FAN FAVE: Next-gen Toyota Hilux rumored to arrive in 2025 -- report

If you live anywhere outside of North America, then chances are you’ve seen, ridden in or even driven a Toyota Hilux – the reliable workhorse that underpins Toyota’s global light commercial vehicle fleet.

Powered by a wide array of engines and drivetrains, this fan-favorite pickup has found a home in driveways, highways, jungles and sand dunes.

And we’re going to get an all-new model, possibly in 2025, according to a report by Drive.

Yes, the nearly 10-year-old design will finally be retired soon and a new Toyota Global Architecture platform will be used to underpin the new Hilux and Fortuner.

New pick-up platform

Rumors of this new global Hilux started being whispered in 2021.

This year was when Toyota announced that the Hilux’s North American counterpart, the Tacoma, would be using the Toyota New Generation Architecture.

This effectively shares costs between other pick-ups and sport-utility vehicles (SUV) in Toyota’s stable.

Given that the Tacoma and its SUV sibling, the 4Runner, have been around for more than 10 years, it came as a huge surprise that it would be a shared platform with another model.

So the real question is if the Tacoma and the Hilux will do the "Fusion Dance" like Dragon Ball Z's Goku and Vegeta, will we get a Taco-lux, a Hi-coma or an all-new model altogether?

Electrified options possible

Under the hood, the new Hilux and Tacoma will likely have the same kind of choice in terms of fuel – at least one gasoline engine and one turbodiesel engine.

Given the world is opening its doors to electrification, a hybrid or fully electric powertrain for this workhorse isn’t an outrageous assumption.

One thing that will be unlikely though is the loss of the legendary 4x4 drivetrain of these two pick-ups, as well as the adoption of the continuously variable transmission, which simply isn’t durable enough for the harsh terrains that these vehicles traverse.

Nonetheless, if these pick-ups manage to pick up a few extra kilometers per liter of fuel, everyone will walk away happier.

Tough looks expected

Moving on to styling, Toyota has been expectedly mum on the subject.

That said, the Tacoma is more aggressively styled, while the Hilux is more refined and subdued, only looking more aggressive once body kits are put on like in the Hilux GR Sport.

It’s anyone’s guess which Toyota will favor, but given the newest design language of both the Land Cruiser and the Tundra/Sequoia twins, it’s likely that the design of the new global model will be an amalgamation of the two – more aggressive than the current Hilux, but more subdued than the current Tacoma.

Are you excited about the new Hilux? What do you think it will look like?

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