I was traveling literally 28 hours and 24 hours driving the Toyota Hilux. Of course, I was tired, but the trip never took a toll on me

BHPian anoopash recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Solo Continuous Drive from Trivandrum to Bangalore and Back!

I always wanted to do a non-stop drive to Bangalore and return home the same day. I had some personal errands to attend in Bangalore this Saturday. I took this opportunity to tick this off my to-do list.

I made this trip purely solo so that I had the flexibility to change my plan however and whenever I felt like it. I started the trip at 10 PM on Friday. I did not prepare or sleep in the afternoon and was not physically pumped up for this trip. I decided anyways to go ahead and drive throughout the night. This time, I made a strong decision to park my car and take a power nap whenever I felt tired and sleepy. This was the first time I did this, and believe me, it made my driving a lot more comfortable and confident. Since it was late at night, I did not face heavy traffic on the Nagercoil road. The only problem was there were no roads. I enjoy gliding through potholes with my Hilux (which I never enjoyed with any other cars). I slept 4 times en route and reached Bangalore at 10 AM. I slept for an hour. I did my chores there and started back at 3 PM. Return had to maneuver heavy traffic at Bangalore and Salem. The rest of the trip was smooth and uneventful. I arrived back home at 3 AM.

Now, about the Hilux. All of you know I am a proud owner of my Hilux, and naturally, I tend to say good things about the car. Believe me. This is an honest review and purely based on my experience with many cars. I was traveling literally 28 hours and 24 hours driving the Hilux. Of course, I was tired, but the trip never took a toll on me. If you asked me if I was capable and willing to drive another 6 hours. Then, I would have answered ‘yes’ with a smile. The drive was smooth. I have never driven such a heavy car before. The pure heft of the car kept it always planted on the road. This car inspires one’s confidence at all speeds. I was a little unsure about the brakes since it does not have a disc at the rear and the sheer weight of the car. Trust me, the braking of the car was truly smooth. The car will slow down and stop when and where you want it to. I am not talking about crazy speeds here - normal speeds, of course.

Now, coming to the controversial part. I am sure not many people would agree here. The ride quality was surprising and good. I would say it is way better than most cars I have driven. The car soaks up all undulations and irregularities on the road. All expansion joints, petty humps, and small potholes were a glide-through for the car. I never felt unsettled even once. The most exciting thing of all is the power of the engine. How many cars can you cruise in 110 km/hr with RPM below 2000? Oh, yes, one of the most relaxed engines I have ever seen in a car. The car never gets stressed even if you push it hard. “Ithokey enthu” was the attitude of the car at all times. Overtaking was effortless. Catch and Mouse was even more exciting. Intimidating someone from behind by flashing your lights kept me awake most of the drive, haha. Trust me, no cars even dares to compete with the road presence Hilus demands.

I used the cruise control for almost 75% of my trip. It was truly bliss. I set it to 100 km/hr, and on a single flip, the car accelerates to the cruise speed without any stress. Cruising the Hilux at that speed makes you feel too slow.

Truly this was a lifetime moment for me to cherish. Hilux is a very good car, and I am truly in love with it. I have named it ‘Luxy”.

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The upcoming Toyota Hilux facelift could be offered with the new mild-hybrid diesel powertrain.

Toyota is working on a comprehensive facelift for its rugged pick-up truck, the Hilux. The new Toyota Hilux facelift is expected to get some major upgrades, inside and out, along with some mechanical changes as well.

Ahead of its global unveiling, the Hilux facelift has been spied undergoing testing in Thailand - which might be the first market to receive the updated pickup truck. Reports also suggest that the facelift version could feature the "Hilux Travo" moniker. As seen from the spy images, the front and rear of the pickup are expected to get the majority of the upgrades, while the doors and roof look similar to the current model.

