There's a reason they last for decades (Toyota Hilux Double Cab)

Member Name: jamesontheroad

Product:	Toyota Hilux Double Cab
Date:	27/06/09 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Powerful diesel engine, excellent 4WD, superb build quality and engineering

Disadvantages: Don't let the double cab fool you, it's not a great family car: use it for work

As I've stated in other vehicle reviews, I'm not a car owner: I rent when I need a vehicle and therefore have the advantage of driving whatever car I need for the job in the hand. I got to take a 2008 model Toyota Hilux D4D double cab for a spin earlier this year when I need a truck to shift three people, some spades and a load of horse manure... not your average requirement for a city dweller like me, but the Hilux impressed.

Toyota have been building Hiluxes for decades, and they've brought everything they've learnt in the process to this latest model. Toyota's infamous attention to engineering quality and durability is evident in the number of these trucks in use around the world twenty or thirty years after manufacture.

From the outside the optional four wheel drive gave our truck imposing height and ground clearance. However it's still a compact vehicle, and is very manoeuvrable around town. It's an easy step up into the cab: the front seats are hard wearing and mostly supportive: I always seem to suffer from lower back pain after a long time behind the wheel, so I don't put that down to this vehicle's design. A second row of seats makes the double cab version more flexible than the single cab, although it is only a bench seat with a seat squab that can fold up to provide more internal luggage space. You can get five adults in the cab, but their luggage will have to ride in the back, meaning you need a tonneau or load hood.

The diesel engine is revvy and powerful: you can switch between 4WD and 2WD relatively easily and that allows you to conserve fuel when on the road and maximise traction when off it. After loading the bed with a large quantity of well rotted manure, I inadvertently tried to get us out of a boggy roadside in only 2WD. Switching the 4WD changed everything: the Hilux suggests itself to be a seriously competitive off roader, and a practical farm hand.

Fuel consumption wasn't bad: certainly better than my experience of similar petrol engined vehicles, although don't expect car like economy on long trips: this is a tall and unaerodynamic hulk of a truck, despite the swoopy modern styling.

Summary: When I need a truck, I'll ask for it by name

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