Tough and unstoppable T

HERE are a raft of reasons that the world’s best-selling vehicle is a pick-up truck. They are practical, safe, reliable and pretty-much unbreakable.

But the fact that Ford shifted more than half a million F-series trucks in the first six months of this year will possibly be a surprise to UK motorists. After all, they don’t have anything like the kind of following here that they enjoy in the US - 95 per cent of those 500,000 trucks were bought in the States.

Why’s that? Well, emissions-aside, fuel prices are one thing. Our trucks can’t be a practical option with the same sort of V6 and V8 power plants that propel the likes of the biggest selling Ford F series, the iconic 150. Then there’s the huge rain-collecting loading tray. It’s a bit more Arkansas than Ancoats.

And it’s hardly somewhere you can leave your tools. Vans are the go here and with good reason. But trucks like the Toyota Hilux that I’ve been testing have a loyal following.

For farmers and builders who need to move animals/materials across tricky terrain they present a decent solution. And then there are quite of lot of people who just want the all- purpose flexibility of a truck.

The Hilux is a classic and its many iterations have garnered a reputation for no-nonsense reliability. I travelled across Africa in my 20s and to get a lift in a Hilux was always a pleasure. They were big and comfortable compared to the ubiquitous Isuzus and Mazdas but they were also hugely capable.

A fellow hitchhiker told me a story about how he had ended up stranded next to a huge truck-swallowing pothole in Uganda when the Mitsubishi Pajero he was travelling in had failed to get through it. He said he watched truck after truck failing over several hours. Land Rover Defenders, Land Cruisers etc, etc until a Hilux drove up and cleared it. The driver then lashed the truck to a couple of huge trees and used his winch to pull everyone else through. Possibly apocryphal, but probably not. These trucks are tough.

Anyway, the Hilux I tested came in ‘Invincible’ spec and, to be fair, probably would be a match for pretty much everything that’s likely to be thrown at it on our little island.

The new Hilux has ditched its longstanding 3.0 diesel engine to move to a more efficient 2.4 litre unit that, although slightly less powerful, has much more torque. This means it can tow better and its acceleration is improved. There is also a pretty decent win in the emissions department. The old engine with an auto box produced 227g/km while this one is down to 204.

The model I drove had a double cab - two rows of seats and a glazed hardshell cover over the loading tray. In this guise it’s largely just a supercapable van. Although, even with deeply tinted security glass, I’d be loath to leave much in the back.

Size-wise the pick-up tray is huge though and with the double cab you’d seat four or five with the caveat that the rear seats have a hideouslysmall amount of space for adult legs. But, of course, if you’re not carting about a few tonnes of sand or a pile of hay, you can fit a mountain of luggage into the loading tray. And you’d probably be able to drive up Ben Nevis, should you need to.

The lumbering/ponderous ride of a 4x4 truck isn’t for everyone and neither is the tyre-skipping bounce in corners that comes with the ultra-stiff rear suspension. But you buy a vehicle like this for its versatility. No UK amount of snow is going to trouble it even with its standard tyres. Plus, even the wettest of steep fields isn’t likely to prove a problem - even with a trailer on the back.

To do a commute like mine, along the M62 and around the M60, in a vehicle like this would be an odd choice of course but it’s not unpleasant by any means. The driving position is good, the seats are comfortable and the cabin, although well-specced and laid out, is slightly let down by its hard-plastics which are rather cheap looking compared to the similarly-priced Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi L200.

Economy is reasonable for a vehicle of this size with a combined figure of 36.2mpg. The eco setting is a good addition, it basically de-tunes the engine to create a greener output. But frankly, it does make the drive a bit bland. With only 148 bhp and weighing a couple of tonnes, it’s a fairly sedate machine anyway but on Eco, throttle response is slow and, once you’ve driven the Hilux in Power mode, it’s a more altruistic man than me that switches back.

So, in conclusion, if you’re serious about owning a proper unstoppable workhorse, this is the truck for you. If you just want to look the part you’re probably best off looking elsewhere.

The Hilux Invincible double cab 2.4L auto that Seb Ramsay drove had a £750 multi-media GPS system and metallic paint costing £545. The on-the-road price is £32,384 and the commercial price is £26,182.