SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Serious: 2019 Toyota Hilux 2.8GD-6 m/t Raider 4x4 double-cab

For Grylls, not girls

Pics by Motorpress
Posted: 21 March 2019

The numbers
Price: R616 600
Engine: Toyota 1GD H1, 2755 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder turbodiesel
Power: 130 kW at 3400 rpm
Torque: 420 Nm between 1400 and 2600 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11.2 seconds
Maximum speed: 180 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9.1 l/100 km
Tank: 80 litres
Payload: 815 kg
Tare: 2100 kg
GVM: 2910 kg
GCM: 5850 kg
Maximum towing mass (braked): 3500 kg
Turning circle: 12.8 metres
Ground clearance: 286 mm
Approach and departure angles: 30 and 26 degrees
Wading depth: 700 mm
Standard tyre: 265/60R18 Dunlop Grandtrek AT
Warranty: 3 years / 100 000 km
Service plan: 9 services / 90 000 km, at 10 000 km intervals.

Choices:
•    Five engines – 2.0, 2.7 and 4.0 petrol; 2.4 and 2.8 diesel
•    Four grades – in ascending order S, SR, SRX and Raider
•    Four configurations – chassis-cab, single-cab, Xtra-cab and double-cab
•    Three gearboxes – five- or six-speed manual; six-speed automatic
•    Two drivetrains - 4x2 or 4x4

Thirty-sixssss! Nothing to do with tomatoes in a bottle of ketchup, but the number of choices you have when buying a Hilux. See teaser above.

Our test vehicle was the third in line, 2.8-litre, diesel double-cab with six-speed manual shifter and four-wheel drive. Apart from offering fabric upholstery rather than part-leather, and minor details like badges, colours of door handles and outside mirrors, it was practically a clone of the Dakar Limited Edition we drove almost a year ago.

Feeling instantly at home, our first task was to see whether a niggle we had with the Dakar had been fixed yet. It had. We complained back then that ECO and normal driving modes were too close in response characteristics (plain English; the car ran feebly in “normal”) while Power mode was insanely intense. They have been adjusted so that ECO is quite soft, Normal is properly normal and Power is like most manufacturers’ versions of Sport. It’s a much nicer car as a result.

One item still present is the iMG driving mode that blips the throttle for you between gear shifts. We could see the point if the car was a slinky and revvy little sports job that begged for you to make racer-style gear changes. But in a pickup? Probably not.

Apart from that, it was still the serious Hilux off-roader we all know about. Look at the basic specs: 130 kW and 420 Nm (the automatic gets 450); a modern diesel engine that’s decently economical for its size; ground clearance, approach and departure numbers that are better than on most other 4x4 pickups; three-quarter ton-plus load capacity; 3500 kg towing ability; climb-in handles at every door; panic grips all around and pretty decent rear passenger space.

Our local obstacle course posed no real challenges, so we just enjoyed the ride, engaging low ratio only once. And that was more because we could than because we needed to.

The back road, with its embedded small stones, that runs through farming country, separates nicely compliant suspension from the somewhat agricultural. Although things have improved lately, Hiluxes are still skittish over the rougher stuff.

Raider is loaded with the usual conveniences like cruise control, automatic air conditioning, reversing camera, touchscreen, communication apps and satnav. There’s even a sliding section in the rear cab window so that she who supervises can dispense friendly guidance to the troops loading the bin. She-who-etc. might abandon thoughts of taking over the vehicle permanently however; the driver’s side sunvisor has no makeup mirror. This truck is for Grylls, not girls. It’s also huge; at 5.33m long, with a 12.8-metre turning circle, it needs lots of manoeuvring room and wide parking slots.

Seriously though: Hilux 4x4 double-cab is a very competent vehicle. All Toyota still needs to work on is suspension compliance because they remain very bouncy over moderately rough roads. But your local 4x4 store could fix that with a set of specialist shocks.

Test unit from Toyota SA press fleet

For more details on equipment read about the Dakar Limited Edition that we drove in 2018

 Automatic version shown

Note: Styling bar and tonneau cover are optional accessories

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

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