Toyota HiLux vs Foton Tunland

What's the difference?

The Toyota HiLux SR5 now feels nicer and more modern inside and out and it no longer lags behind some other utes – even some of the cheaper ones – in terms of comfort, refinement and all-round driveability.

Toyota has in the past been guilty of sometimes doing the bare minimum when it comes to producing a ‘new’ vehicle – especially LandCruisers or HiLuxes – but this time even though this HiLux is definitely not a new model, the exterior revamp and interior refresh have added more than enough to the HiLux package to keep fans and new buyers happy.

This is the best HiLux so far.

You have to give Foton some credit because the 2026 Tunland V9-S 4x4 is a big US-sized ute without the big US-style price-tag.

On the surface this is an impressive vehicle. It’s well-equipped, comfortable, reasonably capable off-road and is generally nice to drive.

But under closer scrutiny, and when driving the Tunland, some substantial flaws soon become obvious, not the least of which is an underdone powertrain and some annoying driver-assist tech.

Still, it is a lot of ute for the money, so the Tunland represents a strong case as a budget buy.