Toyota’s Hilux GR Sport storms into SA

The king of the Hilux range, the all-new GR Sport, has finally hit SA streets. Striking exterior modifications include a large, black radiator grille, a carbon-fibre horizontal cross bar and distinctive Toyota lettering. On the flanks are a pair of night-slicing LED headlamps and vertically stacked air ducts with integrated LED fog lamps.

To further amp up the visual aggression, Toyota has fitted bumpers based on those used on the Hilux Raider as well bolting-on wider black overfenders with contrasting inserts. Finishing things off are black mirror caps, black door handles, black side steps and a rear styling bar with prominent GR branding.

Customers can also opt for GR door decals for an extra shot of spice. Four paint colours are on offer: Arizona Red, Graphite Grey, Attitude Black and Glacier White.

This extrovert exterior styling is mirrored inside the cabin: a bespoke instrument cluster with metallic bezels and red needles, a racy leather-trimmed steering wheel with red contrast stitching, and sporty aluminium pedals with rubber inserts. Other features unique to the Hilux GR Sport include a carbon-fibre dashboard and door finishes, a GR-branded start button as well as racing-inspired front seats with grippy Alcantara inserts and GR badging on the headrests. The driver’s seat is now also power adjustable. 

As is to be expected, Toyota has tweaked the chassis, adding monotube shock absorbers paired with stiffer coil springs — a modification that Toyota says helps deliver improved high-speed stability as well as sharper handling. A custom set of 17-inch alloy wheels shod with 265/65 tyres finishes things off. 

Buried beneath the muscular hood lurks the firm’s familiar 2.8l four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, tuned to deliver more power than it does in the equivalent Raider. Customers can thus look forward to 165kW (+15kW) and 550Nm of torque (+50Nm). This is transferred to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission that features revised mapping and lock-up control. The sum of these modifications results in a 0-100 km/h sprint time reduction of 0.65 seconds while top speed clocks in at a claimed 175km/h. 

The Hilux GR Sport will set you back R865,400, which includes a nine-services/90,000km service plan and three-year/100,000km warranty. Service and warranty plan extensions are also available at Toyota dealers.