Toyota GR Yaris: The raining champ

So little time, so much to discover about the most exciting hot hatch Toyota has ever produced. Fortunately, Colin Smith is a quick learner.

WE all only got two laps of a wet Hampton Downs racing circuit today, driving the national layout – so, less than six kilometres clocked, not quite five minutes at the wheel, pit time included. In the rain.

Yet I’m confident I can tell you a couple of things about the eagerly anticipated second car in the Toyota Gazoo Racing family.

The GR Yaris hot-hatch boasts a growling three-cylinder engine note which is blend of raw aggression and cheerful enthusiasm. And in a pleasing contrast to most 200kW cars of recent times, the rally-bred Yaris doesn’t feel heavy.

Keeping the weight of an AWD Turbo hatch to about 1300kg is a fair achievement and achieves a cracking power-to-weight ratio that betters many larger engine and more powerful hot-hatches.

Track impressions are of sure-footed agility with crisp turn-in and direction change. The confident wet track grip level heightened expectations for a run along a twisty road where this little ripper might be even more at home than on a race track.

Even before the all-to-brief time behind the wheel we already knew a lot about the GR Yaris. It has launched with a tasty $54,990 price-tag and Toyota NZ has opted to focus on the premium specification while other markets also offer lower-spec versions.

The car has a close association with the Yaris WRC rally programme and in joining the GR Supra it plays a lead role in expanding the Toyota Gazoo Racing product line.

While it bears the Yaris name the muscular exterior shares only the LED headlights and taillights plus the door mirrors with the new Yaris hatch.

Toyota calls it a hybrid car – not in the sense of a combined petrol-electric powertrain but because under the skin it merges two different vehicle platforms.

The front end is common with the new Yaris hatch while the rear is Corolla-based. That’s how the rear driveline and trailing arm independent rear suspension layout is achieved.

It’s also a three-door and sits 55mm lower as well as being significantly wider thanks to those pumped-out wheel arches. All body panels including alloy doors (a frameless design), rear hatch and power bulged bonnet plus the carbon composite roof are unique to the GR version.

So too are the aerodynamics and the prominent cooling intakes and mesh grille that dominates the facia of the GR.

The engine is a bespoke 1618cc three-cylinder turbo which develops 200kW at 6500rpm and 370Nm of torque from 3000-4800rpm. It has slightly ``under-square’’ bore/stroke dimensions, a 10.5:1 compression ratio, single scroll turbo and Toyota’s D-4ST port and direct injection technology.

Toyota claims 0-100km/h in 5.2secs and a top speed of 230km/h.

The compact and lightweight engine sitting over the front end along with quick ratio (2.36 turns lock-to-lock) steering are also contributors to that immediate impression of a light and nimble car.

If you were around to hear a Daihatsu Charade GTti in full cry you’ll recognise the soundtrack. It’s an enthusiastic growl with the engine not only delivering an early ramp up of torque delivery but it also revs eagerly to 6500rpm and feels like it still has more to give – a rare trait for modern high torque turbo cars.

There’s a six-speed manual transmission with short throw shift and rev-matching function. The sophisticated Active Torque Split all-wheel-drive system features Torsen diffs front and rear and a clever electromagnetic solution for distributing torque between the front and rear.

In Normal drive mode the front:rear default is 60:40. Switch to Sport and there’s a rear-biased 30:70 split and in track mode there is a 50:50 torque distribution for maximum traction.

Beneath the muscular wheel arches and wide track stance is performance suspension and serious braking hardware including 356mm x 28mm slotted and ventilated front rotors with four piston callipers. The 18-inch forged alloy BBS wheels are shod with 225/40 ZR 18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.

Considering Toyota’s modern WRC rivals – the Hyundai i20 and Ford Fiesta - are cars that are only offered in front-drive configuration for the road, the GR Yaris is the closest thing you can buy to a current WRC car since Subaru and Mitsubishi exited the top level of the rally game. There’s also a nice nod to Toyota rally history with a GT-Four badge on a tailgate.

As well as the performance focus the GR Yaris is a well-equipped car with dual-zone air conditioning, an eight-speaker JBL audio system, 7.0-inch touchscreen with navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Head-Up display, heated front seats and alloy pedals.

I’ll add one more attribute to what I learned in two laps. The neatly-sized – and actually round - steering wheel provides a great connection with the car and the front seats offer supportive bolstering around the hips and ribs.

