Thai PR leaks image of new Hilux

2011 Melbourne auto show.

The official image, leaked from a Thai brochure and media pack, shows a double-cab Toyota bakkie with "Vigo" badging (the Hilux nameplate in Thailand) and offers a good clue as to what fans of South Africa’s best-selling vehicle range can expect in the near future.

Essentially the Hilux facelift sees all-new surfacing and detail from the A-pillar forward; this includes new wraparound headlights (which looks like those found on the Land Cruiser 200), a revised bumper, reshaped bonnet and resurfaced front quarter panels.

Undoubtedly the most pronounced styling change is a three-bar grille with stepped upper-edge framing, finished in chrome. 

Beyond the styling upgrades a host of safety intervention system upgrades are to be rolled out as part of the seventh generation Hilux facelift too.

In an attempt to counter VW’s Amarok and Ford’s new Ranger (both of which feature electronic stability control and brake-pressue distribution boosted anti-lock brakes) Toyota’s face-lifted Hilux will see the Fortuner’s stability control migrate to the bakkie range, buoyed by traction control, which is expected to give it a significant edge in testing off-road conditions. 

The current range of engines are expected to be carried over, the result of which should see Nissan’s Navara and Ford’s Ranger comfortably outgun the popular three-litre D-4D Hilux by a significant margin in terms of peak power and torque.