Toyota HiLux Rugged X details revealed

Toyota has revealed further details of its trio of new HiLux models, the Rugged X, Rugged and Rogue.

First announced back in January, the three new Toyota HiLux models will be launched later this month (April).

All three have been styled locally by Toyota Australia’s Product Design department and, for the moment at least, the two HiLux Rugged models will only be sold locally.

The Rogue, a co-development with Toyota in Thailand where it is sold as the Rocco, will be seen in various forms in various global markets.

All three new Toyota HiLux derivatives were shown off to media as the highlight of a tour of Toyota’s Product Design centre in Port Melbourne.

Originally established 15 years ago to support the design of locally-manufactured models such as the Camry and Aurion, it now contributes to local, regional and global projects.

The Rugged X is clearly the star of the show and is being touted as the most capable off-road version of the HiLux ever built.

Based on the SR5 dual-cab 4×4, it will cost more than $60,000 plus on-road coasts when it goes on-sale, making it the flagship of Australia’s top-selling vehicle range.

The key Aussie-developed feature of the Rugged X is its upswept steel front bumper system. Sitting under a redesigned grille, it improves the approach and corner angles and toughens the look. The bumper is ADR, airbag and winch compatible.

“There is a lot of upward movement in terms of some of the surfaces and overall proportions of the bumper,’ Toyota Product Design general manager Peter Elliott said.

“Clearance is everything to the way people who use these vehicles in terms of genuine off-road situations, so we made sure not only is the bumper and the overall elements lifting up through that area, but the really cool thing is it also gives you a look at the tyre and makes the vehicle look even more capable.”

Underneath the bumper is a high-tensile alloy bash plate and recovery hooks painted in bright red. Toyota won’t reveal their rating until launch but says it will be “impressive”.

The hooks are replicated at the rear of the vehicle, where they are integrated into a heavy-duty tow bar. Braked towing capacity is unchanged at 3500kg (manual) and 3200kg (auto).

Other Rugged X features include rock rails which act as both vehicle protection and a step to access roof-mounted items, wheel-arch flares, body-side protection and a “menacing” hood decal.

An all-new sports bar has a rated carrying capacity (again, not announced), two integrated mounting platforms for items such as aerials and multiple tie-down points.

The bar is mounted to the floor of the tray rather than the bedrail. Intentionally, Toyota has not fitted a tonneau cover so the mount and the tray’s matt finish are exposed to the eye. A snorkel is also a standard part of the package.

The Rugged is the X’s more orthodox and cheaper relation, based on the SR model. It retains a traditional bullbar front-end and misses out on the steel bumper and its recovery hooks, but adds a tonneau cover and retains the rest of the X’s updates.

It was not originally part of the new model program but emerged from Rugged X clinics that revealed an audience for a more conservative model.

While they have been tested locally by Toyota Australia’s vehicle evaluation department, neither Toyota HiLux Rugged has any modifications to their ladder frame chassis or 2.8-litre 130kW/450Nm (420Nm auto) turbo-diesel engine. No interior features were revealed or shown at the presentation.

The Rogue is a more sport-luxury take on HiLux. Notably, it adopts a bluffer front-end than the standard HiLux, with a grille that has a pronounced trapezoidal shape, similar to Toyota’s North American trucks such as the Tundra.

However, unlike those chrome-laden beasts, the Rogue eschews glitter for grey accents. It also has more discreet tailgate badging than is traditional on pick-ups.

“What we are seeing and targeting with these cars is the splitting of emotional and functional,” explained Rod Ferguson, the general manager of Toyota Australia product planning and development, the division within which product design resides.

“We know that people spend more than $2000 on [options and accessories for] the average HiLux, so there are people out there prepared to spend and accessorise their vehicles.

“But there are also people out there who would like a higher level of HiLux.

“So we have chosen to implement a typical Y stratgey, one vehicle on the emotional side and one on the functional side, and we reckon both of those are going to be sizable additional markets for us.”