In spite of the rally bloodlines the GR Yaris doesn’t divert from Toyota’s policy of equipping all models with its full Safety Sense driver assist and safety package. However, the car hasn’t returned an ANCAP crash test result yet.

So far 40 cars have been allocated to the Kiwi market with 36 already pre-sold and the company registering the remaining four for itself.

Toyota NZ wants more and is working hard to secure additional units from the limited global supply. Two laps behind the wheel certainly left me wanting more as the GR Yaris had teased one of the sharpest driving experiences of recent times.

Hilux Mako – hooked on the big fish

We’re the first media outlet allowed to take the Hilux hero truck out for a big drive. Naturally, opportunity with this catch of the day wasn’t wasted.

No better place to take the hardest-edged Hilux ever than a back country property.

THUNDERING down rutted dirt and gravel tracks, pushing across some lumpy farmland, threading along a razorback ridge.

There was never a minute during those hours spent in gnarly hill country north of Whanganui when Toyota New Zealand’s homebuilt hero, the Hilux Mako, didn’t feel as though it wasn’t born for this kind of outing.

Surprised? Not at all. Aptitude for extreme adventure is an intrinsic 101 of this model’s make-up. In truth, it could – and likely will, in time – take on and overcome much stiffer challenges.

Not with me, however. At least not on this first occasion to test its mettle. Just one Mako is in existence. Moreover, it was finished just a week ago. I assumed my effort was the first properly outdoors activity it had ever undertaken. And also knew it was needed for important corporate duty straight after.

So, while it certainly got a fair workout, there was no ‘jumping the shark’ as it were. In that, there was never a moment when ALL four wheels simultaneously left the ground. Not really.

Was I being too soft? The Mako definitely isn’t. The re-engineering that delivers hugely increased off-road protection, functionality and looks to match is hardly a half-way measure, that’s for sure. Everything about it is hard as nails.

Somehow, too, the truck has bulked up in spirit, too. Mako is a well-chosen name. It’s a bit of a wild child in ambience as much as attitude.

Maybe it some of the feral side that showed in the lead-up to its grand media unveiling, three days prior to my drive, with talk emergent afterward of how resistant it was to being tethered for transit, for by road and then by air.

En route to the launch site, when contained in a enclosed trailer, it somehow managed to loosen tiedowns just enough to rub its nose against the bulkhead. When slung under a Black Hawk helicopter for delivery across open water to our foreshore gathering at Cape Egmont, it wriggled slightly again.

Hence the ever-so-slight slight scuffs on the wheel arch extensions; evidence where the strops shifted fractionally. This occurring just hours after the nose scrape was sorted. Seems some fighters just like to have scars.

If this was the ute revealing its fighting spirit, then bring it on. Nothing wrong with having a feisty attitude when aspiration is to beat the best in this game, Ford’s Ranger Raptor. Eagle versus Shark? The protagonists are not fully equals, but it’ll be hard to pick the winner of that one.

Buy-in demands certain stamina. At $79,990, Mako is in the same zone as all obvious rivals, yes, and so in a landscape far removed from the bargain end of the one-tonne ute market. Reminder of the cost of creating a champion is also enforced by knowing the Hilux SR5 Cruiser required as a donor is $21,000 cheaper.

So it’s an expensive undertaking, enough of a premium to perhaps leave you wondering why not simply undertake a Mako-your-own.

Good luck with that. it’s a dead-end drive. Breaking down the individual costings is a red herring. For sure, the core components of those Maxxis RAZR All-Terrain tyres (265/60) and the ARB Old Man Emu BP-51 suspension kit with its fancy nitrogen by-pass shocks enabling adjustable compression and rebound control are retail items. And yes, wheel supplier Black Rhino also represents in NZ. Buying the shocks, tyres and a same-size rim independently, getting them fitted and achieving compliance seems to be a $10,000 undertaking, give or take.

THE BP-51 suspension kit can be bought independently … and it definitely makes a difference. But it alone doesn’t make your Hilux a Mako.

And yet, you still wouldn’t have a Mako. Not even close. So much more of it comes from in-house and is set to stay that way.  The front bumper is a good example of that. Hilux has more than 300 accessories, but this complex frontpiece ain’t one of them. Beyond that, there all the trim enhancements. And about those rims. The styling is bespoke to Toyota here.