The camouflaged front seems to hide a more upright nose, a flatter bonnet and slim LED headlights. The Toyota logo is missing, indicating it could feature text branding between the headlamps - similar to models like the Tundra and Land Cruiser Prado. Other details include a refreshed bumper at both the front and rear and a new set of LED tail lamps. The Toyota Hilux facelift will also get a newly designed set of alloy wheels.

There are no images of the interior of the pickup, however, reports do state that the Hilux facelift will receive minor tweaks and upgrades, along with additional features and tech.

The upcoming Toyota Hilux facelift could be offered with the new mild-hybrid diesel powertrain. Toyota is yet to confirm if there will be any petrol strong hybrid versions of the Hilux facelift. The facelift will continue to be based on Toyota's IMV platform which also underpins the Fortuner. Reports suggest Toyota will upgrade the 4x4 tech on the Hilux facelift, but continue with its knob-operated shift-on-the-fly 4WD lever.

Source: Headlightmag

Nice weather and some good roads. Had a great time chit chatting and a quick drive. Took the Charmadi route while going and returned via Kudremukha/SK border.

BHPian PrideRed recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Drive to Kalasa

Week before, went for a quick drive with friends near Kalasa. Nice weather and some good roads. Had a great time chit chatting and a quick drive. Took the Charmadi route while going and returned via Kudremukha/SK border. While Charmadi road was excellent, Kudremukha road was a bit patchy. The road got better few KMs before SK border checkpost. Hilux returned a decent 13KMPL fuel efficiency.

The Gang @Kalasa

Kudremukha with ScorpioN

Drive to Bangalore with Fortuner

Had to drive to Bangalore, took Sampaje road. There was a massive traffic jam at Kushalnagara due to year end vacation. Took alternate road to Channarayapatna via Ramanathpura/Holenarsipura. Had used this road long ago, due to changes in road, missed a diversion and ended up driving through scenic internal roads. Zero traffic, fantastic roads and awesome weather. Coincidentally both Hilux and Fortuner returned 12KMPL fuel efficiency.

Near Holenarsipura

Beautiful Sampaje ghat

One of the stock tire gave up and got it replaced. Spare tire wasn't used, hence paired it up with new Bridgestone dueler AT. The stock tire had puncture about 2 months back and got a mushroom patch. The truck was used to haul a lot of load since then and on a highway drive, the patch gave up. The tire would have lasted another 15K KM's. Got alignment and balancing done too. Hilux has clocked close to 17.5K KM's, with almost all miles munched inside Karnataka.

Damaged tire

New Dueler AT, costed 14.5K

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Very few places can hold its beauty after a decade without taking a hit from tourism.

BHPian megazoid recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Some trips are done for nostalgia and this one fell in that category. We first visited Meghamalai in the November of 2013 and wanted to rekindle old memories. We had great memories of the place and our stay. It offered a good drive, some unspoilt scenery, a stay with a view and good food.

What we had in our mind when we set out. We were going to be three cars, a Hilux, a Creta NLine and a Fortuner.

The Old Sandriver Cottage with our Thar (2013)

The furry friend (2013)

Ready and careful (2013)

The two pictures below are at the same place. The Thar in 2013 and the Hilux in 2024

Thar on a bridge. Notice tea in the background

More dense today

The traffic on a Friday was expectedly bad as the Creta and Hilux drove toward Salem. We decided to break journey at Salem and instead of catching up on sleep, went around eating at twelve midnight at the 24 hour cafe at Grand Estancia, all the time promising that we would start early the next day.

The thing with drives is that somehow everything falls in place to make the drive possible and we did keep our promise of starting early. Roads were deserted and we made rapid progress. Both the cars were relatively young with respective odometers under two thousand kilometers. They got a good workout and also presented us with plenty of photo opportunities.

