Toyota HiLux due for makeover

The move for ABS across the range coincides with a mild refresh for the utes, including restyle tweaks.

From early shots of the top-of-the-tree, four-wheel drive SR5 diesel dual cab, the makeover has added extra style to the sometimes gawky, often customised, front end. There's a new front bumper, revised guard flares, restyled bonnet with air scoop now central. The grille looks cleaner and bolder with three horizontal bars plus wrap-around headlights.

The interior trim's been upgraded and at the back, the sports bar revised and the taillights now clear.

Toyota are also promising a greater choice of entry-level Workmate models come September while all four-wheel drive models will have an uprated towing capacity of 2.5 tonnes.

The HiLux crown slipped a bit in the first half of 2011, two-wheel drives down 21 per cent, the four-wheel drives down 8.6 per cent on last year's figures. The overall two-wheel drive market has fallen in 2011, down 12.7 per cent to the end of June. And Toyota's ute production line in Thailand was affected by the Japanese earthquake disrupting some suppliers.

And in 2011 there is more competition for ute buyers. Nissan's Navara and Mitsubishi's Triton are a tad newer in design, Ford and Mazda's all-new, all-beaut machines are close to showrooms and there are good deals on run-out Rangers and BT-50s.

Then there are cheaper rivals such as Great Wall's V240 and the sparkling new Volkswagen Amarok at the other end of the segment. VW supplies here have been hamstrung by strong worldwide demand for the German ute and by the current lack of an auto transmission and singe cab _ both options due late next year.

All these market elements have been taking, and may well continue to take, some of the gloss off the Toyota range. The HiLux may well remain the country's best-selling ute, best-selling four-wheel drive and most popular commercial vehicle; helped in part by company and government fleets.

But the market is fickle. In June four-wheel drive Navaras outsold the rival HiLux and Ford's Ranger was a very close third.