MIC’S MEMOS
A suspension specialist’s opinion on the Hilux Moose Test
Ihave met a few Scandinavian people over the years and two things have always struck me. They are generally quite meticulous, and pretty handy behind the wheel of a race car on ice. So it was with much curiosity that I noted how badly the new Toyota Hilux performed against its direct competitors in a recent “moose test” on YouTube. The test was done by a leading Swedish motoring magazine, Teknikens Värld, who’ve been doing these tests for years. The subsequent social media meltdown and scathing voices from owners of competing brands was both immediate and brutal. Unlike the Fortuner “roll-over” fiasco some years ago, I haven’t heard anything about the new Hilux having an innate tendency to roll over. This, of course, begs the question: How accurate was the test and of what relevance is it?
Not all moose are equal
The “moose test” attempts to see how well a vehicle will react while executing an evasive maneuver to avoid a collision with, amongst other things, a moose. The test is quite specific and has been standardised in international vehicle testing (ISO3888-2 of 2011). The new Hilux isn’t its first casualty either – in 1997 a Mercedes A-Class rolled spectacularly, causing the manufacturer to relook the rear suspension. I have watched the Swedish video with the European Hilux a great number of times and compared it to the Drive Out test with the South African Hilux. I’ve also studied images of another handling test done by Ironman 4x4 in Australia on the Australian spec Hilux. The bakkie in the Swedish video behaves very differently to the South African and Australian vehicles. But why? The most telling difference is that the tyres on the Swedish vehicle seem very underinflated, and this is the consensus with most motoring journalists I’ve spoken to. This would certainly contribute to the ill handling that one sees in the video. I seriously doubt that the Swedish magazine has a hidden agenda, but Teknikens Värld doesn’t clarify at what tyre pressure the test was performed. According to sources, however, the tyres were inflated to the manufacturer’s specifications for a full load.
The devil’s in the detail
Some very respectable journalists that I have spoken to blame the Hilux outright. But few people are aware of the fact that the South Africanbuilt Toyota Hilux has uprated suspension that’s different from the European-spec vehicles. Firmer springs with different valving in the shock absorbers will certainly make the Hilux handle better than the softly sprung vehicles overseas. We also tend to inflate our tyres more due to our higher driving speeds. Sweden, on the other hand, only has about 300 km of 120 km/h highway. The majority of its open roads are limited to 100 km/h. It is my opinion that the different suspension, tyre size, tyre type and tyre pressures used here in South Africa make for a better handling vehicle. I have driven the new Hilux hard (even in anger) and as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing wrong with its handling.