Traversing the plains

We had breakfast at Vedasundar, the local hospitality was top notch and the food was delicious. Thereafter it was a straight drive to Dindigul and then onto the Theni stretch which on that day was deserted. The drive went smooth and we hit Chinamannur. After labouring with vehicle checks and some emphatic head shaking conversation at the forest check post, we were on the climb to our stay in the hills. This drive needless to say was the highlight. Got to "Sandriver cottage" which was our place of stay and we were in for a shock. The place didn't look familiar even though we had very clear memories of the place. The tree was missing, so was the Malabar giant squirrel. I kept asking the caretaker in broken Tamil about the tree and the squirrel and he had a funny expression on his face. After much deliberation and discussion, we got to know that the original bungalow was elsewhere and this was another bungalow renamed as the earlier one. All this was done for logistical convenience as they wanted the stay options grouped together and my dreamy nostalgia of sharing meals with the squirrel came crashing down. But the present bungalow was very nice and overlooked the lake and the tea gardens and had all the good bits of a plantation bungalow. We quickly made ourselves comfortable as we waited for another friend to join us.

The three car convoy

After a drizzle

Such places have a funny way of making grown men do stupid things as we kept running around for pictures, heard stories of animals in disbelief and were so gluttonous that it gave the cook some creases of worry on his otherwise smooth forehead. We spent much of the afternoon staring at the vast expanse of tea and forests through high powered binoculars and saw nothing but the clouds and then adjusted the camera controls to shoot fast moving mammals and managed to only catch a lumbering peacock that looked quizzically at our enthusiasm. Took the Hilux out and went around on the tea garden trails and had a good time snaring pictures. The weather was sublime. We had a little drizzle with the mist playing hide and seek, making it an enjoyable excursion.

A postcard setting

Soothing to the eye

A cup of tea

Good views

dwarfed by the trees

Picturesque

The caretaker was full of enthusiasm and regaled us with stories of his encounters in the estate. A really touching moment was when the cook saw our photos from the ID proofs submitted and instantly remembered that we had come earlier many years ago and came by to see us. That felt incredible. A truly nice moment when Pushparaj surprised us with his smile. He was the cook who had been at the earlier bungalow in 2013 and was now doing duty at the newer one.

Wet drive

Covered in mist

Fortuner disecting tea gardens

A beautiful entrance

One has to cross this to get to the bungalow. Makes for a good stop.

Wondering what to make of it all

God's painting

Very few places can hold its beauty after a decade without taking a hit from tourism. I must admit that this place looked even better than when I first saw it thanks to the strict enforcement of no plastic and very little stay options.

But it was a reality check as we got out of the checkpost. There was plastic thrown everywhere, as if celebrating the freedom of no penalty, after the excruiciating difficulty of keeping a hill station clean. Sigh! We have a lot to do to prevent this land from becoming a large trash can.

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The convoy included 4 Mahindra Thars, 2 Toyota Hilux-es, 1 Maruti Jimny, 1 Ford Endeavour and an Isuzu V-Cross.

BHPian robimahanta recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

It was always a dream to drive my Thar to Tibet and after a lot of planning and with the help of some good friends I was able to do it this year along with a group of 8 other off-roaders from 1st of June,2024. Since this drive involved extensive driving and crossing multiple international borders, I carried minimal baggage and didn't even carry a camera. All images shared are with the phone.

The convoy included 4 Thars, 2 Hilux-es, 1 Jimny, 1 Endeavour and a V-Cross.

I started from Bangalore early morning at 4am and reached Nagpur around 6pm in the evening after an uneventful drive on Day 1.

We stopped for lunch at the Food Pyramid near Kurnool.

Dinner in Nagpur at Puransingh Dhaba

Day 2, I headed to Prayagraj after breakfast near Lakkhangaon.

Paratha breakfast

Entering Prayagraj

Parked in a lane for the night

Lovely old Haveli hotel

Views of the holy river

Random mural

Choti Kothi

Ganga Aarti

Sangam madness

Picking up some dinner

Day 3, we reached Gorakhpur via Ayodhya.

