Nice one, Champ! Cut-price seven-seat Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X rival and Toyota Fortuner alternative has the most Aussie car name ever: Meet the HiLux Champ Rangga

Forget the Kia Tasman or Subaru Outback, and nice try Renault Kangoo. Toyota has out-Aussied itself with a model name even the Prado Kakadu can’t hold a flamin’ candle to.

Launched earlier this year, the Toyota HiLux Rangga (named Champ in other markets) is a single cab ute produced in Thailand and the Philippines as a budget-friendly workhorse underpinned by a simplified version of the HiLux’s ladder-frame chassis.

Now a three-row SUV version has been officially launched, initially for domestic consumption, with exports to other markets in South-East Asia and South America likely to follow.

Indonesia’s Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) commissioned local conversion specialist New Armada to develop the five-door, seven-seat SUV as a cut-price alternative to the Fortuner.

Previewed in prototype form this October, TAM has now released images of the full production version of the car, at the same time confirming an early 2025 on-sale date.

Identical to the ute it's based on from nose to B-pillar, the big, boxy rear section is all new, featuring a single-piece tailgate, simple vertically-oriented tail-lights and a step-up rear roof section complete with load rails.

Six-spoke black alloy rims appear to have grown to at least 16-inch diameter, up from the standard ute’s 14-inch wheels, although they still look tiny underneath the Rangga SUV’s oversize body.

Inside, seating is 2-3-2 with each row trimmed in synthetic leather and boot space behind the rear row somewhat limited relative to the car’s approximately 5.3m overall length.

In Indonesia, the Rangga is available with a choice of a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol engine producing 102kW/183Nm, or 2.4-litre turbo-diesel four delivering 110kW/343Nm. 

A choice of five-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic transmission sends drive to the rear wheels only.

And unlike that ‘other’ automotive redhead (hello, Ferrari Testarossa) the Toyota Rangga SUV is aimed at price-sensitive family buyers.

Toyota Astra Motor Marketing Director Anton Jimmy Suwandi says the entry-grade petrol, five-speed Rangga SUV will start from under $39,500 (price calculated on a direct Indonesian Rupiah to AUD conversion). 

The HiLux Champ Rangga is expected to form the basis of Toyota's much-anticipated, cut-price Mini LandCruiser FJ in the future.