Description
Toyota HiLux Workmate single cab 2019 Review
Design – is there anything interesting about its design? 8/10
Practicality – How practical is the space inside? 8/10
It’s also rated to tow up to 2500kg of braked trailer but with its 5280kg GCM (or how much you can legally carry and tow at the same time) the payload limit drops to 1070kg. In other words, to tow 2500kg you only need to reduce GVM by 30kg – a very practical set of numbers for a wide variety of work applications.
The Toyota aluminium tray is (internally) 1777mm wide and 2550mm long. It features rattle-free drop-sides plus a robust rear screen protector, which surprisingly lacks pivoting load retainers at the top on each side which are ideal for ‘book-ending’ long lengths of timber, PVC pipe, copper tubing etc.
Even so, there’s heaps of tie-down points. Internally they total 16, provided by aluminium rails along both sides which sit inboard of the drop-sides, with eight holes in each for securing ropes or tie-down hooks. There are also four rope-rails beneath the floor on each side, for external load anchoring if required.
Although it’s a single cab there are numerous storage options, including a bottle holder and open bin in each door, pop-out cup/bottle holders on each side of the lower dashboard, two glovebox compartments (the lower lockable) and an overhead glasses holder. There’s also a centre console unit with an open storage bin in front of the gear-stick and another beside the handbrake, plus two cup/bottle holders at the back.
It didn’t take long to become fatigued by this, particularly on corrugated dirt roads and heavily-patched bitumen back roads used during our test. So if you want to avoid the chiropractor, best cure is a decent load over the rear wheels. Therefore this vehicle would be best suited to work applications that require either lots of heavy lifting, or a custom-built tray that’s permanently loaded with heavy tools and/or equipment.
Not surprisingly, the harsh unladen ride quality was transformed, as the rear suspension is primarily designed to lug this weight. The ride was still firm but much smoother, soaking up bumps and corrugations with ease and with little effect on steering feel and braking.
It was surprisingly quiet at these speeds but some wind noise was noticeable around the door mirrors and rear window protector frame. There was also an intermittent buzzing sound, like a high frequency vibration, coming from somewhere within the cabin at speeds above 100km/h, which became annoying after a while.
At maximum GVM it coped easily with our 13 per cent gradient 2.0km set climb, maintaining the 60km/h speed limit in third gear at 2400rpm on light throttle. Engine braking in second gear on the way down was good but not great, requiring a stab or two of the brakes to stop it spinning past the 4400rpm redline on overrun. Not bad for a 2.4-litre turbo-diesel, but the Triton’s 2.4 had stronger retardation under a similar load.
Safety – What safety equipment is fitted? What safety rating? 8/10
Ownership – What does it cost to own? What warranty is offered? 8/10
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.