THE Toyota Hilux Extra Cab is one of the leading tradie utes in Australia, but does the 2020 SR Hi-Rider 4×2 variant bring the goodness we might expect? It certainly looks the part, with a sleek yet tough exterior, and some 17-inch steel wheels.
The HiLux SR Hi-Rider is clearly designed for practicality and to last forever, or close to it, and the suicide-style doors are a great example of this. They feel solid and sturdy, and you really have to give them a good flick to get them closed.
It’s the same with the tailgate. It’s super heavy coming down and even more so bringing it back up. You want these things to feel well built, and they do. That’s important if you’re loading heavy tools on and off.
Inside, the HiLux SR Hi-Rider interior is pretty basic. It’s almost a bit of a let down when compared to the outside. It sports manually operated fabric seats up front, with a narrow bench seat in the back. It’s a tough built tradie truck. A proper work ute.
It’s not designed for young kids; there are no anchor points. It’s not designed for long trips as a rear seat passenger either. That rear seating is like a space saver tyre. It’s there for when you desperately need it.
The impressive 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system feels a little like it was tacked into the middle of the dash, but it’s not too bad in terms of looks, thanks a black surround and stylish finish.
The HiLux SR comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (for the first time ever), and has a 4-speaker sound system. It’s a pretty average offering with ordinary bass, but this is a work ute. We noticed a little bit of lag in the Bluetooth connectivity as well.
Old school dial controls operate the air conditioning, which is cool if you like things a little retro. The glovebox is spilt into two so you can organise your items accordingly (which is handy for paperwork from jobs), and the bottom compartment is lockable.
The steering wheel is rather well designed, with all the controls at your fingertips and cruise control lever just on the right hand side. It’s all quite functional and works well. It’s key start too, and the handbrake is of the manual variety.
The dash is durable, and the whole ute is easy to clean thanks to rubber flooring. Safety-wise you’ll find such things as a lane departure warning, rear-view camera, emergency stop alert and hill start assist. Good, solid and practical safety features.
Some 150kW of power (and a bucket of grunt) has been extracted from the 2.8-litre turbo diesel engine, which is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, and throws down an impressive 500Nm of torque. It retains its 2800kg braked towing capacity.
An 80-litre fuel tank should provide plenty of driving endurance, and fuel consumption is a pretty impressive 7.5-litres/100km.
Overall the 2020 Toyota HiLux SR Hi-Rider 4×2 Extra Cab is a solid, hardy, work slinger that won’t let you down, especially getting to those job sites. It comes in five colours; Glacier White, Silver Sky, Graphite, Eclipse Black and Deep Blue.
Pricing starts from $49,467 drive away. It comes with a 5-year unlimited kilometre warranty, but under Toyota’s Warranty Advantage, if you maintain your vehicle according to log book servicing requirements, the engine and drivetrain are covered for 7-years.
Our 2020 Toyota HiLux SR Hi-Rider 4×2 Extra Cab was provided by Toyota Australia. To find out more, contact your local Toyota dealer.
