Toyota Hilux Invincible Range : CHROME ON THE RANGE

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In Battling It Out At The Lifestyle-Orientated End OF The UK Pick-Up Market, Toyota Hope Their Hilux Invincible Pick-Up Will Prove, Well, Invincible. Steve Walker Reportsâ€¦

It's not easy being a pick-up truck in the modern marketplace. There are two distinct groups of buyers, each with a different set of requirements and a successful product must satisfy them both.

On the one hand, you have individuals who want to put their pick-up to work. Buying decisions for them come down to issues like durability, reliability, load capacity and running costs. On the other hand, you have the leisure-orientated market where buyers may or may not need their pick-up to act as a commercial vehicle but will certainly want it as family transport or for outdoor leisure pursuits. This group value comfort, equipment levels, refinement and styling and in the Toyota Hilux range, it's the Invincible derivatives that are tasked with giving them what they want. You can't please all of the people all of the time but Toyota's Hilux has a good go by being available in an array of different bodystyles and trim levels. There's single cab, an Extra cab and a double cab (the former offering a choice of 4WD or 2WD transmission) along with three trim levels - HL2, HL3 and Invincible. The trim hierarchy yields increasingly opulent specifications as you ascend it. The HL2 models are targeted more at buyers with commercial usage in mind for their Hilux, even though they feature such niceties as air-conditioning, an MP3 compatible CD stereo, remote central locking and body-coloured bumpers. There was a time when you were lucky to get vinyl seats and a glove box in an entry-level pick-up but today, even a bog-standard Toyota Hilux offers a car-like specification and the range-topping Invincible, offered exclusively in 4x4 double cab form, is loaded to the gunwales. Tinted rear windows, and in-dash 6-CD autochanger, a leather steering wheel, front fog lamps, chrome tubular sidebars and a Thatcham alarm are included. The model is aimed at buyers who would use their pick-up as they would an SUV, at least for part of the time, and Toyota have equipped it Accordingly. If it's to succeed as a true dual-role vehicle, marrying commercial and leisure capabilities, the Hilux needs more than a well-populated equipment list to tickle the fancy of company car user choosers and small business people. The previous generation of UK market pick-up trucks were designed very much as tough, durable commercial vehicles but the Hilux and its contemporaries are better thought of as SUVs with additional versatility and carrying capacity.

"It's got the imposing looks, the interior space and the build quality nailed downâ€¦"

Styling is far more important to the leisure-orientated pick-up buyer than it is to his commercial vehicle counterpart and the Hilux Invincible certainly has presence on the road. There's nothing particularly innovative about the look, it's classic pick-up truck stuff with overblown wheelarches, chrome appendages and an impossibly chunky front end. The Hilux is a tall vehicle with a high waistline and it can appear slightly unbalanced from certain angles but anyone who looked up to see that monstrous grille bearing down on them would soon get themselves out of the way. Today's Hilux is substantially bigger than the model it replaced and this has given the designers scope to create a more user-friendly interior. A central factor for the Invincible double cab's target market, is it's ability to provide comfortable accommodation for the whole family and it's well equipped to do just that. The rear bench is impressively spacious, offering a higher seating position that will be far more agreeable on longer journeys. Seating three adults across the back is still going to be a squeeze but you could do it in an emergency and there's plenty of space for a trio of children. A major problem with pick-ups of old was the absence of any meaningful secure storage space but the Hilux double cab addresses this with a rear bench that folds up when not in use to create a decent sized load area behind the driver. There are even storage bins in the floor below. Build quality around the Hilux interior is now on a par with or superior to many family 4x4s. Toyota claim that instrument panel fit is equivalent to that on their Avensis saloon. The layout is refreshingly simple and unfussy with good quality materials used. The three interlocking rings of the instrument cluster are a particularly nice touch, although the light grey surrounds on the air-conditioning dials look washed-out against the dark plastic of the centre console. The driving position in the Hilux is excellent with the firm seats giving good support and both the steering and the gear-change will be a revelation to anyone accustomed to piloting a previous generation model. The rough edges that constantly grated with drivers of pick-ups past have been smoothed over to the extent that Hilux would no longer disgrace itself dynamically in the company of the average family 4x4 passenger car. Double wishbone front suspension and a chassis that's 45% stiffer help to eliminate much of the rolling and pitching from which pick-ups traditionally suffer. Bumps in the road can still provoke a bouncy reaction in the suspension but this is largely unavoidable in a vehicle capable of carrying over 1,000kg. The majority of Hilux models are powered by a 2.5-litre D4-D diesel engine, a second generation common-rail unit that produces 120bhp but the Invincible gets a 3.0-litre D-4D unit with a more palatable 170bhp. The leisure-orientated contingent at which the Invincible is aimed will value the extra power that this engine lays on. It pulls smoothly from low revs and is rarely found out even when the need arises to accelerate up a gradient or overtake dawdling traffic on the motorway. With a substantial load on the back, the benefit of the 3.0-litre's extra power is felt even more strongly and anyone wishing to tow with their Hilux should accept no substitute. In its bid to corner the leisure-orientated sector of the UK pick-up market Toyota's Hilux Invincible gets off to a good start. It's got the imposing looks, the interior space and the build quality nailed down. It's comfortable, practical and, being a Toyota, you'd have to imagine that it will be ridiculously reliable as well. The 3.0-litre engine is a powerful performer and does a commendable job of powering the substantial Hilux in an unfussy manner. Even the best modern pick-ups offer a more rugged driving experience that your average family 4x4 but the gap is closing and buyers should give one a try before they pass up in the extra utility models like the Hilux Invincible can offer.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Toyota Hilux Invincible pick-up range ENGINE: 3.0-litre D-4D common rail diesel 170bhp TOWING CAPACITY: 750kg braked trailer DIMENSIONS: (length/width/heightmm) 5255/1835/1810