Currently, the overwhelming sales leader when it comes to pickups are units equipped with a turbodiesel engine. And so it goes with regard to the best-selling model in Australia, the Toyota HiLux, where the 4.0-litre V6 option is often passed over for the more sensible four-cylinder petrol or turbodiesel engines.
But as Motoring reports, the lack of sales comparative to its more frugal oil-burning counterpart has contributed to Toyota Australia’s decision to axe the V6 engine altogether - currently available in the SR and SR5 variants - from the HiLux line-up. The move is earmarked for officiation when the range receives an update later this year.
Once that’s announced, the only petrol engine option for the popular ute will be a naturally-aspirated 2.7-litre four-pot that’s good for 122kW and 245Nm. Of course, that would mean that the more expensive HiLux variants will be solely powered by a 2.8-litre diesel with 130kW and 420Nm. In the middle of the engine spread is the trusted 2.4-litre turbodiesel with 110kW and 343Nm.
With the days now apparently numbered for the big petrol motor in the HiLux, there will be no competitor for the V6-powered Volkswagen Amarok (165kW, 550Nm) insofar as how many cylinders are used for motive force. But even so, VW claims that its 3.0-litre can sip around 7.8-litres/100km, which is still far more economical than the 12-litres/100km estimate that the HiLux’s petrol V6 is purported to manage.
An easier comparison would be the 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbodiesel that lives under the bonnet of the Ford Ranger Wildtrak. But while its 147kW and 470Nm aren’t as potent as the Volkswagen’s, it still somehow consumes more fuel at 9-litres/100km versus the Amarok’s claim of 7.8-litres/100km.
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