At this point, it’s also fair to point out that a walkaround highlights how Mako has two donors. One being the Cruiser that sells here, the other being a variant that does not.

The Rugged-X is an Australia-only special, in its second evolution over the Tasman and also aimed primarily at owners who are likely to exploit Hilux’s renowned off-road ability.

Mako uses quite a few bits – most obviously the entire front bumper (a hoopless roo-bar in Aussie speak), but also the bash plates underneath, LED light bar, easy access heavy duty recovery hooks, unique fender flares, side steps and rock rails and customised tray – developed for the latest Rugged-X.

Getting that new front alloy bar is the biggest score: Not only does it offer extra protection from obstacles and wildlife, it is designed to accommodate a winch, houses a high-intensity light bar and does not affect the Hilux’s safety systems.

Don’t think we’ve just stuck a new name of an Aussie effort. Mako has a similar look, but is quite a lot more hardened in other respects.

Specifically, our neighbour’s muscle truck lacks the increased suspension lift, the wheel and tyre package, the suspension or even the leaf spring upgrade.

The latter part of the refit has seriously impressed across the Tasman. They’re a little chastened by how this makes the Rugged-X puny by comparison.

These bits look rugged … or, more specifically, Rugged-X.

And there’s a good point. As much as some might well be drawn to joining the Mako tribe purely on strength of its the more purposeful look, they’re not really playing the game. To buy a Mako for its aesthetics alone would be a waste of the time and effort that has gone into creating a genuinely enhanced four-wheel drive.

But, yeah, also one that’s somewhat removed from the mainstream Hilux experience.

Insofar as ride height goes, it’s amazing how a little – and a 40mm lift front and 50mm lift rear is surely that – can make a lot of difference. Be as it may that Mako’s body is just about a shoebox further away from ground than a standard Hilux doublecab’s, just this is enough to make accessing a more physical and somewhat acrobatic act.

In all likelihood, it is higher enough to raise question from some quarters about the ease with which you can jump in and out of a vehicle if you need to do it repeatedly. The side steps are useful enough to be practical, and they aren’t too slippery either, but that initial step up is significant.

 Once you’re in the cabin, awareness of the enhanced elevation and the wheelarch extensions’ affects sensory perception of its stature. It’s certainly not a RAM rival, of course, yet it does have a tangibly more bulked ambience.

Visibility isn’t too bad, though, and the new motorsport-style front seats – well, seat backs, to be precise (the original base has been retained) – is really comfortable, if a little flatter-backed and less shoulder-hugging than the design’s look might suggest.

A regular Hilux is pretty good off road … but it cannot do this.

How hostile the urban jungle prove is open to conjecture at this point. It probably won’t be too bad or, at least, no worse than any other one-tonne ute. The Hilux lacks blind spot indicators but there are parking aides and a reversing camera to keep an eye on the tail end. The front assemblage adds a few more millimetres to consider when manoeuvring in tight spaces.

No town and around today. I’m off to rendezvous with the bloke who help guided TNZ through its suspension and tyre choice by field testing all the components.

Tony Groome is a well-known Manawatu-based identity in off-roading who handily resides within 20 minutes of TNZ headquarters and whose association with the brand goes back quite a few years. 

We in the media have come to know him through press events – his amazing knowledge of the Kiwi back country and a vast network of contacts has allowed us access to some amazing country and to meet some really neat characters – and also through his involvement in creating the Gladiator, a one-off show truck from three years ago that was effectively the genesis of Mako. Same suspension, slightly gnarlier and larger rims.

Toyota involvement is additional to his day job. That’s being a professional and independent forestry advisor. He has more than 25 years’ experience working in both corporate and private forestry throughout New Zealand. His skills range from forest establishment and silviculture through to the harvesting and marketing of forest products. It’s a busy life but, on top of this, he also involves heavily into rural firefighting and search and rescue; his contribution to LandSAR was recognised with him being made a member of the New Zealand Order in the 2016 New Year Honour List.

Today I’m tagging along with Tony and Thomas, his go-everywhere poodle/cavalier King Charles cross, and employee Rob as they head into a block inland of Kai Iwi where they’re trialling a new forestry-associated enterprise of grass hydroseeding. Basically, high-pressure spraying of a seed-rich slurry onto hillsides requiring regeneration after being denuded of trees. Today is about experimenting with two different consistencies of mix, one paper-based and the other wood.

