Toyota flagship ute boasts 3500kg towing

In an obvious poke at the Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota has confirmed its new flagship ute – the 2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport – will brandish a class-leading 3500kg braked towing capacity.

While it’s not a match for the 292kW/583Nm Raptor (priced from $86,790 plus on-road costs) in terms of either performance or price, the off-road focussed 165kW/550Nm GR Sport ($73,990 plus ORCs) arrives as the most expensive and powerful HiLux ever released in Australia.

The turbo-diesel GR Sport is also much more fuel-efficient than the turbo-petrol Raptor, claiming an 8.1L/100km fuel consumption average compared to 11.5L/100km for the flying Ford.

That will deliver a far longer off-road touring range for the Toyota.

“The thing we are focussed on with HiLux is its broadness of its usability, of its practical usage,” said Toyota Australia vice-president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley.

Fitted as standard with a towbar that’s also claimed to improve torsional rigidity, the GR Sport’s 3500kg towing capacity matches up with the best offered by any other 2.8-litre turbo-diesel HiLux 4x4 dual-cab and any of its ute rivals including the mainstream Ford Ranger.

The Raptor’s massive twin-turbo V6 performance potential and Fox shock-enabled off-road prowess comes at the cost of towing capability, which is knocked back to 2500kg.

“GR Sport’s off-road capability is there in a big way, but it doesn’t compromise on the towing, which is a big part of the market,” Hanley said.

Asked if potential ute buyers might prefer the GR Sport to the Raptor for that reason, Hanley responded:

“HiLux buyers are very practical buyers in the whole and there is no doubt there is that market for a city ute – it exists and it’s a real – but we think our ute offers both those opportunities.”

However, he went out of his way to stress the GR Sport was not aimed directly at Raptor.

“It’s not a Raptor competitor, it’s not aimed up at that vehicle because it’s quite a different vehicle in spec and everything."

While much about the HiLux GR Sport has already been announced, braked towing capacity was one of a number of detailed specifications confirmed at this week’s media launch.

And while the towing number remains competitive, the payload has taken a hit, dropping to 780kg – well down on the circa-one-tonne capability of most 2.8-litre HiLux 4x4 dual-cabs. The Ranger Raptor isn’t that far behind at 717kg.

It’s also been confirmed the GR Sport weighs in at 2270kg – 14kg heavier than the urban-oriented HiLux Rogue with which it shares wider tracks and other key mechanical details.

However, it is 270kg heavier than the staple HiLux SR5 4x4 auto.

But the GR Sport’s 8.1L/100km fuel consumption claim is 0.3L/100km better than the Rogue’s and 0.2L/100km worse than the SR5 auto, according to Toyota’s own HiLux spec sheet.

While the Rogue and GR Sport were tested to the same criteria, Toyota says different atmospheric conditions or slightly different tolerances could account for the variance. The GR Sport does have several unique aerodynamic aids including air curtains.