New American pick-up could herald 2025 Toyota HiLux ute’s design direction when it debuts next week
We could get our best indication yet as to what the all-new 2025 Toyota HiLux will look like within the next week or so as Toyota gears up to reveal its new-generation Tacoma in the US, supposedly on April 4.
The Japanese auto giant has been drip-feeding the world with teasers of its new North American pick-up since design patents for the new Tacoma were leaked in January, and judging by an easter egg snuck into the latest teaser it seems we won’t have much longer to wait.
Taking to Instagram overnight, Toyota USA has published a rear-on shot of the new Tacoma fitted with a blacked-out numberplate reading ‘040423’ – suggesting the new model will be revealed in full on April 4.
It’s a clever ploy by Toyota but Aussies will be more interested in what it means for their beloved HiLux. The answer is not all that much in terms of the date, but the next Tacoma’s design is widely expected to preview the next HiLux as global mid-size pick-ups continue to take inspiration from their full-size counterparts – ala Ford Ranger and F-150.
The Tacoma sits in a sort of sizing middle ground between the two key markets in that it’s bigger than the HiLux but smaller than the full-size Tundra, which itself is expected in local showrooms sometime next year for the first time following the conclusion of Walkinshaw’s local development and evaluation program.
If the HiLux does indeed end up resembling the Tacoma, the latest teaser suggests it’ll have a newfound sense of width via bold wheel-arches, chunky character lines and possibly even a partially-opening rear window similar to the current Nissan Navara.
Both models will be underpinned by Toyota’s TNGA-F ladder-frame platform as per the bigger Tundra and 300 Series LandCruiser. Rumours of the latter’s twin-turbo V6 diesel powertrain also filtering down to Toyota’s smaller ute have been awash for years now.
We don’t yet know what exactly will power the new HiLux, but it’s clear a V6 of some sort will be available in the Tacoma line-up going by the badge on its tailgate.
Odds are a V6 diesel will appear under the bonnet of the new HiLux at some stage if Toyota plans on challenging the new Ford Ranger and its VW Amarok sibling, but a new or at least upgraded 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel donk is widely tipped to be the default choice.
Toyota has also committed to a hybrid version of the HiLux (and LandCruiser) by 2030, but whether it will come with an electrified version of its four-cylinder turbo-diesel or a petrol-electric 2.5-litre or 2.4-litre turbo four-cylinder – or 3.5-litre petrol V6 hybrid powertrain – remains to be seen.
We’ll at least have a better idea of what to expect in terms of the new HiLux’s design once the new Tacoma breaks cover in six days.
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Keyword: Fresh Toyota Tacoma teaser drops hints about next HiLux