Toyota Hilux review

Much improved over the old Hilux. The Mk8 looked tired and overwrought by the time of its 10th and final birthday, but the Mk9 is far cleaner in its design with several lessons learned from the Land Cruiser SUV.

Chiefly, the off-road controls have been grouped together on the centre console and Toyota has retained physical switchgear for the climate control; common sense that some manufacturers deliberately ignore these days. The buttons on the steering wheel have been reconfigured and the wheel itself is less of a pumice stone than the old one.

The central storage box measures 5.7 litres – not huge, but you’ll get a big pair of winter gloves in there. The storage cubby above the glovebox is cooled – neat! – and there are cupholders on the extremes of the dashboard with pop-up lids for when they’re not in use. There are cupholders in the centre console too, and a wireless phone charging pad on all trims except the base model.

Those screens look enormous.

They are. Both are 12.3 inches across, but entry versions make do with a nine-inch touchscreen running an older interface and you have to step up to Invincible trim to upgrade from the seven-inch driver’s display. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard across the board.

Tech has been Toyota’s major weak point for a long time, and we’re not fans of the Smart Connect system featured here: it’s not very well laid out, space is often wasted and the graphics are laughably low rent. Nor does it respond to inputs swiftly. If you care about digitalisation, look away.

Toyota has also botched the customisation of its safety systems, of which there are many; all with acronyms that will put the fear of death into even mild technophobes. These are adjusted through the driver’s display, but cueing up the menu is a mission in itself and scrolling through the list another challenge entirely. Out in the wilderness, all we want is a button to shush everything. Please Toyota. We beg of you.

On a couple of test cars, we also found that the surround-view camera would come on every few seconds, sparked by the terrain or long grass or whatever. There’s probably a Camera System Sensitivity Adjustment Module, but it would’ve taken us until Christmas to find it.

Much room in the back?

You might just about squeeze a couple of six-footers back there, but they’ll be praying that the going doesn’t get bumpy and cursing the lack of foot room at the same time. On Icon trim and up there’s a couple of USB-C ports back here to complement the pair at the front of the cabin.

The load bed is 1,555mm long and 1,438mm wide, with a bit of space lost to the wheelarches either side. All diesel versions of the Hilux can carry a payload of more than a tonne, but the EV is capped at 710-715kg. Apropos of nothing, the dropped tailgate can take the weight of an adult, so you don’t need to worry about clambering on it. Maybe don’t do star jumps on it though.