Chaos near Ram Mandir, Ayodhya

The Gorakhpur temple

CM's residence

Day 4 was the start of the actual trip. We started in the morning from Gorakhpur and entered Nepal via the Sanauli border. The paperwork took some time while we enjoyed a lovely Nepali thali

Entering Nepal

Immigration

Lunch stop at the Nepal border

Tasty thakali thali

Drove on to Chitwan for the night across one of the worst sections of the road during the entire trip. Progress was painfully slow in Nepal.

In Chitwan, Nepal

Chitwan river vista

Next day, we drove to Kathmandu and had an extra day there for sightseeing as well as last-minute preparations before crossing over to Tibet.

Roads improved as we headed out from Chitwan towards Kathmandu

Each turn was photo-worthy

Local Kathmandu sights.

Streets of Thamel

Chandragiri Hill ropeway

Durbar Square

Decided to take an early morning mountain range viewing flight to check out Mt. Everest. It turned out to be a clear day with great views. It costs around 8k and I would definitely recommend it.

Boarding the flight

Mount everest, Lhotse, Makalu

Gauri Shankar

Lovely peaks

Another amazing Nepali Thali

Fake Red Bull

The next day we drove down through broken roads and slushy corners to Syapru Besi to be close to the Tibetan border (so that border control is convenient the next day)

Parked in a guest house at Syapru Besi

A nice river next to the guest house

Continue reading robimahanta's road trip for BHPian comments, insights and more information.

Steering is super heavy it is the heaviest steering I have dealt with this is someone who drives Hycross, and Crysta regularly.

BHPian manofinifnity recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I recently got a chance to test drive my friend Hilux AT and what an experience it was:

Positives:

• The Power and torque are just mad you can feel the car is much more capable and can go anywhere.
• I tried the 4-wheel drive and HTrac on some deep mud slush and Hilux just pushed through everything with ease like a cakewalk, the Traction control system is always working in the background and sends traction to the right wheels.
• The seating position is very commanding and gives you a lot of confidence on the road.
• The composed feeling and excellent stability at any speed are just brilliant.
• Overall build quality is excellent feels like it can last 20-30 years or more with ease with the right maintenance, truly feels built to last.

Negatives:

• The engine felt very crude and unrefined and did not feel smooth as such.
• Steering is super heavy it is the heaviest steering I have dealt with this is someone who drives Hycross, and Crysta regularly.

Coming to Hycross after Hilux is a world of difference, Hycross felt serene and very easy to drive compared to Hilux, but it cannot match the ruggedness and capability of Hilux, Hilux truly is a gem of a product and with discounts upwards of 15L it is a very good offer for anyone looking to utilise the Hilux and it’s capability at its fullest.

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The group included 3 Mahindra Thar petrol 4x4 models and an XUV700 AWD. The other two cars were the Toyota Fortuner and Hilux.

BHPian Dr.AD recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Morning on a Lake

Some of us, part of the group that recently did a crazy monsoon fury drive in BMWs, decided to take out our "other cars", our SUVs, for a casual morning drive to a nearby lake. It was a bit of a funny experience to meet my usual BMW group buddies with their SUVs, and driving these slow body-on-frame SUVs with the same guys whom I have always seen driving their BMWs. Jokes apart, we enjoy all kinds of vehicles and all kinds of drives, and driving these SUVs on that scenic terrain was a totally enjoyable experience too.

The group included @robimahanta (Thar Petrol 4x4), @PrideRed (Fortuner 4x4), @HighRevving (Thar Petrol 4x4), @jfk1975 (Toyota Hilux), and @MonkOnWheels (XUV700 AWD), and myself (Thar Petrol 4x4).

The whole drive was planned by @robimahanta. Thanks to him for such a nice plan!

Since it was just a short drive, there is nothing much to write about it. I was primarily interested in photographing the beautiful SUVs on that lake, and thankfully, I got plenty of opportunities to take photos. It was a bit too dark and gloomy there that morning, and the light was less than ideal for car photography. However, I managed to get a few shots anyway, though they are a bit dark, as expected.