Tony Groome is a well-known off-roading expert who field-tested the Mako’s hardware. Thomas the dog also did his bit.

While he’s fire-hosing hillsides, I get to ramble around some incredible country, taking care of course to steer well away. It’s not the likelihood of being caught in a jetstream of gunk that worries, more the fine mist of spray being lifted and carried some distance by a stiff breeze. A common component of the mixtures is a bright green dye (used so you can more easily see where the stuff has landed). It stains easily. Neither of us wants to have to explain the scenario of a silver Mako having gained a bright green top coat. 

Messing about on a selection of hard clay tracks reinforces the merit of using it for its intended purpose away from the beaten trail. As competent as a regular edition Hilux is … well, this thing is even better.

That’s not to say it’s an absolutely required recipe: Obviously Hilux carries a massive reputation, and for good reason. The latest as it comes from the factory is a hugely capable machine, no argument. Simply, though, the extras here just raise the ante.

The proven all-terrain transmission adapts easily to marriage with much gripper tyres, the enhanced engine feels punchy enough and never feels overworked, while the increased ground clearance encourages driving across terrain that would look hostile to the regular models. The only additional ingredient that I would suggest to make it even more capable would be to include some electro-pneumatic diff lockers; I know from experience that ARB’s are particularly good. 

Quite often vehicles outfitted for extreme off-roading tend to gain sludge proficiency at expense on on-seal aptitude. On top of this, cruising on sealed open roads isn’t any ute’s favourite habitat. 

Tony’s work truck also runs BP-51 suspension.

Still, the on-tarmac component of the MY21 Hilux’s launch programme had reinforced how it has become better suited to this than its predecessor. 

The tyre and suspension change certainly lends Mako a different feel, that’s for sure – it’s floatier to the point of being cushy, though with generally positive outcome: The way in which it smooths out pock-marked surfaces is impressive.

There was one section of rutted gravel that I drove half a dozen times, each run slightly faster than the fast. All through this exercise, the Mako not only smoothed the ruts but, just as importantly, kept its settled demeanour, tracking straight and true. That alone suggests the main competencies engineered into the MY21 still seem to remain.

Impression from clocking almost 200kms’ on seal suggests that, as much as it’ll seem set to appeal to genuinely enthusiastic off-roaders looking to get more out of a Hilux than the standard version can perhaps offer with confidence, it hasn’t become so altered as to lose grip on the realities and requirements of daily driving. 

The tyres? Knew you’d ask. With the donor model and every other Hilux save the base edition, Toyota uses Bridgestone’s Dueler: A road-biased tyre with some off-road competencies. From the look of it, Mako takes the opposite approach, favouring a type whose design and tread cut suggests mucking-in ability is prioritised. However, it’s still designated an all-terrain tyre.

Mako sized up the terrain and then conquered it, no sweat.

The day’s driving was in dry conditions so how skatey those RAZRs will prove on wet seal remains an unknown. From this experience, they are less grippy than a specific road-focused tyre, and take very little provocation to squeal, but are not diabolical. Refreshingly, they aren’t too noisy on the road, even on coarse chip at highway speed. 

Mako ‘production’ won’t ramp up until year-end, and in the interim TNZ is using this one to iron out any bugs. From my experience, there are none to cause sleep. A bit of clonking from the suspension when it was being worked out off-road might be something worth addressing. Also, there’s a weird switching arrangement for the front bumper light bar. And the laser-etched side footplates are dirt traps.

Really, though, the only thing I didn’t like didn’t require mentioning on the ute’s return because it turns out TNZ is having second thoughts about it as well. That’s the rim thickness of the bespoke steering wheel; it’s just a bit awkward to grasp. TNZ’s already onto this. They’ve already crafted another. Should I mention that the first attempt was basically a dimensional copy of a certain rival’s?

Beyond all that, Mako is a fantastic effort that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It certainly succeeds as a banner-waver for Toyota and Hilux, turning a lot of heads and raising a fair few questions on my day out.

One TNZ might like to take on board is in respect to an engine that does not exist. Seems speculation recklessly spread months ago about Hilux being a candidate for a twin-turbo six-cylinder performance engine is sticking. Several people who saw this truck asked if that engine was under the bonnet.

Conversely, everyone seemed pleased by what Toyota has done. The feedback I heard reinforced what TNZ has long claimed; that Hilux is more than a ute to many – it’s an old mate.

