New utility revealed

Toyota has unveiled the first all-new version of its Hilux in a decade by giving the truck a fresh look, more power and added technological features. The marque polled its ute owners to find out what they needed to do to make it better, which included making the frame stronger and more flexible to cut cabin noise and makes the ride more comfortable. Five of the nine new variants will have automatic transmissions and three will be two-wheel-drive. There will be 21 different variants in the range, nine of them new. The current Hilux range comprises 12 models. In 2014, the Toyota held a 27 per cent market share in four-by-four ute sales compared to Ford Ranger’s 24 per cent, but because there was no automatic four-by-two model in the fleet it could only manage 16 per cent share of such sales, which allowed the Ranger to enjoy 26 per cent. Toyota says this is partly the reason the Ranger took out the number-one spot over the Hilux with 556 more sales, alongside stock constraints from Toyota NZ. “We are going to address that with the most extensive Hilux line-up yet,” says Steve Prangnell, Toyota NZ’s general manager of sales. “There’s huge customer anticipation and expectation for the new Hilux, and we are confident we will deliver.” The new Hilux is expected to go on sale here later this year with prices still to be confirmed.