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2015 Toyota HiLux | new car sales price


It’s the automotive equivalent of a new Apple iPhone launch, except this event happens only once every 10 years. Here’s everything you need to know -- and some stuff you didn’t -- about the new Toyota HiLux.

The tough-as-guts hairy-chested ute for blokes, the Toyota HiLux, has had a wax job.

Until today the most basic version of Australia’s favourite ute had no air-conditioning, and to adjust the side mirrors you had to manually wind down the windows and push the mirror with your finger.

But the first all-new HiLux in 10 years -- which starts arriving in showrooms on Tuesday -- now comes with such luxuries as a tablet-style touchscreen in the dash, air-conditioning, power windows and mirrors, cruise control and a class-leading seven airbags that are expected to earn it a five-star safety rating.

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There’s even a cool box “esky” in the dash to keep (non-alcoholic) drinks chilled in summer by using ducting from the air-conditioning.

Five-seat four-door HiLux utes have 12 cup holders: more than two per person for when there’s a hard-earned thirst.

All but the most basic versions come with a rear-view camera as standard, and the flagship model comes with an alarm in an attempt to get the HiLux off Australia’s most wanted list among car thieves.

The new HiLux hasn’t lost all its macho touches: Toyota boasts there is still no vanity mirror for the driver.

The new HiLux can clamber over more steep terrain thanks to the all-new chassis and suspension.

Buy a Volkswagen Amarok, Nissan Navara, Holden Colorado or Ford Ranger ute if you need to keep up appearances, princesses, you can check your make-up using their sun visors.

The new HiLux can change gears like a Corvette, with six-speed manual versions using technology that matches revs between gear-changes, to make even the most ham-fisted driver look like an ace.

Toyota says that while it has added most mod-cons to the new HiLux it has also greatly improved its ruggedness and capability during 650,000km of real world testing in harsh Australian conditions -- more local testing than the latest Holden Commodore.

Diesel manual models can now tow 3500kg, although automatic versions are limited to 3200kg -- but both are an improvement on the previous HiLux towing capacity of 2500kg.

The new HiLux can clamber over more steep terrain thanks to the all-new chassis and suspension.

There is more underbody protection to prevent damage off-road and the steel in the ute tray is thicker so it can handle more punishment.

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The new HiLux has gone up in price to reflect the extra equipment -- the base model has risen from $18,990 to $20,990 -- while the flagship four-door HiLux SR5 (which represents 70 per cent of sales) has risen by $2250 to $53,990 plus on-road costs.

There is also a special mining industry pack that comes ready-to-roll from showrooms with a high visibility flag, reflective stickers and a heavy duty bullbar.

The new HiLux range arrives in showrooms across Australia on Tuesday ahead of the first deliveries on Wednesday.

Toyota says it already has an order bank for the new HiLux that will see some deliveries pushed out until early next year.

The company says while the focus was on luxury, the new model can handle more punishment than ever before.

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“Australia’s favourite ute has taken its unbreakable status to new heights,” said Toyota Australia head of sales and marketing Tony Cramb. “It was developed by locals for locals.”

Toyota now has more than 150 engineers based in Australia -- the same number as Holden -- developing future models.

The head of Toyota’s Australian development division Max Gillard said: “There are two HiLuxes for planet earth, one for rugged markets like Australia and another for the rest of the world. At Toyota we say if it can survive in Australia it can survive anywhere.”

30 things you need to know about the new HiLux

1) The Toyota HiLux has been the top-selling vehicle outright for the past seven years in a row in Queensland, West Australia and the Northern Territory, and has been a Top Three seller nationally for the seven of the past 10 years, and Number One in 14 individual months since 2008.

2) The new HiLux clocked up more kilometres on Australians roads in real world testing (650,000km) than the latest Holden Commodore VFII (250,000km).

3) Toyota engineers spent 18 months in Australia riding alongside miners, park rangers, builders, plumbers, tradies and farmers to better understand how they use their vehicles.

4) Four-wheel-drive models have a “crawl” function in low range and the engine has a slightly higher idle so farmers can walk alongside the HiLux while it drives itself and they throw hay off the back of the ute. Warning: don’t try this at home, unless your home is a farm.

5) In 2011, Toyota tore up its plans and started again on the new HiLux just six months into development after the VW Amarok and Ford Ranger reset the ute benchmark for car-like driving. The ‘Toyota’ sticker on the tailgate is the only item carried over from the old to the new model.