Please allow me to share the photos I took of the SUVS on that lake.

@PrideRed's Fortuner:

The amazing red Hilux of @jfk1975:

One more shot of the Fortuner:

Could not resist clicking many photos of this red Hilux:

@MonkOnWheels's XUV700:

My Thar parked on the lakeside terrain:

Another view of my Thar:

@HighRevving's Thar:

The Red Hilux looked stunning wherever it moved:

The Fortuner looked majestic as well, and looked totally at home on such terrain:

Robi's "Aquamarine Blue" Thar:

@HighRevving's "Galaxy Grey" Thar:

My "Napoli Black" Thar (three shades of Thar on view on the side of the lake):

MonkOnWheels's XUV700:

Meanwhile, a photo of the two amazing Toyota 4x4s, which looked so at home there that it looked like they owned the lake:

And the four Mahindras posing on the other side of the lake:

Another view of Robi's Thar:

A closer look at the "Galaxy Grey" Thar of @HighRevving:

Back to the Hilux:

And the Fortuner:

The two Toyota 4x4s together again:

Another view of my Thar:

The four Mahindras on the side of the picturesque lake:

A parting shot of the majestic Hilux:

And finally, as we exited that area through a lovely mud trail, going through thick tress, I could not resist clicking this shot from my windshield, of the convoy in front of me:

Continue reading about Dr.AD's morning drive for BHPian comments, insights and more information.

My dad even drove the Hilux on the course with me in the car.

BHPian GForceEnjoyer recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Venue: GMR Convention Center

Date & Time: 10 am to 5 pm, 1st and 2nd June (Saturday and Sunday, today and tomorrow at the time of writing)

Requirements: Valid driving licence, must be wearing shoes (slippers, sandals, etc. are not allowed)

We found out about this from a resident of our community who also helped organise this. This is essentially a marketing event, demonstrating the offroad capabilities of the Hilux. My dad and I went this morning (in fact, we were the first guests to sign up, given the serial number 01), and my goodness was it a fabulous experience.

First off, the instructor drove a lap of the entire course, showing and explaining the truck's capabilities. Then my dad drove on the course with me also in the car.

• A zig-zag obstacle course (first in 2-Hi and then in 4-Lo to showcase the difference that makes in handling)
• Lane change manoeuvre (think moose test without getting back in lane)
• Steep 35-degree slope (to showcase hill-hold assist and hill descent control)
• Wheel articulation course (to showcase suspension travel as well as the diff-lock)
• Driving down a staircase

A see-saw (bringing the truck onto the pivot and then inching forward to come down onto the other side, once again showcasing suspension travel)

We had to go to the airport early this morning anyway, so we were at the venue before the scheduled start time. Hence, the truck we were in flagged off the event, meaning that we were the first on the course! We were then asked to give a short interview after our drive was over. Fun stuff.

The instructor was top-notch, a very skilled driver who obviously knew the Hilux like the back of his hand. The organisers and staff were very friendly and knowledgeable, going by the book and checking all participants' licences for validity, ensuring that they had shoes on and taking note of their previous off-roading experience (which in our case was very little). We were even introduced to the CEO of one of the dealers in participation!

This was a display at the event.

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Feedback from the family was extremely positive especially that the front is so much more comfortable, the rear is way better though still nothing can be done about the 90 degree backrest.

BHPian logout recently shared his with other enthusiasts.

So, it has been more than a month since The Red came home. A canopy was very much needed for my kind of work where I travel a lot with expensive, sensitive HiFi gear.

I started looking at the options in India and was also open to importing. But after a lot of research I came to the conclusion that importing was risky as well as time consuming and so I focussed on the local availability and after talking to many 4*4 owners and dealers I finally narrowed it to Azad4*4.

