Toyota has recreated one of the Hilux’s most famous durability stunts by dropping a 760kg caravan onto the new battery-electric pickup.
Toyota has put the new battery-electric Hilux through a deliberately theatrical durability test by dropping a 760kg caravan from 30 feet directly onto the pickup’s cab. The stunt recreates part of the famous television abuse suffered by an earlier Hilux more than two decades ago, but it also gives leisure users a useful reminder that Toyota has tried to preserve the model’s workhorse character while adding electric power.
The caravan drop was chosen by the public
Rather than selecting the test internally, Toyota asked UK Reddit communities to choose between a one-tonne wrecking-ball challenge and a caravan drop. The caravan option won, so the company took the electric Hilux to Bentwaters airfield in Suffolk and suspended a full-size caravan more than nine metres above the vehicle.
The exercise was carried out under controlled conditions by professionals. When the caravan hit, the Hilux was left with relatively modest body damage; engineers then powered it up and drove it away from the impact area.
Electric power has not removed the workhorse numbers
The new Hilux is available with battery-electric and diesel 48V powertrains, and Toyota says payload varies by version up to 1,065kg. Maximum trailer towing capacity reaches 3.5 tonnes, keeping the specification relevant to users who move boats, caravans, trailers or equipment.
That is important because a pickup’s usefulness depends on more than how it performs empty. For boat owners in particular, the ability to carry wet gear, launch equipment and tow a meaningful trailer load can matter much more than acceleration figures or cabin gadgets.
Toyota tested the battery for rougher use
During development, the electric Hilux was subjected to deep-water driving, rough-terrain testing and battery immersion work. Toyota says the battery installation uses specific protection measures intended to prevent damage in the kind of environments where pickups are commonly used.
That does not mean owners should treat a road-going electric vehicle like a stunt car, but it addresses an obvious concern for people using an EV around slipways, muddy access roads and wet coastal environments. The battery system has to be engineered for the same world as the rest of the vehicle.
The ninth-generation Hilux also gets a more modern cabin
The current Hilux is sold exclusively as a Double Cab in the UK, with a redesigned interior influenced by the Land Cruiser. Digital instruments and a modern multimedia system sit alongside the practical layout expected from a pickup rather than replacing it with a purely lifestyle-focused cabin.
For leisure users, that balance is the point. The latest Hilux needs to work as a comfortable everyday vehicle while still coping with trailers, gear and rough access, and Toyota is clearly using the caravan-drop stunt to argue that electrification has not changed the durable identity on which the model was built.
Official sources: media.toyota.co.uk.
Source
media.toyota.co.uk