Toyota HiLux GR performance model on Australian wish list

The Toyota HiLux GR Sport won't be sold here, but the brand's Aussie arm is keen for a version with more performance.

As the highest selling vehicle in the country, the Toyota HiLux doesn’t necessarily need more models to choose from - there are, after all, a staggering 34 variants available.

But despite the recent addition of the Rogue, Rugged and Rugged X versions of the HiLux, the company is open to even more variants to help it push its lead out even further in the ute sales race.

In 2018 Toyota revealed a GR Sport version of the HiLux in Brazil, which is aimed primarily at the Latin American market though it will also be sold in South Africa. That model included a number of exterior aesthetic adjustments, not to mention a retune of the suspension to make it a bit less of a load-lugger and more of a road-hugger.

According to Toyota Australia product public relations manager, Orlando Rodriguez, the GR Sport is not necessarily on the menu for Australia because there is no “reasonable performance increase” included as part of that tune.

But with Toyota’s GR product plan becoming increasingly clear, it isn’t beyond reasonable to expect a more performance-oriented HiLux is on the cards. In other model lines such as the Corolla hatch, Toyota is set to offer three different grades of GR models: the GR Sport, which is akin to a Ford Focus ST-Line; the GR, which sees mechanical enhancements (like a Focus ST); and the GRMN, which is a more hardcore offering (like the Focus RS).

It’s unlikely we’ll see a fully-fledged Tonka model from Toyota. But it is possible that a mid-range GR model could be offered with some mechanical enhancements over the current HiLux, which runs a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine producing 130kW/450Nm.

Rival utes like the Ford Ranger and Holden Colorado offer buyers more grunt (both have 500Nm of torque), but it’s unclear what would be under the bonnet of any potential future GR version of the HiLux.

Enthusiasts (the CarsGuide team included) would love to see a the Land Cruiser 200 Series’ 4.5-litre twin-turbo-diesel V8 under the hood - that powerplant churns out 200kW and 650Nm, which would be enough to quiet the competitors.

According to Rodriguez, any HiLux range-topper to rival the likes of the Ford Ranger Raptor would need to offer customers something more zesty under the bonnet.

Toyota managed a staggering 51,705 HiLux sales in 2018.

“GR is starting off on the passenger side of things, but there’s an appetite in other markets, so it could go across to vehicles like the HiLux,” he said. “The HiLux GR revealed in Brazil last year was just aesthetic and suspension changes.

That vehicle is unlikely to come to Australia, given the amount of investment we’ve made in the HiLux Rogue, Rugged and Rugged X models.

“For us to offer any sort of GR HiLux, a noticeable performance would be ideal,” he said.

Toyota managed a staggering 51,705 HiLux sales in 2018, easily topping the model sales charts. Its next closest competitor was the Ford Ranger, with 42,144 sales.