2026 Toyota Hilux Review & Walkthrough With Jon Wimhurst

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Introduction to the 2026 Hilux SR5

0:00What I'm going to show you today is something  0:01we've been waiting for for a while.  And here it is, the new Hilux SR5.0:11Hey everyone, Jon from Downtown Toyota. This  is yet another generation of Hilux that we've  0:15had come through to us and we've changed quite  a lot. 

Exterior design, LED headlights and cameras

You'll see from around the front, we've 0:20made a lot of changes to the headlight section  from the previous model. They're now LED. Got  0:24fog lights down the bottom, parking sensors around  the car. So, the good thing is with the new Hilux,  0:29you can see we've changed. We've got a much more  traditional grill that we're going for across our  0:33range, which is everything is going to give a lot  of conformity, a lot of familiarity will be the  0:37word that we'll look for. With this new Hilux  millimeter wave radar down here at the bottom,  0:42and also you've got your front cameras here  because on the SR5, you have the 360 camera for  0:47forward and back. The beauty of that's going to be  much better clearer vision, better for reversing,  0:51better for parking up front because the sensors  will activate these cameras if you're getting  0:56too close to an object up front so you can  see what's directly in front of your path.  

Safety tech, radar and cruise control

1:00With the SR5 and the changes we've made in the  SR5 models, you have an electric park brake,  1:04which means you have the ability for our dynamic  radar cruise control, which is why we have the  1:09millimeter wave radar plate here because that'll  allow the system to read the cars in front and  1:14allow your car to come to a complete stop behind  moving traffic when it slows down to a complete  1:18stop based on your cruise control settings. Quite  a good function to have. 

Wheels, SR5 styling and colour options

Going to make things a 1:23lot easier when you're out on the road. If you're  coming around the side, we've got new wheels and  1:27they are an 18-inch wheel. If you go to the road  model, which is the next model up, which we'll  1:32show you as soon as we have one of those available  to us, they'll be a black matte wheel. Whereas in  1:36the SR5, they're a nice silver and black contrast.  Black wing mirrors, black badging, black handles,  1:42just something to highlight. And we've got some  new colours as well. This is one of them. We have  1:46the colour here, ash slate, and other colors we  have are sunglow orange. There's an urban rock.  1:50There's a few different colours. So, with the SR5,  we've got our traditional rear sports bar. 

Tub step, sports bar and tailgate assist

Now, 1:54it's a different setup this time. You can actually  use it to grab. And you'll see here something I'm  1:59really happy about is we've now got a built-in tub  step. So if you need to climb up into your tray,  2:04see things in the tray, it's not going to be an a  stretch or a reach, you'll be able to just climb  2:09straight up on your step, straight in, get the  things you need, and out. Bringing that to mind  2:14when we come around the back, something I'm again  really happy about that they've done for the SR5  2:19and the Hilux pickups in general is we now have  an easy down assist and and a lift assist. So,  2:24this tailgate when you go to open it isn't going  to try and hurt you. As you'll see, it takes its  2:30own time to come down. So, you don't have to worry  about trying to hold it and support it on its way  2:33down. It'll do its own thing. And then bring  it up is as light as that. 

LED tail lights and rear visibility

One new improvement 2:40for Hilux is we now have LED tail lights. So,  they're going to be visible from a long way away,  2:44which is what you want people to see your car as  they're approaching it so that they can see from  2:50a distance something's happening. your car is  slowing down or it's just at night your lights  2:53are on. Brake lights are in here. Blinker lights  are in here. There are still a normal halogen  2:57light, but your outer tail light is an LED.  

Interior layout and steering changes

So, welcome to the inside of the new 2026 Hilux 3:05 SR5. This is where some of the major changes have  happened and major improvements. You can see from  3:12in here, we've got a lot more ease of function  and ease of maneuverability. It doesn't look as  3:17cramped in here. We've got a much greater steering  wheel. And I can tell you we've integrated the  3:22electric power steering system instead of the old  hydraulic system. So I can tell you this is a much  3:27much easier car to maneuver and drive. You will  find it quite a lot of fun. It's easier and that's  3:34what you want when you're busy working or you've  got the kids and the family in going away for  3:38the weekend. We don't need hard, we need easy. So  there's a lot of other things we've incorporated  3:43in here. We've kept your cup holders up nice and  high and they're the same. They tap, flip up,  3:48cups go in there. You've also got two down low as  well.   

4WD system and Multi Terrain Select

We've integrated, we've got our six-speed 3:52auto, but now because of the fact that with the  SR5, we've made these changes, we now have drive  3:58modes. We have a multi-terrain select which you  can select in your 4WD line to give  4:03you mud, sand, rock, deep snow if you're in the  high range, and in low range, you get all of those  4:08without the deep snow function. So, very similar  to what we have in Prado and Land Cruiser. So,  4:13it's following its way down. So, at SR5 level,  you get those comfort features. Guess what? Heated  4:19front seats in an SR5 with cloth seats. When you  go up, of course, to the SR5 Premium, you'll still  4:26have those as well. We've even added a heated  steering wheel. If you're in the low country  4:30down in traveling around, you're in some nice cold  places. That's going to help you first up in the  4:35morning because it'll warm up the top of the steering  wheel. Makes a lot easier for you to get a grip  4:39on the car and feel a bit more comfortable. 

