Toyota Hilux Pickup Trucks Complete Antarctic Crossing

Roughly the same time when the Moon Regan Transantarctic Expedition used the highly specialized Bio-Inspired Ice Vehicle for an epic Antarctic crossing, Toyota also sent a fleet of four Hilux pickup trucks to the South Pole, as part of an expedition carried out by the members of the Indian National Center for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR).

Modified by Icelandic 4x4 conversion specialist, Arctic Trucks, the Toyotas completed the month-long round-trip measuring 4,600 km (2,858 miles) with the highest average speed and recorded the lowest average consumption among comparable vehicles.

Operating in temperatures between -40 and -56 Celsius (-40/-68.8 F), the Japanese trucks averaged 4.7 US mpg (50 lt/100 km). This might not seem like an incredible feat, but the stock 3.0-liter diesel engines ran round-the-clock on less energy-efficient Jet 1A fuel and had to power extra heating systems as well.

In the end, the average mpg was 5 to 8 times lower than what tracked vehicles usually achieve, which significantly reduced fuel costs and permitted the team to use just one refueling point. And this is important, given that one barrel of oil can cost as much as US $10,000 in Antarctica.

The expedition’s team members also praised the maximum payload capacity of 1.5 tons and towing capacity of 3 tons, allowing them to carry plenty of equipment and spare parts, alongside the 1,280 liters (338 gallons) of fuel per unit.

Upgrades made to the trucks included the incorporation of a crane (to lift heavy equipment and the fuel barrels), converting the diesel engines to run on jet fuel and fitting them with additional lubrication, heavily modifying the suspension, crawler gears, crevasse protection and the aforementioned extra heating system.

Last but not least, every Hilux ran on extra-large tires, only inflated to just 20 psi for better weight distribution on the perilous sastrugi terrain.

Scroll down to watch the Toyota pickup trucks in a similar expedition that took place last year in the video below.

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VIDEO: Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux Pick-Up on ramp-duty

Having few things to do this weekend, I decided to crash a Toyota event. It was the 2010 Toyota Experience, which will eventually cover 17 Romanian cities and is meant to promote the Japanese manufacturer's European line-up, from the cute-and-cuddly iQ to the rough-and-tough Hilux truck and the more stylish Land Cruiser. Video after break.

Toyota chose a parking lot at a mall, very close to a main access road to the city, so that the ramp-activity could be seen by a lot of people. That's how we got there, after seeing a Hilux doing something that closely resembled rope dancing.

I'm not a fan of off-road driving, not because I don't like it, but because I'm bad at it. I managed to get a Range Rover stuck in 10 centimeters of water. Same outcome with a Defender... It seems I have that rare talent to get a vehicle stuck in a bucket of jam.

But there are drivers who make off-roading seem like it's the easiest thing in the world. Like the pilots in our video. Bear with us as the action gets more interesting after the 4 minute mark.

By Csaba Daradics

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Toyota HiLux 3.0-liter D4D Chipped to 184-Horsepower

We're not sure how many owners of the Toyota HiLux are interested in boosting the performance of their pickup truck, but for those that do, electronics expert Unichip Europe has now launched a new ECU upgrade for the Japanese model.

A remap of the ECU's settings for fuelling and turbo boost has got the stock 3.0-liter turbo diesel engine's output up from a measured 155-bhp and 254 lb-ft of torque to 184-bhp and 295 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm.

The electronic upgrade is suitable for all seventh-generation Toyota Hilux 3.0-litre D4D models produced from 2005 onwards and carrying part number PPTOY15.1, with pricing in the UK set at £465.30 including VAT (17.5%).

2009 Toyota HiLux Facelift: 25 High-Res Photos and Official Details

Toyota has gone ahead and fully revealed its facelifted HiLux that will go on sale in Europe before the end of the year. For 2009, Toyota’s popular pick-up truck benefits from a series of styling, technical and equipment upgrades. On the outside, the subtle styling tweaks include the new trapezoidal grille and grey plate bar along with the more heavily profiled bumper and the new 15 and 17-inch alloy wheels. Inside the ’09 HiLux has been updated with a new four-spoke steering wheel with integrated controls for the audio system and multi-information display and a new air conditioning system. Toyota says it has also revised the instrument cluster and controls for the wipers and lights. -Continued

Under the skin, Toyota has upgraded the 169bhp (171 HP) 3.0 D-4D diesel engine in the automatic version with an increase of 17Nm in maximum torque to 360Nm. Moreover, the Japanese automaker replaced the available four-speed automatic transmission with a new five-speed unit that promises to improve performance and fuel consumption. According to Toyota, fuel efficiency in the combined cycle for the automatic version is increased from 30.1 to 31.7 mpg UK.

Toyota’s engineers also tweaked the suspension settings and added a new double-row roller-type rear axle bearings and more responsive valve structure on the front shock absorbers along with new bushes. Additionally, the new Hilux gains larger brakes with 297mm diameter ventilated front discs and 295mm drums for all four-wheel drive models, apart from the models equipped with VSC, which have 319mm ventilated front discs.

Depending on the market, Toyota says that it has improved the standard equipment on all models across the HiLux range.