratios to fix this problem.

Offroad I can't say a bad thing about it. The IFS hasn't restricted me as yet, and I have done some pretty extreme tracks in it. Both on Ausfish M&G's and other trips. The ARB lift kit is high enough and gives adequate articulation, although if you are going to put any weight in it you will need the heavy duty rated springs. And the ARB deluxe winch bar is the way to go, not only is it the best looking bar out there for it, it increases your approach angle dramatically.

Power wise the new TD has as much power as the previous 3.4L V6, and torque is quite good. If you want more power/torque Taipan XP and Chip Torque in Nerang do a really good exhaust/chip setup which can give out as much as 120kw at the rear wheels. That output is pretty impressive since my V6 with full custom extractors/exhaust impressed the guys at Chip Torque with 132kw at the wheels. My exhaust wasn't done by either but the guy who did it is no longer around. A mate of mine, Roger (came to the last M&G at Levuka) just picked his Patrol up with their kits for it, Ceramic coated extractors look great and the whole package has made a definate improvement.

Brett

[poundalead]

Thanks for that Brett, How much would that suspension setup cost? Do you know if Toyota will supply that setup as part of a leasing arangement? i.e. will it still be covered under waranty if I change things around?
P.S. Anyone wanna buy the 'cruiser pictured in my avatar 97 model diesel?

[Brett1907]

Toyota won't warrant any modifications but ARB give a warranty on their gear. You should b able to get the lift done pre-delivery and get the cost included into the purchase invoice, thats what I did. Most dealers don't tell you that you can get aftermarket accessories included in the purchase if you get the quotes and they include these quotes into the purchase invoice. They should also do all the running around to get it done. I picked my Hilux up from Toyota with ALL the add ons. We're talking...

2" lift
Bull Bar
Tow Bar/Rear Step
Diff Losk front & rear
Compressor
Long Ranger Fuel tank
Wheels/Tyres
Custom exhaust
Overhead console with GME 3440 UHF
Cruise control (only comes standard in SR5 so had to get aftermarket)

I Think thats it?

Brett

[Rod Fishing]

I dont know if anyone read last months 4 X 4 Australia but the hilux was ranked a lowly third behind the Navara and Rodeo, the car that came in forth was an indian brand that i had never heard of. Maybe by the mag and have a read of the artical.

It has changed my opinion I have an 03 SR5 V6 at the moment and about to salary sacrifice a new car. We were going to buy the new Hilux, but afteer reading that article I thnk that I ma going to go with the Navara.

Cheers Rod..

[ozbee]

sorry to disappoint you poundalead but i own a small business also and have gone through 3 100 series cruisers 1 hilux and 1 nissan navara all were on 3 year leases best resale return was the navara approx 10 gran less in purchase and only one gran less than the hilux in resale . it is now a myth that you get a better return on a toyota

[ozbee]

ps the hiluxs are a bit of dead wood because of there pissy towing capabilities

[PinHead]

mine can tow 2250kg...if you need to tow any heavier then buy a cruiser or patrol...my extra cab was bought new in Feb 2006..now has 98000k on it and not one single problem with the vehicle. Did not consider Nissan as they do not have a king cab any more..not real bright on their part.

[poundalead]

I know 5 people who have bought this series 'lux and all swear by them. Not one of them has said I wouldn't buy this vehicle again. I have test driven the Hilux twice as well as driven a mate's. I test drove the Rodeo and found it to be a good vehicle as well as the Navara. The only thing that really persuaded me was the fact that I have owned my cruiser for 5 years and not had one single problem with it. That is enough for me to stick with Toyota.

Ozbee, Thanks for the advice mate you have had a lot more experience with Leasing vehicles than I have. One thing I will say is I won't ever require to tow anything that is more than 2250kg. If I did I would have either kept my 'cruiser or ordered a new one. Also the Navara that I wanted was only 3k less than the Luxie so I stuck with it Cheers

[ozbee]

all should be good for you poundhead just dont go near the rodeo theres one in front of the local dealership here brand new with a big lemon stuck on it sign on it says burns 1.5 litres of oil per 5000k from brand new also say gm consider this within acceptable limits glad it not my bun fight. ps as your leasing you should get fleet price if you push hard enough $$$$$$$$$$save

[TheRealAndy]

I know 5 people who have bought this series 'lux and all swear by them. Not one of them has said I wouldn't buy this vehicle again. I have test driven the Hilux twice as well as driven a mate's. I test drove the Rodeo and found it to be a good vehicle as well as the Navara. The only thing that really persuaded me was the fact that I have owned my cruiser for 5 years and not had one single problem with it. That is enough for me to stick with Toyota.

Ozbee, Thanks for the advice mate you have had a lot more experience with Leasing vehicles than I have. One thing I will say is I won't ever require to tow anything that is more than 2250kg. If I did I would have either kept my 'cruiser or ordered a new one. Also the Navara that I wanted was only 3k less than the Luxie so I stuck with it Cheers

The hilux will be fine if you raise it. I didn't want to do that. The price difference only hits about 10k cause nissan chops 4k off for ABN holders, i forgot to mention that. Not sure if you can get toyota to do the same.