6) The newly appointed engineer in charge of the Toyota HiLux -- Hiroki Nakajima -- previously was responsible for the tiny Toyota iQ, a Smart car rival sold in Europe and Japan, one of the world’s smallest vehicles.

7) Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda -- a descendant of the family that transformed Toyota from a maker of automatic looms for fabric and into a car manufacturer in the 1930s -- personally intervened to set the HiLux and on a new path. Chief engineer Nakajima-san prepared two prototype vehicles to test. One was a mildly modified version of the current HiLux while the other was fitted with the new model’s much stronger chassis. When Akio Toyoda tested both side by side the decision was made to invest in an all-new HiLux. It was October 2011.

8) The HiLux is made in five countries including Thailand (where Australian models are sourced from), Indonesia, India, Argentina and South Africa.

9) The HiLux is sold in more than 190 countries, more than have McDonald’s. The Ford Ranger is sold in 180 countries, which makes it also more popular than Macca’s. Chief engineer Nakajima-san visited 120 countries during HiLux development.

10) Toyota has sold more than 5 million HiLuxes over the past 10 years, and more than 410,000 of those were in Australia. There are now more than 850,000 HiLux utes on Australian roads.

11) Toyota used to joke in its ads about the absence of a vanity mirror for the driver. The new model still lacks one even though utes are increasingly used as family cars.

12) There is a cool box “esky” in the dash, which is big enough to chill two drink bottles. There are also two drink holders near the air-conditioning vents, which helps keep drinks cool in summer.

13) The new Toyota HiLux has rev matching technology similar to that used on the new Chevrolet Corvette sports-car. The engine electronically matches the revs required to make upshifts and downshifts smoother.

14) One of the Toyota bullbars has a James Bond-style number plate cover that flips up when a winch is used.

15) An anti theft alarm has been fitted to the most expensive model in an attempt to get the HiLux off Australia’s most wanted list for car thieves. For now the alarm is only standard on the flagship SR5 but others may follow.

16) The new Toyota HiLux is the first to have height-and-reach adjustment for the steering wheel (only the Volkswagen Amarok and Mitsubishi Triton have this feature, all other workhorse utes have tilt only adjustment).

17) The front suspension has been beefed up so it doesn’t sag when a bullbar is fitted. Bullbars are fitted to more than one-third of all HiLuxes sold in Australia.

18) Automatic versions of the top-line HiLux have hill descent control, which enables the car to crawl down steep declines without the driver needing to touch the brake pedal.

19) The front bumper has a bigger bulge to help the HiLux meet new pedestrian safety regulations. The lower section of the front bumper has been shaped to ensure the new HiLux is more agile than the old one off-road. (For tech heads the approach angle is now 31 degrees and the departure angle is 26 degrees, they were 30 and 23 respectively).

20) There are two new turbo diesel engines: the 2.4-litre turbo diesel (110kW/343Nm) has the same torque as the old 3.0-litre. The 2.8-litre turbo diesel output is 130kW/450Nm.

21) The new HiLux is quieter than before due to improvements from the new turbo diesel engines and extra sound insulation behind the dashboard. Toyota also made the holes in the metal shield between the engine bay and the cabin smaller so the let in less noise.

22) Dearer versions of the HiLux have a 100w/220V power socket so you can charge a lap top or run a small fridge. Certain Ford Ranger models have a 230V socket.

23) The maximum towing capacity of the new HiLux is 3500kg for manual versions and 3200kg for automatics. Maximum payload is 1240kg. But you can’t carry 1240kg and tow 3500kg. If you were to tow 3500kg the most you can fit in the back is 375kg. But if you’re not towing anything, 23 of the 31 variants can carry a tonne.

24) The new HiLux has a wading depth of 700mm (compared to 800mm for the Ford Ranger).

25) Fuel tank capacity has increased from 76 litre to 80 litres. Combined with more efficient engines it means up to 1100km between refills on the open road.

26) Tiny ‘fins’ near the door mirrors cut wind noise at freeway speeds.

27) Trailer sway control -- which can detect if a caravan or trailer is starting to get the wobbles -- is standard on all models.

28) There are more than 200 official Toyota accessories including three airbag-compatible bullbars.

29) Around March or April next year Toyota will sell its half millionth HiLux 4WD and the nameplate will pass the 1 million milestone within three years.

30) The new HiLux range starts at $20,990 for the most basic model while the flagship HiLux SR5 four-door ute is $53,990 plus on-road costs. A six-speed auto adds $2000.