Toyota Hilux MY21: The fightback begins

Better-kitted, a better drive, and maybe better-looking, too. Yup, they’ve done a lot more work than meets the eye.

AMONG brand-shared snippets from the media drive of the facelifted MY21 Hilux was one current fans of the one-tonne traydeck probably give little, if any, thought to.

Toyota New Zealand was discussing petrol-electric. Regardless the Prius has become a virtual non-seller, hybrid passenger vehicles and SUVs have otherwise taken off, to the point of achieving 40 percent of brand volume and outselling conventional combustion-engined equivalents.

Knowing Toyota’s hybrid set-up historically marries to petrol, and that diesel is the lifeblood of Hilux, it’s hard to see any relevance. Yet a hybrid Hilux is in development and has been signalled as a must-have for this country. So who knows.

Still, as said, the current generation model drinks purely from the dark side of the forecourt. Yet wait until you are driving one of the vehicles from the facelifted 2020 line and have to add fuel. It was through doing just this that I discovered a future-proofing tool already known to Prius people.

 Primarily useful for delivering to Hilux something most rivals have had for a while, a digital speedometer, the redesigned digital display in the instrument cluster also has economy displays, including something new to Hilux, but not hybrids. A fuel cost calculator. 

No other ute gets a feature offering opportunity to input the per litre price of the fuel, so that the vehicle thereupon works out your expected costs over a specified mileage. Is this a sign of Hilux prepping well ahead for an electric-enhanced future?

Anything that gets Hilux ahead of the curve is interesting; some might suggest that, by and large, the updates accompanying this new model launching today are as much about catching up as getting ahead.

 A digital speedo, the new, larger infotainment screen with the main appeals of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (plus volume and tuning dials to make it so much easier to adjust settings when you’re on the move), the suspension retune, the engine’s extra oomph … these could be considered carefully-considered improvements to better measure against an opposition, one rival in particular, that might have already been there, done that.

No problem with that. Hilux has always been a strong, trusted rig. From driving a selection of doublecabs - in SR5 and SR5 Cruiser format, all four-wheel-drive autos (the manuals have only just landed), mainly on seal between Palmerston North and New Plymouth but with a touch of off-roading on a farm at Waverley to test the electronic assists - the MY21s are exemplars of extra good done better than before.

Discovering the biggest, most vital improvements is no problem. It’s easily felt in the driving, obvious in the new look and feel. Pre-facelift flaws that allowed so many old fans to abdicate the Hilux and switch their allegiance to a ‘certain other’ have been sorted. If I was a Ranger owner needing a change, at least until the new Ford comes (and proves itself), this is the easily the best new seat to slip back into.

Nice to get a truck that gets back to fighting fitness with negligible price adjustment. The biggest single sticker upshift asks for an additional $2500 and the justification is easily argued. 

Evidenced most strongly on high-rider and four-wheel-drive models, the new shield-style look drawn at Toyota Australia's design centre in Melbourne and inspired by the Toyota Tundra in the United States fits comfortably and suits the new mood.

The real points of owner pride will be the revisions meted the drivetrain and the suspension.

 The 2.8-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder introduced in 2015 has had a power boost from 130kW/450Nm to 150kW/500Nm when paired to a six-speed automatic transmission. The manual has the power lift, but maintains the forebear’s 420Nm, but is nonetheless also now rated to tow 3500kg.

The engine is quieter than before and the torque spread is far broader; the extra grunt from lower revs evidences nicely and the six-speed auto doesn’t mind at all about having to handle all that extra muscle. If any thing the shift quality has improved.

The fix to the diesel particulate filter has been well covered. It was interesting that one of the utes I drove initiated a DPF cleaning cycle while I was driving it. I hadn’t expected this process (which indicates on the dash display and seems to take about five minutes) as the vehicle had just 1919kms’ on the clock at the time.

Utes can be bouncy, skittery things when unladen. That’s just the nature of the type. But Hilux used to be particularly so and it could be wearying. So it copped flak for this. Toyota has always used Australia’s hinterland as a testing zone for Hilux’s development, and engineers spent much of last year out there reworking the suspension. It’s an effort that has paid dividends, with a noticeably more compliant and sophisticated ride. The settings are the softest Toyota has ever dared mete a modern Hilux, according to background scuttlebutt, but it’s the right way to go. Bumps are soaked up yet it doesn’t wobble.