Technology, screen and connectivity

We've integrated a much bigger screen and now we have a 4:45wireless charger, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless  Android Auto. All of these designed to make it  4:51easy for you to spend time in this car. So, extra  connectivity. You've got two USB ports up here,  4:57which is C drive. And inside here, something new.  We've actually got a 220 volt plug in here, which  5:02you can activate. There's a switch over on the  right hand lower side of the dash, so you can only  5:07use that power when you need it rather than having  it as a constant feed. There's also another socket  5:11point in here as well, so you won't be struggling  to find ways to charge. Wireless charger for one  5:16phone, USB-C ports for other phones and other  devices you might need. So, we've sort of put  5:21a bit of thought into that. Back to our dash line,  we've got in the SR5 a three tiered dash. By that,  5:26I mean you have an ability to have three sets of  information across your dash that are important  5:32to you. Be it liters per 100, what's playing on  your favourite music. We even have in SR5 a tire  5:38pressure warning system. now. So, you can actually  have the ability to see what your tires are doing  5:43at any different time as relation to each point  of the car and what their settings are for you.  5:50That's going to be helpful. Something new for  Hilux as well, we now have folding mirrors on the  5:55SR5. So, when you get out and lock your car and  walk away, your mirrors are going to tuck in on  5:59their own. So, that's going to give you a little  bit of peace of mind with people walking past your  6:02car, wherever it's parked, shopping centers, work  sites, whatever. you're going to have the ability  6:06to know that there's a good chance you're coming  back and your mirrors are still attached to your  6:09car. They can also be done inside if you've got a  tight parking spot. You can adjust that yourself.  6:14Press the button, they'll close in.  

48V system, fuel economy and driving ease

Obviously with the SR5, we are running our 48-volt active drive 6:19system, which means you've got the ability through  what we've put in through the car in its system  6:24to give you a little bit better efficiency. When  the car comes to a complete stop, sets a lights,  6:29traffic, the diesel will turn itself down or hide  away and the 48-volt system will run our lights,  6:34our wipers, everything else we need, all the  functions of the car that are running at the time.  6:38Soon as your foot comes off the brake, the diesel  re-engages and does it really, really seamlessly.  6:43You hardly even notice it doing it. That's a good  assistance for you. And it's a good way to make  6:47sure that you keep that nice fuel economy that  we want, which we're expecting to be in the 7.2  6:53to 7.5 marker point for you know your normal  uh controlled urban driving. As I mentioned before  6:58inside now with the SR5 and above so in your  Rogue and also our new Rugged X coming later.  7:03We have an electric park brake. So that gives you  a little bit more room here in the in the cockpit  7:08for driver maneuverability and leg movements  and you're not fishing for that handbrake.  7:13Nicely engaged. And as usual with our Toyota  setups, take it out of gear, it releases the  7:17park brake for you. Put it back into park, it'll  re-engage it. Yeah, you can still do it yourself,  7:22but the ability of not needing to is always a  good option when you're in a hurry to jump out  7:27and check something if you're 4-wheel driving  or just in a general day-to-day sense. We also  7:31have our hold function. Now, the hold function  is good if you're stuck in lights, traffic,  7:35with your seat belt engaged. That hold function  allows you up to about 4 minutes of sitting with  7:40your foot off the brake and the car will remain  stationary. Makes it a little bit easier. 

Safety features and Toyota Connect

You're 7:44not putting as much pressure on your ankles and your feet while you're sitting there waiting 7:47in extended traffic delays. As far as our safety  suite, of course, Hilux is going to be loaded with  7:52it. We've got our SOS Connect, which will be able  to be utilized through your Toyota Connect app,  7:58which is something that will give you a lot  more accessibility, fuel rewards. the emergency  8:02services button alone in the event of being in  trouble with an accident or even if you're out  8:07in an area out further than you expect and you've  got no phone reception and something goes wrong,  8:12our system will still work to be able to get you  in touch with someone that can help you and get  8:16you back to safety as quickly as possible.  You're going to find blind spot monitors,  8:21lane departure, rear cross traffic alert, all our  normal things that we expect. Rear cross traffic,  8:26pedestrian, cyclist detection, things again that  make your driving pleasure a lot more so rather  8:33than you having to worry all the time about  everything and anything around you. You've now  8:36got a built-in set of assistants that are going  to give you that extra support. 

Rear seating, air vents and ISOFIX

So, in the SR5, 8:41obviously now we have air vents in the back which  allows ignition to flow through the whole cabin.  8:45The good thing is here kept our center armrest.  Of course, you've got two more cup holders for two  8:50outboard passengers here, but we can sit three.  And you'll notice we have ISOFIX points if you  8:56do have young children, and you can tether their  seat, their baby seats and car seats up through  9:00the loops in the top here at the top of the seat.  We've kept the interior dimension pretty much the  9:04same. A lot of our customers have said they  like the amount of room inside a Hilux. So,  9:08we've kept that there for that bit of familiarity.  You won't find it disappointing. It'll do the  9:12job that you need it to do on a pretty much daily  basis. 

Model availability and test drive invitation

So, there's actually a lot we can show you 9:16in the Hilux. We've got an SR5 demonstrator here.  We will have more coming. And obviously, next year  9:22we have our single cab and dual cab chassis  options arriving as well. For now though, if  9:27you want to have a good look through the car and  let us show you more of the features and also the  9:31ones we've just mentioned, and you know what, come  and take it for a comprehensive test drive. Look,  9:35I want to say this. It sounds silly, but there's a  little bit of Toyota magic happening here because  9:39somehow with the same engine output of 150 kW,  the same torque output of 500 Newton meters, we've  9:45managed to make this thing lighter. And I swear  it feels it feels more responsive and faster. So,  9:51you need to come and have a good drive of it with  us. We're happy to take you on a test drive. All  9:54of our team are more than ready to assist. Come  down and see us. Downtown Toyota, 753 Wynnum Road,  10:00Morningside. We'll see you soon to show you  why this needs to find its way to your garage.

Contact Jon & The Team Today To Find Out More About The 2026 Toyota HiLux