I’m in Melbourne and cannot believe how many cool trucks I’m seeing here. Toyota has a factory trim level Hilux (Rugged X trim) that comes from the factory with a snorkel and roll bar/light bar. We drove by a Toyota dealership and I was DROOLING!

I suddenly feel a lot less love for the Toyota Tacoma. Man I wish I could bring one of these back along with the el-Camino looking things I’m seeing everywhere.

I really do wish there was a small pickup available in the US now. But it seems they're all land yachts. I'd like something more along the size of the old Chevy Luv, Subaru BRAT, or even the old Rabbit pickup.

I wish Toyota would bring the HiLux here! Truck manufacturers simply walked away from a large market of customers when they stopped making smaller trucks. I drive a Tacoma that is nearly twice the size of my old Toyota Standard.

They sutely do have nice Toyotas. With diesel engines!!! I warched and overland video in youtube where a HiLux is pulling an offroad travel trailer crossing river streams and driving across beach fronts. The diesel engine with snorkel and 4WD made the drive look so easy. Surely wish they offer that version here in the US.

quote:

Originally posted by ador:
They sutely do have nice Toyotas. With diesel engines!!! I warched and overland video in youtube where a HiLux is pulling an offroad travel trailer crossing river streams and driving across beach fronts. The diesel engine with snorkel and 4WD made the drive look so easy. Surely wish they offer that version here in the US.

The reason you don’t see Diesel engines over here is because of the regulations put in place by the EPA. Caterpillar pulled out of the RV market and went strictly off road applications because of the requirements needed to scrub the exhaust with DEF systems. I believe this is why Jeep also dropped its diesel for the Wrangler.

The exhaust systems on the big trucks and the RVs are a constant PITA for upkeep.

If you liked the Hilux you should really like the Land Cruiser pick up. That is one serious off-road vehicle.

I'm hoping that the new Jeep pick up, which should be here next year, will be a worthy competitor to the LC and it will be available with a diesel. There are other small diesels also coming out.

You can get a Chevy Colorado with a diesel engine.

The Ford Rangers here are also gorgeous. I hope the Ranger we get resembles the examples I’ve seen over here.


This is another vehicle that I REALLY like. I wonder if there is any way to legally import one to the US?

Australia does have some neat stuff. Frickin EPA, I wish we had small diesels without all this emissions bullshit.

The El Camino looking vehicles are referred to as a UTE. I'm guessing in reference to "utility". I only ever recall Holden and Ford making them.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
If you liked the Hilux you should really like the Land Cruiser pick up. That is one serious off-road vehicle.

I'm hoping that the new Jeep pick up, which should be here next year, will be a worthy competitor to the LC and it will be available with a diesel. There are other small diesels also coming out.

This is the one thing that I would love to see imported here. I'm fairly certain that the TLC with a diesel would be a lifetime vehicle for me.

They also have the 70 series, $55k US for the GXL version.

I would buy one tomorrow if they brought them here.

quote:

Originally posted by Minnow:
I wish Toyota would bring the HiLux here! Truck manufacturers simply walked away from a large market of customers when they stopped making smaller trucks. I drive a Tacoma that is nearly twice the size of my old Toyota Standard.

I saw it the first time last night watching Jack Ryan on Prime.
I kept saying I've never seen that Toyota before.
Kinda cool truck.

Having been to New Zealand a lot as well, I'd buy a Diesel Hilux (with the driver on the correct side!) in a heartbeat, and I still drive an 06 Taco. Love my taco; I just wish it didnt' have the whole automatic shifter on the floor, center console thing. That's one of the features I *REALLY* like about the police package versions of the Explorer, Tahoe, and now F150: if you don't have a bunch of radios, etc, you have a place to drop your shit between the seats.

I think both the Commodore Ute and the Ford Falcon Utility both ended production with Ford and GM shutting down Australian production. The Ute was supposed to come here as a Pontiac but that got killed off when Pontiac did. Having owned a coupe of EL Caminos the Ute would've been great.

Toyota does have some cool stuff there I wish they would bring over here. They used to have a twin turbo diesel V-8 in the Tundra. The Fortuner is kind of cool, a downsized 4Runner. The Land Cruiser Prado is basically what we get as the Lexus GX but with a whole lot less ugly front end and a turbo diesel motor.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
The Ford Rangers here are also gorgeous. I hope the Ranger we get resembles the examples I’ve seen over here.

And every single one of them over there likely a manual, God bless 'em.

That's a sweet looking Toyota.

 
I have also been drooling over the 70 series Land Cruiser pickups in the Jack Ryan desert scenes.
 

 
Click on the picture for details.
 

Fan of Top Gear know that the Hilux is nigh indestructible:


Crashed, parked in the sea, smashed with a wrecking ball, had a caravan (camper) dropped on it, set on fire, and put on top of a highrise that was then imploded. And still cranked up & drove away. The body was actually holding the cracked framerails together.

EPA for the diesels, however the global small truck market is awesome.

but we had LBJ and teriffs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

A diesel Hilux would be high on my list of survival vehicles for the zombie apocalypse. I travel in Central American and Africa quite a bit, and often in remote areas. It's always comforting when we have a Hilux in the caravan.

I could do without the snorkel, but other than that the HiLux looks great. Not of fan of the car-truck crossbreed. Make it a truck, a car or SUV.