2015 Toyota Hi-lux SR 3.0 turbo diesel

Summary:

An awesome and capable offroad weapon, and will last forever provided you monitor injector specs

Faults:

So far, nothing. I have taken it through heavy offroading with modified suspension components and it has handled beautifully.

General Comments:

This is the last of the diesel N70s, and thankfully in Australia without a DPF. There are several things to take note of as far as maintenance goes. The injectors MUST be replaced after 120,000km and the values checked periodically. Use genuine brand new DENSO injectors only. The pistons are a known weak link. Because of this, only ever go to reputable tuners if you ever venture down that path. Forget rail chips like the Steinbauer, you need a piggyback ECU like the HKS. Or failing that, a remap. The tuner is the main difference. In Australia, Just Autos and G&L enjoy a great reputation among the 4WD community.

By the way, if you somehow find the rarer 4.0L petrol version, hang on to it. The motor in those is indestructible and possibly one of Toyota's best efforts.

EGR. This is crap. It's a factory requirement for emissions which result in your intake eventually getting filled with gunk. It would be very remiss of me (in terms of legalities) to tell you to take it to the above named (or any) tuning shops and get it switched off via the ECU. So I won't tell you that. Or you can block it off with a blank plate that has a 7-8mm hole in it, but this is less effective.

Offroading. It's IFS. It has a sway bar. Take it out. Never look back. If you have stock suspension however, be mindful you get more body roll. Best setup for offroading suspension wise is a 2" lift. IFS in the Hilux works best at that height. 4" suspension is terrible and you get no travel. If you want/require more clearance, go for a 2" body lift if you don't feel like cutting for bigger rubber. Suspension lift does not help with tyre clearance!

If you have 33s and twin lock this bugger, it'll go pretty much anywhere.

The handbrake. Yeah, it doesn't exist after your first mud run. They are supposed to be self adjusting, but require a bit of a clean every now and then.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th December, 2018