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Is the Toyota HiLux diesel only?

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The HiLux isn't diesel only just yet but an automatic-only, diesel-only future might not be far off.
Tom White
Deputy News Editor
20 Feb 2019
2 min read
2 Comments

Despite consistently being one of the best-selling cars in Australia, Toyota’s stalwart HiLux ute range is almost an exclusively diesel affair, with just one petrol engine left in the range.

The last petrol-powered HiLux is a 2.7-litre four-cylinder, non-turbo producing 122kW/245Nm and is restricted to Workmate 4x2 single and double cab variants only.

The 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated petrol V6 was phased out for the 2018 model year due to low demand. At the time Toyota said the V6 accounted for just 0.5 per cent of HiLux sales.

The rest of the current Australian HiLux range employs either a 2.4-litre turbo-diesel producing 110kW/400Nm or a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel (for all 4x4 and Hi-Rider variants) producing 130kW/450Nm.

That looks unlikely to shift for the foreseeable future, with many of the HiLux’ rivals like the Ford Ranger, Nissan Navara and Isuzu D-Max now existing as diesel-only offerings.

While petrol variants could be the first to meet the chopping block, the manual variants could be next as the ute passed a milestone in 2017 of over half of sales being automatics

Toyota says this is due to HiLux customers - including tradespeople and fleet buyers - increasingly choosing autos.

As a result, for the 2018 model year, Toyota began offering even more automatic variants.

Do you think the HiLux faces an all-diesel all-automatic future? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Tom White
Deputy News Editor
Despite studying ancient history and law at university, it makes sense Tom ended up writing about cars, as he spent the majority of his waking hours finding ways to drive as many as possible. His fascination with automobiles was also accompanied by an affinity for technology growing up, and he is just as comfortable tinkering with gadgets as he is behind the wheel. His time at CarsGuide has given him a nose for industry news and developments at the forefront of car technology.
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