January 27, 2021

Toyota Hilux: cars for farmers' fields, schools and the survival of the end of the world

As we all know, Hilux is indestructible. It was smashed by a smashed ball, ignited, hit a tree directly, and was still open. It has been at the mercy of the tide, completely submerged, and then opened. It was placed on top of a demolished tower, and when the debris was removed, it was opened. All of these things happened in the same car.

So, back to the end of the world. Months and months of hard work and blockade have passed. During this period, I placate myself with endless Internet traffic and occasional news reports. Summer is coming, and life is back to normal a little bit. It's really normal that Toyota can give me this famous pickup truck for a week, so I started to use it. History tells us that if you want to live through the end of the world, this car is absolutely necessary.

The first thing you need to know about the modern version of Toyota Hilux is that it's very big. In fact, it was so big that I knew it had come outside my house because of a huge shadow on the living room floor. Well, the Toyota employee who delivered the car parked the car in parallel so precisely that I hardly wanted to move it, because I knew that there was almost no possibility that I would get it back into the same dilemma.

But I took it for a ride in southwest London and was almost immediately fascinated. Although London is not necessarily a city of big cars, it is a city full of big cars, especially in and around wangsworth. Of course, the bus is supreme, but with it comes an endless stream of Land Rover, range rover, Voss and their competitors, packed with children from private schools and parents with excessive caffeine. It can be a scary place.

Not so, in a Hilux, as well as high, wide, long, also exudes a kind of toughness, which is comforting. Although the range rover looks big, they are all made of plush leather and the interior is gorgeous. Hilux is a work car. It looks like a work car. As science tells us, anything that hits it will cause more damage than it can bear.

I don't recommend Hilux as a city car, but again nothing can stop it from becoming a city car. However, its real home was in the countryside, where - one of the things we used to do during the blockade - I went to meet a friend and went fishing.

After walking on the highway for more than an hour, we all had a relatively easy meal. Listening to the diesel engine roaring at 70 miles per hour, we felt very relaxed. It was like listening to a classic rock song - memories of the past. The automatic transmission is very good and comfortable to ride. Although the appearance is very strong, the interior is actually a good place - digital radio, satellite navigation, Bluetooth are just some modern comforts, which help a quite benign journey to go faster.

In the countryside, when you know that in this car, you will be regarded as a member rather than a tourist, you feel a kind of comfort. Well, I may have just put a dead trout in the loading bay instead of 30 fence posts and three sheep, but it still feels very hard and mature - I'm here, hunting and gathering in my pickup truck. On this day, we are driving on all kinds of narrow roads, occasionally on fields and muddy tracks. You don't need me to tell you that Hilux is very relaxed about all this.

Hilux is respected by those who put it to work because they know it will never disappoint them. Even the new one knows that - of course, it has satellite navigation and rear-view parking cameras, but the door closes with a satisfying metallic jingle and feels hard.

Whether Toyota Hilux is a good definition does not depend on whether it is a good driver or its mpg, but whether it is worthy of the name.