I was apprehensive since I had read a negative thread about them here in the forum though it was finally resolved to the customer's satisfaction. But since my research showed them to be the better option in terms of experience and workmanship and since I couldn't use the vehicle for its intended purpose without a canopy, I decided to go ahead with them.

I set off to Uttar Pradesh in The Red.

Started on a Friday morning and reached Ghaziabad on Sunday evening. The trip made me aware of each & every minute - bone, joint and muscle in my body. I was already dreading my return journey.

Next day got the canopy fixed. It is the SMM brand from Thailand.

While the mechanics were fixing the canopy, I saw a Hilux there all decked and kitted up and was told that it had a lift kit installed and it would improve ride quality along with the lift needed for 4*4 adventures.

I was tempted especially about the ride quality and went for a test drive. It was a totally different ride and I immediately decided to go for it. They had a few options like Oldman Emu, Profender, Dobinsons etc.

The test drive I took had Profender kit and so I went for the 2" lift kit.

I had my heart in my mouth while watching the process but I must mention that the boys who fixed it were very professional.

Finally The Red looked like this:

So now the vehicle is standing tall with the wheels & tyres looking puny, I decided to go for upsizing of the tyres. Went for 285/60 R18 Michelin LTX Rally.

On a side note: Tyres are so damn cheap in Delhi. We are being squeezed dry by the Chennai shops.

So here it is:

The return journey was quicker & smoother with a vantage driving position, almost car like comfort, better handling and the added bonus was that the vehicle was a head turner wherever we went.

Feedback from the family was extremely positive especially that the front is so much more comfortable, the rear is way better though still nothing can be done about the 90 degree backrest. There is stiff competition as to who gets to sit in the front passenger seat and I am relieved that my seat is safe.

Endy & The Red on a recent trip:

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ike any sane individual, I refused to pay even a single rupee over the agreed proforma invoice value

BHPian HighOnSpeed recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Let me share my experience with all the folks here at Team Bhp. I just had the most terrible delivery experience of my life with the Toyota Hilux. I recently took delivery of the Hilux a few days ago and the dealer refused to deliver the car post payment of the entire proforma invoice amount, which was extremely frustrating considering I had travelled around 700kms to buy the car and made arrangements for sufficient liquid funds.

The in-house insurance is offered with an IDV value corresponding to the pre-discounted ex-showroom price, so naturally, one would be paying a higher premium for no reason whatsoever(as during claims the maximum claim value should be less than the ex-showroom price as per invoice). I cited the IRDAI regulations saying that no dealership can force a consumer to buy insurance from them and should allow us to procure insurance directly if we require it. And they were obviously not happy and reluctant to budge. After a lot of negotiations, they offered a small discount on the insurance.

At this point, I didn’t want to argue much and waste time as I was already running late and gave in. I settled up the total invoice amount and headed out for lunch with the sales team and the manager said they would finalise everything and finish the registration process in the meantime, and things were good upto this point. But when I returned back to the dealership, everything went downhill. They first said that the portal for the temp registration was down and made me wait 2 hours(had already spent 4 hours at the dealership from my arrival). I suspected that something was fishy and straightaway asked if I should return another day. This is when the manager tells me that I now had to pay an additional amount for an extended warranty and a miscalculation on the proforma invoice value(from their end).

Like any sane individual, I refused to pay even a single rupee over the agreed proforma invoice value, so they said they will initiate a refund for the total amount paid and asked me to go back home without the car. Ultimately, I managed to get the car as per the agreed price(12-hour wastage).

So, for anyone looking to purchase a car out of state, be extremely cautious of such naughty and conniving dealers. Most car purchases are emotional investments, and an experience like this will ruin everything for you. Even though I received delivery of the car, I was unable to enjoy the 1K km drive back home fully. So do your due diligence and make sure you know someone locally(preferably of some influence) just as a precaution in case they try to pull something like this on you.

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