TOYOTA HILUX RAIDER X LIMITED EDITION

The Raider X is a durable yet practical proposition, cleverly packaged to meet the needs of a growing motoring audience who are feeling the pinch

2 598 km

7.90 L/100 km

+ Durable mechanicals, stylish extras Narrow peak torque band

Arriving in our garage just ahead of the busy festive season, the Raider X spent a couple of months in the CAR fleet, where it would undertake numerous duties, from everyday tasks to consecutive journeys to Knysna.

Recognising the public’s appetite for stylish lifestyle double-cabs, Toyota replaced the Raider 2.4 GD6 4x4 with manual and automatic versions of the X. In going for the 2.4 GD6 4x4 as the foundation

of this model, as opposed to the more powerful 2.8, the firm has managed to implement some crowd-pleasing cosmetic upgrades while keeping the price to a more competitive R674 800.

Among these additional styling elements are 17-inch bicolour alloy wheels, black wheel-arch guards with red trim inserts, a unique grille and a louvred rear styling bar. While this model forgoes many extras (leather trim, keyless entry, passenger-side vanity mirror, driver’s foot rest), these omissions didn’t detract from the driving experience. Similarly, the X does not ship with active safety features found higher up in the model range, but essentials such as traction control, stability control, trailer-sway mitigation and hill-start assist are present.

Although we never came close to pushing the envelope of the X’s 660 kg payload limit, we nonetheless threw some substantial loads in its direction, including garden refuse and a family of four’s luggage on a road trip to Knysna. The standard rubber lining protected the load bay from nicks and scratches from branches, while the tonneau cover kept luggage dry and dirtfree on the road trip.

Round town, the turbodiesel’s 110 kw and 400 N.m of torque proved ample, but the narrow maximum torque band means motorway overtaking requires some gearbox stirring to keep momentum. Even so, the X’s ride and handling demeanour is relaxed and predictable, and one of our Knysna trips with four aboard saw the X return a respectable 7.3 L/100 km.

Overall, the X never put a tyre wrong during its time with us and we admire Toyota’s approach in offering a stylish yet affordable slice of lifestyle bakkie motoring with just enough performance to keep dyed-in-the-wool Hilux fans happy.