Sure, it’s not car-like, but given none of the load-carrying ability has been sacrificed, you can hardly complain. And in unladen state, you get to enjoy a safer, more balanced and more predictable drive. Just like a Ranger? Well, they’re a lot closer, that’s for sure.

That’ll appeal to the family users that flock to the high-end wellsides, of course; parents of car sickness-prone kiddies shoved in the back will be relieved. But it’s not just beneficial for townies. 

The flatdeck we took from the Lupton farm at Waverley (yes, home of Melbourne Cup-holder Kiwi, now buried in the front garden) through to Dawson Falls, was a confident drive, too. So it’ll get the farm dog vote, for sure.

 In sorting the suspension, there’s a sense the Bridgestone Dueller rubber is getting better opportunity to get a grip when it counts. The power steering has been revised but is still hydraulically assisted. It feels better than before, albeit heavy compared to the electric power steering set-ups now coming into this category. The brakes deliver modulated pedal feel. There are four-piston calipers clamping 319mm front discs up front and drums at the rear, as per class convention. 

The only element lacking that would offer even more improvement is an ingredient just the VW Amarok offers in this sector: Full-time four-wheel-drive. Yes, Toyota’s system does allow for high-range all-paw engagement on seal, but only in certain circumstances. And the Hilux 4x4 now has a rear auto limited slip differential which works when the ute is in two-wheel-drive. But for ultimate traction you can’t beat having all four wheels working all of the time. 

Slide into the cabin and, that new mid-console aside, it’s all familiar territory; so, some hard plastics and a quality, tight finish. 

The screen’s integration works best in the Cruiser – it sits snugly above the air conditioning panel, whereas models with manual air con are less well integrated. In these the bottom of the screen hangs out enough to impede sight of some controls. A tall driver will need to duck slightly to see if the A/c is active, for instance.

The infotainment update spells an end to a CD player, but will you care? What doesn’t make sense is that Toyota has implemented technology to better suit phone integration yet has determined to deliver just one USB charging port within the cabin: In this connected age, that just doesn’t compute. Yes, there are two 12V sockets (which you could use with a USB adaptor if necessary) and a household power socket (220V, 100W) in the centre console to run a laptop if necessary, but overall it’s just not smart.

Toyota still hasn’t bothered to put a vanity mirror in the front passenger-side sunshade (hey, I don’t care, but others might) and the top spec doesn’t go to dual zone air con, which others offer, and some variants lack push button start. Only SR5 and higher grades come with front and rear parking sensors and the new bi-LED headlights – which you’d assume will lend much improved performance - and LED tail-lights, whereas the base editions stick with halogens and touch parking.

Hilux’s upgrade of driver assist and accident avoidance technology has been gradual and the latest provision has been well covered in previous stories. The availability of  radar cruise control, speed sign recognition, lane-departure warning and autonomous emergency braking are rewarding, and it has seven airbags protect occupants in event of an incident. 

However, crash testing protocols keep ramping up and having Hilux’s achievement of a five star safety rating from the only regime that matters here, the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme, is not all it seems. That score was delivered at the end of last year under a protocol that has since been toughened.

To achieve those five stars – the maximum score – under the new rules, as the Isuzu D-Max has done, it would need to adopt kit Toyota has not provisioned and may not deliver for this model’s remaining time in production.

Requisite are advanced safety features such as rear cross-traffic alert, blind-zone warning, lane-keeping assistance (it has lane-wander warning only), and a centre airbag between the front seats. There’s no suggestion Hilux is unsafe – indeed, it scored well for occupant protection particularly in 2019 – but fact is the testing is more focussed now on rewarding vehicles with the tech that helps a driver avoid an accident in the first place.

Has Toyota done enough to see Hilux, in orthodox turbodiesel state, through its remaining years on sale? It’s undoubtedly a much better truck, now, than it was five years ago. You’d say that solely on strength of experiencing the dynamic qualities and the improved engine, though it deserves credit for shaping up in other areas, too.

The imponderable in writing this now is not knowing, yet, how good the opposition is. But we won’t have long to wait. The all-new Isuzu D-Max goes on sale locally very soon, it’s Mazda BT-50 doppelganger will be out in November. The next-generation Ford Ranger is due in the second half of next year.

 Maybe Toyota isn’t out of the woods yet.