Toyota introduces a strikingly sporty version of its most practical workhorse: the Hilux. The Toyota Hilux is introduced to the GR Sport label.
Ford has been hoisting the Ranger for years in the sporty and potent Raptor costume, so why wouldn’t Toyota dress the Hilux nice and thick? That is what the brand is now doing. Earlier this year, Toyota launched a GR Sport version of the Hilux on the Thai market, but that thickly dressed variant has now also arrived in its home country of Japan. Unlike the Raptor version of the Ford Ranger, the new Toyota Hilux GR Sport is not injected with extra muscle.
Toyota Hilux GR Sport
We know Toyota’s GR designation mainly from really sporty models such as the GR Yaris and GT86 successor GR86, but Toyota also carries a GR Sport label, which mainly consists of appearance. The Hilux GR Sport that Toyota presents in Japan will have attachments on the wheel arches that make the car slightly wider. The wheel arches themselves are filled by 18-inch black alloy wheels. In addition, the Hilux GR Sport has special bumpers and its own black grille.
Toyota Hilux
The GR Sport label is also reflected in the interior. For example, the Hilux GR Sport has a leather-wrapped steering wheel with center markings, special GR Sport seats with red trim, aluminum sport pedals and a GR Sport start button. The Hilux is also being adapted technically, albeit briefly. Toyota says it has modified the suspension of the Hilux GR Sport and the throttle response should also be a notch more direct.
We are awaiting a response from the importer as to whether a left-hand drive Hilux GR Sport will eventually be launched in the Netherlands. We already know the GR Sport label in the Netherlands from the Corolla Hatchback, Corolla Touring Sports and Corolla Sedan.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl