This was a big one for bakkies with the next-generation Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, and VW Amarok being unveiled, leaving many fans of the country’s best-selling brand with one big question: “when is the next Toyota Hilux coming out?”
With all these newcomers on the market, the Toyota has become the oldest bakkie currently still on sale in South Africa being debuted in 2015 and undergoing two facelifts since then.
We know the Japanese automaker tends to thoroughly refresh its models once every decade, give or take a few years – for example, the seventh-generation Hilux being produced from 2004 to 2015.
Additionally, a report by HotCars has revealed that the next-generation Hilux will move to the automaker’s new TNGA-F ladder-frame platform, which will be identical to the next-generation Tacoma’s underpinnings.
Current rumours suggest that the new Tacoma is to be released in 2024, around nine years after the current-generation Hilux was launched, these hints giving us an expected 2024 to early-2025 reveal timeframe for the next-generation Hilux.
However, the recently-launched Hilux GR-Sport may also be signaling the end of the current generation, meaning Toyota may just surprise us with an earlier-than-anticipated unveiling of the new one.
2024 Toyota Tacoma spyshot. Credit: Motor1.com.
More grunt and possible electrification
Considering the Hilux will now sit on the TNGA-F platform which also underpins the new Land Cruiser 300 it’s possible that the bakkie will be receiving at least one of the powerful engines found in the large SUV, either the 3.3-litre, V6, twin-turbo diesel unit or 3.5-litre, V6, twin-turbo petrol – and if we were to place bets, we would put our money on the diesel.
In the 300 this powertrain develops a staunch 305kW and 650Nm, though to beat out competitors such as the new Ford Ranger Wildtrak which also boasts a V6 turbo-diesel plant, the Hilux would only need to produce upwards of 184kW and 600Nm.
Toyota previously also said a hybrid Hilux isn’t out of the question and with the brand’s strong push in this direction and a large pool of battery-motivated drivetrains to pick from and adapt to the bakkie’s drivetrain, a partially-electrified Hilux could be on offer in but a few years.
Motor1 reports “insider sources” claim that at least one of the new engine options in the upcoming bakkie will be a hybrid in the form of a 2.4-litre petrol unit paired with a small electric motor, similar to the setup found in the new Crown range as well as the latest Lexus RX.
Beefier looks
Since the Hilux will share a foundation with its Tacoma sibling from across the pond, we expect it will assume a few of its design cues as well.
As such, the new South African-bound bakkie will likely be less rounded at the nose with more angular headlights and larger, squarer bumpers. Both the Tacoma and Hilux also borrow looks from the US flagship Toyota Tundra, which itself boasts a large monoframe grille that may also feature on the smaller models.
The new Hilux is expected to occupy a noticeably-larger footprint, too, as the Tacoma is currently already around 5cm longer and wider than a Hilux with the next one to grow even more.
2023 Toyota Tundra
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