2024 Toyota HiLux facelift coming soon

If 2023 was the year of the Ford Ranger, which finally ended its arch-rival’s seven-year reign as Australia’s favourite new vehicle, 2024 could bring a return to form for the Toyota HiLux.

Our sources have confirmed that what will be a final facelift for the current HiLux before an all-new generation ute arrives in 2025 will arrive here within months.

It’s no secret that selected versions of the 2024 Toyota HiLux will receive a powertrain tech update bringing 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance (claimed to improve fuel efficiency by to 10 per cent) this year, and recent reports of a March or April showroom arrival for the updated ute range appear to be on the money.

The late-life update for the current HiLux ute, which dates back to 2015, is also set to bring a revised front-end look, which was previously signalled by Toyota Australia execs.

Toyota Australia’s sales, marketing and franchise operations chief Sean Hanley last year said there would be “…at least one more HiLux surprise in store in the next year” and the bigger-than-expected update is clearly what he was referring to.

Although the facelifted Toyota HiLux ute is unlikely to look exactly like these renders produced by Digimods Design, this new-look nose design is expected to provide hints of what to expect from the all-new 2025 HiLux, which is currently being tested in Australia.

Further changes will include equipment upgrades, such as the inclusion of front/rear parking sensors and wireless phone chargers for mid-range models.

Toyota introduced a whopping six running changes to the HiLux over the past three years in an effort to keep it fresh in the face of the new Ranger, and Toyota is now pushing ahead with more regular updates for more models across its portfolio, in order to maintain its overall sales dominance in Australia and abroad.

“We’re no longer locked into these product cycles of yesteryear,” Hanley said. “We’re nimble, we’re quick, we’re bringing cars to market.”

But the updated design, extra standard equipment and mild-hybrid 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, which will continue to produce 150kW/500Nm, will come at a cost to consumers in the form of modest price rises.

One thing the aging Toyota ute won’t get is a swansong hero model to fight the Ford Ranger Raptor, but the next-generation 2025 HiLux is another story altogether.

When the current HiLux is finally retired next year, its all-new replacement will almost certainly retain its current diesel powertrain – albeit with 48V electric assistance across the range – a niche high-spec petrol engine shouldn’t be ruled out.

While the $89,190 Ford Ranger Raptor packs a 292kW twin-turbo petrol V6 and the $79,990 Volkswagen Amarok Aventura comes with a 222kW 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol donk, the all-new 2025 Toyota HiLux could leverage its US cousin’s 243kW 2.4-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder hybrid powertrain.

When the wraps came off the 2024 Toyota Tacoma last year, the Japanese auto giant confirmed it had pilfered the petrol engine from Lexus for the top-spec Tacoma TRD Pro flagship, pumping out 243kW.

While the hybrid rig can’t touch the Ranger Raptor for outright power, the Toyota powertrain comfortably out-muscles the Raptor with 630Nm of torque.

Given the new Tacoma is a preview of what to expect from the next HiLux, with which it will share its TNGA-F ladder-frame platform and other key components, engineering the 2.4-litre hybrid engine for the HiLux wouldn’t be a stretch for Toyota’s tech teams.

If Toyota Australia sees value in a hero GR HiLux for the next-generation ute – packing hard-core hybrid power and torque, plus Fox shocks from the Tacoma TRD hero model – it could well be the Ford Ranger Raptor’s most formidable competitor yet.

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